Miyajima / Best Sushi Ever / Late Night Karoke + Lots Of Sake

Our hotel room here was pretty tiny, which made our yoga morning routine a little more challenging, but we were able to modify it a bit anyhow.  Its amazing what you can still do in a cramped space.

We headed out early for Miyajima, the small island off of southern Hiroshima, famous for the "floating" tori gate.  We took the electric car (the local subway) to the train station and used our rail pass from there taking the train to Miyajima-guchi station.  From there we took the ferry ride over to the island.  When we got off, we immediately were greeted by several roaming deer, none of which were shy at all.  One of them actually took a bite out of Hilary's map.  We had considered renting bikes, but thought it might be easier to walk around since the hikes around the area looked great.  We walked through the shrine, open and surrounded by water, towards the temples which were scattered throughout the mountain on the way up.  These were some seriously old temples, dating back from 523AD.  The whole area seemed very peaceful and somehow separate from the time it occupies. There was a little room in a cave that had hundreds of lanterns hanging, all barely lit.  You could hear the low tone chanting of monks in the background and the whole experience was initially eery and then rather peaceful.  I imagined this is what death may be like;  initially disorienting and then peaceful.   Throughout our hike up the mountain, we could hear the monks chanting and low bell tones and drumming;  all characteristics of zen buddhist practice.  Later on, we stopped by a little restaurant that specializes in "an ago" (eel) and ordered the "set menu"as is commonly done here.  Eel served over rice, tsukemono, and a shiso dash based soup.  After that we headed down the path towards the town.  We both noticed that the water had receded from the temple and the tori gate, and the area looked totally different.  We explored the town a bit, passing by someone who was grilling oysters which looked phenomenal.  

After getting back to Hiroshima, we got ready for our plans to meet my friend Hiros' parents for sushi.  Hilary got ready while I wandered the streets for a few hours.  We got there and they were there happily waiting for us.  I recognized Hiro's mom Natsuko since she looked a lot like Hiro.  At first the conversation was a little awkward;  Hiro had spontaneously called his parents a few nights ago asking them to meet up with us at this spot.  But as we started to drink some sake, the conversation opened up.  The mother was a lot more talkative.  The father was more reserved.  We were served a few sashimi appetizers;  conc shell (which was a first for me;  chewing but actually pretty good) steamed Hiroshima oysters (amazing), and an anago (grilled eel).  We weren't' sure if we should order or not, so we just left it to them since that's how its done here.  We could never have imagined what was to come;  the most beautiful nigiri sushi carefully served one piece at a time, placed right in front of us on counter, no plates, no chopsticks.  Pure and gorgeous minimalism.  We started off with O-Toro;  the fattiest part of the tuna.  Once it hit your tongue it just melted.  The rice was perfectly flavored and cooked and was purchased from a rice specialty store as told to us by the head sushi chef.  His father goes to the fish market just north of the city every morning around 3AM to look for the best stuff.  Next up:  Uni, tiger shrimp, squid, shell, sea bream, and mackerel.  Hilary squealed with delight;  "Oishi Oishi Oishi!"  Next up, more Toro, and more Uni… This is pretty much what I envisioned Jiros three Michelin star sushi spot to be like.  Honestly the best sushi I've ever eaten.  You could taste the salt water of the sea in the uni.  

After the best sushi meal, they asked us if we wanted to get a drink and try Karaoke.  Neither of us are big fans of Karaoke, but after that special meal they treated us to, we certainly weren't going to refuse.  We headed over to a spot near by and took the elevator up to a small floor in a building where we were shuffled into a small room with men in business suits singing and drinking their hearts out.  Thats the spot they go often, so we got the special table right by the Karaoke monitor.  We were served sake and several crunchy snacks and a fruit salad.  Nakamura-san went through a few rounds of old enka Japanese songs and then handed the mic to me.  After a few cups of sake, my guard was down, so I just went with it and chose "personal jesus" by Depeche Mode to sing.  I won't describe this experience since Hilary caught the whole thing on video and I'm sure will be using it for blackmail purposes.  Clearly I entertained (or mortified) everyone in the room.  More sake followed, and as we left a woman who had been singing a lot that night stood up to shake Hilary's hand and kept saying "I'm sorry".  I wonder if that was a reference to my karaoke skillz.

Miyajima Tori Gate 1

Close up!

Hangin with the Nakamura clan

Our unagi lunch!

Deer near the temple

A wall:  I liked 

Miyajima town center

Miyajima Shrine

Miyajima Tori Gate 2

Grilled Oysters

Hiroshima Streets

Toy Shop

Sushi!  

Nakamura san rokking karaoke night 2012!

Ginkaku-ji / Testugaku no michi (Philosophers Walk) / Kushi-Yaki

After a little yoga morning workout we headed over by bus to Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion.  This is a place I absolutely hope all you will visit at some point.  It is serene.  Walking through the garden and traditional landscape and taking pictures just didn't make sense, so turned our cameras off for a bit to just enjoy the scenery as it was.  After going in, we stopped for a snack at one of the stalls outside the pavilion:  a miniature okonomikaki (japanese pancake with vegetables) with a perfectly fried egg in the middle and bought a rice cracker with dried shiso leaves.  Yum.

Then we headed over to a path called Testugaku no michi (Philosophers Walk) which runs down about three kilometers or so from Kinkaku-ji.  It is a quiet walk along a little stream with shops and tea houses all along the way.  We stopped at one of the tea houses and had macha and an omochi daifuku (rice cake with red bean paste and chestnut)  Of course it was great.  We walked all the way down the path and back for a nice long and slow stroll.  

From there we headed back to our ryokan to get ready for dinner.  The day before, we had seen a yaki tori restaurant that looked great, but it was full.  The waitress was kind enough to reserve a seat for us that night.  It was actually a "kushi yaki" place (grilled foods) similar to the robotayaki place in the east village.  They specialize in all things grilled.  But not just grilled… We started off with crunchy lotus chips and "buri" sashimi (yellowtail)  The buri was so fresh it just melted when you tasted it.  Sooooo good.  We wanted more but that was the last of it!  Then we ordered some yakitori (grilled chicken) and a few different grilled vegetables.  Standouts were the eggplant and the the lotus with uni sauce!!  Incredible.  Then we tried a recommendation from the chef:  a mixed salad with an ume (plum) vinaigrette.  Definitely one of the highlights there.  It had mixed greens of lettuces and mizuna (personal have) and a sticky japanese yam that blended perfectly with the delicious ume dressing.  After that we tried the pumpkin tempura which was so lightly fried, it didn't taste fried.  Then we tried the tsukune which was just awesome.  I told the chef how much I liked the sauce to he gave me an extra bowl.  We finished with sesame ice-cream with yuzu marmalade on top.  Yesterdays meal was exquisite, but this was one was just immediately gratifying and hit the spot.  We are doing this one again, if we can get in… 

After that we jumped back into the hidden ally and headed for a little sake bar we found.  There was only one other couple at the end of a minimalist long wooden table with very low light.  The server was dressed in a kimono and served us some incredible sake.  We chatted for a quite while and I can actually say that my Japanese was improving.  Such a nice hostess, she told us about her life in Kyoto and her aspirations to be an elementary school teacher.  After two hours or so, we were ready to go and she walked us all the way up the stairs and out the door for an Iowa goodbye.

Ginkaku-ji

Tetsugaku no michi (Philosophers Walk)

Kushi Yaki

Sake Bar

Nishiki Market / Arashiyama / 10 Course Tofu Dinner

Woke up around 7AM fully rested.  I sleep so well on a futon.  Our usual morning routine involves me looking for a breakfast spot while Hilary stretches and gets ready to go out.   I found a great little french bakery on the corner that had a breakfast special:  scrambled eggs, salad, toast and a drink of your choice;  all for 600 yen.  Thats a bargain here.  Even the simplest meals like this are just delicious here.  

After breakfast we headed over to nishiki market which was pretty much around the corner from us.  Its runs through a long narrow street and has hundreds of little stalls selling tsukemono (japanese pickles), rice cakes, specialty spices, fresh tofu, macha tea, and lots of other food stuff.  We picked up some fresh tofu pudding which was amazing.  The market here is one of the most fun markets I've been anywhere.  You can try everything.  Probably over 100 crunchy pickle options.  It was also fun to chat with the various vendors about their food specialties.  They take a lot of pride in what they do and in the food they sell.  

It had started raining, so we headed back to the hotel and decided to wait it out.  By around 1pm we were a little hungry, so we decided to stop by this noodle spot on the corner.  You actually order your food from a ticket machine and then give the ticket to the guy at the counter.  How good would the meal be?  With out a doubt, it was the best ramen (tsukumen to be specific;  here the noodles are in a separate bowl from the soup and you dip them in the soup)  I've ever had.  Absolutely incredible.  Hilary got the chicken soup, and I got the pork.  The soup was thick and hearty, full of character and flavor.  It came with a side dish of chopped onions, ginger, and a yuzu.  All of which complimented the dish perfectly.  The noodles were cooked al dente and had just the right amount of chewiness.  It is pretty much clear that you could just wander into any restaurant and you'll get a great meal.  

From there, we walked to the train station and headed to Arashiyama;  the edge of Kyoto City. to check out the bamboo forest.  It had just stopped raining and was still cloudy when we got there.  Near outskirts of the city you could see many of the mountains in the distance.  We headed towards the bamboo forest and the bamboo in the forest seemed to glow in the light.  Quite a magical place;  you could really feel spirits in the woods.  

After it got dark we decided to head back and find a spot to eat at.  We weren't sure how we ended up where we did yesterday, so we just gave it our best shot.  Hilary remembered seeing the tiny narrow ally entrance between a Baskin Robbins and a building, and sure enough thats where we entered.  We saw an interesting looking spot that specialized in Tofu and decided to give it a shot.  What followed was a 10 course dinner;  absolutely one of the best meals I've ever had and was up there with the extravaganza Anna and I went on in Spain.  I only have 8 of the ten here;  the other two were quickly consumed… but lets see if I remember:  1.  A "mashed" tofu and chestnut salad.  2.  a soy milk tofu soup with vegetables.  3.  five different types of tofu  as listed  (1. a sake infused, 2.  a soft almost cheese like one, 3.  a yuzu miso marinated one, 4.  a straight up soft tofu with mountain salt 5.  A simple tofu with nori )  (these were incredible)  4.  lightly fried "fu" with macha salt  (insane) 5.  Yuba tofu (the skin of the tofu) wrapped around perfectly blanched mizuna  6.  Grilled Mackerel  in a miso glaze  7.  Grilled beef cubes from a local farm with a leek reduction sauce (sooooo tender)  8.  Fresh Tofu with ginger, seaweed and bonito 9.  Rice with freshly pickled vegetables  10.  Black sesame ice-cream with a little mochi strip.  All the while, the chef explained in detail each dish, providing us with an insight into contemporary Japanese cooking.  The meal was aesthetically beautiful, perfectly paced (we didn't feel stuffed after) very creative in the use and combination of the ingredients and was executed with extreme precision.  (all the dishes were served at their optimal temperatures and were perfectly cooked)  The chef also introduced us to Kyoto "only" beer which was the best beer I've ever had, and some amazing sake which Hilary liked a lot.  

After that we headed back, and to our surprise, our futons were laid out for us!  We prepared a traditional japanese bath and hit the sack!

Arashiyama

Bamboo Forest

Moon / Train Station

Pickles at Nishiki Market

Wasabi 

Hair Check-ku!

Macha tea

2nd of the 10 course Tofu dinner

Kyoto Beer!

Chillin' with the chef 

Walking through the ally

Tofu pudding