Travel Blog: 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!