Page 14 - FlipBook

The Silver Temple in Kyoto
Shimogyo; bar-rockingchair.jp, site in Japanese)
has three fireplace-perched rocking chairs and a library of whiskeys, while Touzan Bar (644-2 Sanjusangendo-mawari), inside the Hyatt Regency and decorated with antique wood beams and vintage books, is an especially intimate nook offering an excellent selection of local Kyoto beers, Japanese chardonnays and more than 30 regional sakes.
Where Locals Go:
The Nishiki Market (Nakagyo; kyoto-nishiki. or.jp, site in Japanese) is a showcase for Kyoto’s prized heirloom vegetables, brightly coloured pickles, dried seafood and street snacks, such as takoyaki (fried octopus balls). Its shops hawk everything from cherry-blossom salt and matcha- dusted chocolates to candied wasabi
and custom-made chef’s knives sold
by revered knife maker Aritsugu (219 Kajiyacho, Nishikikoji-dori, Gokomachi-nishi- iru, Nakagyo).
You’d Be Surprised:
Kyoto is full of the unexpected. Kanga-an (278 Kuramaguchi-Higahiiru, Karasuma-dori, Kita; kangaan.jp, site in Japanese) is a Zen temple with a hidden bar where you can sip sparkling sake while overlooking a candlelit Zen garden. The temple’s restaurant specializes in shojin ryori cuisine, ornate small bites of food made of wheat gluten
in the Zen tradition. A temple of sorts to others is the Yamazaki Distillery (5-2-1
Yamazaki, Shimamoto, Mishima; English audio tours, free), located just outside Kyoto. It’s Japan’s first and oldest distillery established in 1923 and offers a smooth whiskey aged in mizunara (Japanese oak).
Unlike international travellers, Japanese travellers know Kyoto for its ramen. Ramen Koji (on the 10th floor of Kyoto Station) is devoted to ramen, serving eight regional styles. But for an “only in Kyoto” treat, head to Menbakaichidai (757-2 Minami Iseyacho, Kamigyo), a tiny ramen shop where a searing liquid flame is poured from a cast-iron pot directly into the bowl of ramen in front of you. It’s a theatrical beginning to a delicious meal, with a creamy charred flavor you won’t find elsewhere.
shoots, yuba (tofu skin) dumplings, cod
roe miso and urchin omellets, all served on handcrafted Kiyomizu ceramics and elegant lacquer ware in your tatami-mat room, where shoji and fusuma (sliding doors) transport you to another era. For an equally old-fashioned supper, but with a French twist, make your way to Misoguigawa (Pontocho-dori), housed in a vintage teahouse along the river. Its Fabergé-like creations include quenelles stuffed with sea urchin, matsutake puff-pastry pie and Wagyu beef with demi-glace.
Kyoto’s hundreds of temples and shrines make for lovely post meal strolls. Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Temple
(2 Ginkakujicho, Sakyo) is a 15th-century masterpiece of Japanese temple architecture and is highly regarded among the Japanese. Farther afield in Arashiyama is Kyoto’s bamboo forest (Ogurayama, Saga, Ukyo), where mighty stalks of jade coloured bamboo enshrine a much-photographed corridor. The UNESCO-inscribed Saiho-ji, also
known as the Kokedera Moss Temple (56 Matsuojingatanicho, Nishikyo), is another veritable spectrum of greens and
home to more than 120 types of moss. Reservations must be made by snail mail several weeks in advance.
Kyoto’s nightlife has a wild side, but many bars are low-key and quiet. The discreet Bar Rocking Chair (434-2 Tachibanacho,
Osaka Tried-and-True:
After dark, follow the crowds to the
lively technicolour Dotombori district, where bars and restaurants spill over the riverbanks and where the iconic Glico sign (an Osaka confectionery company) lords over the festive crowds. Another famous Osaka display is the giant crab hung at busy Kanidouraku Dotombori-Honten (1-6-18 Dotombori, Chuo). The restaurant specializes in all things crab—crab sushi and sashimi, crab soup, crab hot pot, crab gratin and more.
14 JANUARY 2018
Dotombori district in Osaka
Kyoto