icy foodie anniversary

Saturday was our 11th wedding anniversary. The weekend was forecasted for snow.

We decided to spend it in Kyoto then go to visit MIL on Sunday.

For dinner, we tried to get into Moritaya, a great place for sukiyaki, but they had a long waiting list.

So, instead we went a couple of doors down to Tsukiji Sushi Kiyo. It wasn't like actually being at Tsukiji, but delicious all the same.

After dinner we got some Japanese sweets from Sentaro located on the food floor in Isetan.

The hotel we stayed at, Dormy Inn, offers a "midnight snack" (actually from 20:30-22:30)...ramen, and Satoshi had a bowl.

The hotel also offers a natural hot spring bath, the areas are separated for men and women, it was a nice way to unwind after all that food.

The next morning, we woke to the snow coming down and the streets all white.

The breakfast buffet at Dormy Inn was mostly Japanese foods, though they did have some Western types of foods.

Though if you are staying in Kyoto, I would recommend Japanese food because they have some of the best locally grown veggies.

The top left photo is my tray and the bottom right is Satoshi's (he also went back 3 times!...I think his wife doesn't feed him enough at home...)

They also served zenzai...though it was toward the end of the buffet time and there was mostly shiratama(rice flour dumplings) left.

After checking out, we went to visit MIL, she caught us up with her week and had her lunch.

We were relieved to hear that her rehab is going well.

After visiting with her, we headed back to Shijo and had lunch at Tohkasaikan.

We've passed this building many many times and often wondered what kind of food they offer.

The building was built in 1921 and since Kyoto wasn't bombed during WWII, the restaurant started their business in 1946.

We ordered lettuce wraps, sweet sour pork, and shrimp in tomato sauce.

Everything was delicious.

We also ordered their fried gyoza. This was bad.

The skins were so gummy and thick, it was hard to finish 8 of them.

We also ordered their fried rice.

We actually had wanted some noodles in soup, but we were surprised they didn't have any noodles on their menu and wondered if maybe Beijing-style Chinese restaurants do not serve noodles??

Anyway, we are glad we tried them, for the most part, their food was good and the atmosphere is like stepping back in time, though we probably won't be back.

We are interested in trying some of the other Dormy Inns located around Japan to see if their breakfast and bath are just as spectacular.

It was a nice weekend, I got my snow, we visited with MIL and were able to celebrate our anniversary.

I hope your weekend was just as nice.

Tsukiji Sushi Kiyo
JR Isetan Kyoto 11F
Phone: 075.352.6223

Dormy Inn Kyoto Station
558-8 Higashi-shiokoji-cho
Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto
Phone: 075.371.5489

Tohkasaikan
140-2 Saito-cho
Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto
Phone: 075.221.1147