osaka-gojo

From Osaka it is about 2 hours by train to Gojo, Nara.

I've been wanting to visit here because they have an area of preserved houses.

Since we left really early, we bought some snacks from Senjuan Kikukawa to eat on our walk around the area.

Ayu (a sweet in the shape of a sweetfish, filled with soft mochi. The outside is a thin crepe) & Mikasa (two pancakes sandwiching sweet bean paste).

Our first stop was Kongoji to see their botan (peony).

Like walking into someone's garden...So beautiful.

Loved the "embossed" petals of this kanboku (Guelder Rose).

Lunch was at a restaurant called Yoshinogawa, overlooking the Yoshinogawa (Yoshino River)...I was quite disappointed with their yakiniku meal. The meat was rare-ish and tough...the veggies that they served with it were mostly the hard parts of the cabbage...meh.

Satoshi had their lunch set and it looked way better than my meal...

Then we were off to see Eisanji, a temple of the area.

On the way back to "town", we came across this huge koinobori.

During this time of year you will see koinobori for Tango no sekku, Boy's Day.

In Osaka, because space is limited, most families hang tiny ones from their balcony. It was nice to see something this size.

Then we explored the preserved housing area.

We stopped at Hitotsubashi Mochi shop and shared this yomogi (mugwort) mochi...100 yen.

The lady running the shop was so cute too.

Most shops in the area were closed for Golden Week...boo!

We were able to stop in at Kakiha to rest our feet and try some items all made from persimmon leaves and the fruit....beverages and cakes.

The kakiha latte was made from the powder of the persimmon leaf. It looked similar to matcha (green tea), but boy was it bitter!

This place turned out to be quite a disappointment...the latte, was mostly foam, bitter foam...the persimmon cake was taken out of the freezer just before serving so it was hard.as.rock...meh

We then went in search of the place we would be staying at...Fujiikan.

From the outside it looked like a tiny place, from our room, we could see the other wings...huge property!

Dinner was an assortment of things, there was also some fried shrimp and fruits for dessert but I was so hungry, I didn't take photos of them.

Despite the temperature being in the single digits (7C (44F)) and super overcast, I'd say we did quite a lot.

We turned in quite early (before 21:00) as we were quite tired from all the walking we did...tomorrow we would head to the Asuka area.

Senjuan Kikukawa
1-5-1 Gojo
Gojo, Nara
Phone: 0747.22.1056
Closed Sundays
Hours: 9:00-18:00

Hitotsubashi Mochi Shop
1-3-1 Gojo
Gojo, Nara
Phone: 0747.22.3470
Closed Sundays
Hours: 8:00-until they sell out

Fujiikan
1-10-4 Sue
Gojo, Nara
Phone: 0747.22.2010