tokuya & kenninji

Saturday, we went to Kyoto. There was an exhibit that Satoshi wanted to see at the Museum of Kyoto.

So while he did that, I walked around Sanjo.

Afterwards we met up and headed towards Gion.

While we were waiting to cross, we were standing right next to a geisha...not 5 seconds later, bazillions of foreigners across the street pointed their smartphones & cameras at us.

When the light changed, boy, could she walk really fast and boy, did we photobomb everyone's pictures...

As we walked down Hanamikoji-dori, I remembered a sweet shop that I wanted to try...Gion Tokuya.

So, we stood in line.

They have warabi mochi & kuzumochi on their menu as well as shave ice.

It was a little to cool for shave ice, so we had warabi mochi & matcha kuzumochi.

This warabi mochi is served on ice and was silky...delicious with kinako (soy bean powder) and a little kuromitsu (molasses/black honey).

But be careful..if you try to "slurp" it, the kinako will hit you first, you will choke/cough and the mochi will go projectile...trust me, I am now forever traumatized by this...thank goodness no one was sitting right next to our table to see...eep!

The matcha kuzumochi was also served on ice and delicious, but really slippery.

With my chopstick skills this was also embarrassing...lucky for that wooden spoon...

We loved the chunky sweet bean paste as well as a mound of matcha to sprinkle onto the kuzumochi.

Down the street is Kenninji, the oldest Zen Temple in Kyoto.

For 500 yen, you can walk around their property AND take pictures...most places don't allow you take photos.

The highlight of this temple, in my opinion, is the twin dragons which is on the ceiling of a separate building and is 11.4 meters (37.4 feet) by 15.7 meters (51.5 feet) (the size of 108 tatami mats, which I think is a symbol for Buddhism/Zen)

If the weather is nice you can also sit on their wooden decks and reflect.

Despite my earlier traumas...it was nice to get out and about.

Gion Tokuya
510-217 Gionmachi-Minami-gawa
Higashiyama-ku,Kyoto
Phone: 075.561.5554
Hours:12:00-18:00 but closes early if they run out.

playing tourist (day 1)

Our family friend, D is visiting from Hawaii, so this past Sunday, I tagged along and played tourist with him and his friends.

Our first stop was Fushimi Inari in Kyoto. It had been ages since I had been there that I really didn't remember visiting it.

Before exploring the shrine, we stopped into Oumi-ya for lunch.

If you are near an Inari shrine what better food to have than inarizushi, right?!

We had the kitsune udon and inarizushi set...the day was overcast and kinda icy, so this was perfect.

After lunch we explored the shrine.

Tons of torii (gateways). These are all donated by businesses as well as families. The size of the torii depends on the donation.

To get to the top of the mountain, you need to climb a LOT of stairs.

There was a hiking club that was there and boy were those seniors speedy!

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And then we headed to Arashiyama.

What a treat it was to see a rainbow! definitely a rarity in Osaka.

Since it was Sunday, we met Satoshi after his German class.

Everyone was feeling a bit peckish, so we popped into Koro-kaki for a little something.

I had the black bean warabi mochi.

This cafe is located in a very old Japanese house. So old that their bathroom is located outside...ahem!

In fact, Satoshi explained that old Japanese houses didn't have hallways, so to get from one room to another you had to go out of the house to the room you wanted to get to...whoa?!

Which explained why the owner kept coming from outside to serve the different tables...

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Then after the sun set, we walked to an area that was participating in a light up called "Hanatouro".

Satoshi and I had checked this out in 2006 but my photos didn't come out too nice then. I remember it being darker, not as lit up, I must say it has gotten better!

Despite the icy winds and rain, it was a nice way to spend a Sunday with friends.

Oumi-ya
82-4 Fukasa inari onmae-cho
Fushimi, Kyoto
Phone: 075.641.2009

Koro-kaki
Next door to Rakushisha
Arashiyama, Kyoto
Phone: n/a

coffee warabi mochi

Warabi mochi is a great treat during the summer. Stick it into the refridge and chill it up.

A little shop near our place called Korakudo makes a coffee version--with just enough sugar so as not to overpower the coffee taste.

The shop owner sells this frozen, by the time I walked home, about 10 minutes, it was ready to eat!

Summer is here.