Lost In Kyoto
This morning we are meeting Remy, a friend from Melbourne, for a day of sightseeing. Our appetite leads us to Nishiki Market, but along the way we stumble across a knife store that stops us with it's shouts of "artisan". We're in the market for a knife from Japan and this place delivers oodles, made by them and only sold here. ARTISAN, ARTISAN. We strike gold with the shop-lady. Her English is impeccable and so is her patience. Question after question, knife after knife, we choose a lucky one. To be taken home and abused with the upmost affection, lovingly wrapped in oil-paper with a brochure on how to care for it and an in-store demonstration of how to keep it sharp.
With a hop and skip in our step to Nishiki Market, we soon discover there is more to see than eat here and so we veer off the tourist trail a little and head to Gogyo Ramen. Clearly we can't get enough ramen, but this place is unique — broth cooked in 300 degree Celsius lard for an extra burnt, extreme umami flavour. We choose their soy based broth and it doesn't disappoint — rich, heavy, smokey and with specks of char as to not forget it was forged in the heat of 1,000 fires. Well probably just one, but this ramen feels a little risqué, extreme... extra delicious.
With fire in our bellies, we walk towards Fushimi Inari Shrine, taking the scenic route along a stream, with freshly fallen cherry blossom petals and partake in some homemade Sakura ice cream, which tastes as one would expect — a little floral and a little green, grassy perhaps.
Our arrival into the wooded forest of Mount Inaro is marked by giant vermilion Tori gates — the first of thousands that line the trail through the woods. The first few hours are punctuated by turns and selfies, trying to capture that perfect moment where the way is free of other tourists. The next hour we start to feel increasingly lost, the gates that were our guide drift away to bush and a dirt road. But the path soon gives way to the city again and we arrive in a residential neighborhood. Which? We're unsure but it's rather lovely. Lovely cars parked in lovely driveways, next to lovely houses that have lovely gardens, manicured to perfection unlike anything outside of Japan... The good part of town perhaps.
We meander around some more. Feeling a little lost, mainly because of a lack of WiFi signal to load Google Maps. But we feel safe knowing civilisation is all around us. We meander enough to get on a train that points towards dinner and get off just as quickly, to meander some more.
Our arrival at dinner, after much meandering, is a meeting of great many things — three resourceful men, craft beer, a record store and western comfort food. Japonica we found you! Or did you find us? Either way, the pleasure is all ours. We drink and eat till our cups runneth over and sleep calls.
