Izakaya Dreaming
In the days leading up to the feasting traditions of the American holiday known as Thanksgiving, I found myself remembering the series of delicious foods I had the privilege to enjoy in my travels to Japan. While the famous 7/11 Egg Sandos became a daily ritual, among the litany of other tasty snacks widely available at all hours, I came to enjoy Izakaya dining the most. Izakaya are not too different from the casual or informal stylings of a diner or a bar, where grilled & fried snacks are served with alcohol. In my case I found myself enjoying beer with every meal & Umeshu (plum wine on the rocks) with dinner. Though not an Izakaya exactly, the first hot meal I had on my trip was in a popular family chain called Washoku Sato. Here you can enjoy traditional Japanese foods as well as Shabu Shabu hot pot, Sushi, & all-you-can-eat options. I enjoyed the novelty of a robot server bringing me some items on trays.
Among the many treats I enjoyed, another item among the first hot meals I ate was the vegan ramen bowl offered by the teamLab Planets art exhibition. This delightfully salty bowl with supple roasted vegetables was a welcome experience after crying my eyes out because I was overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of thousands of orchids. After which I enjoyed a brief jaunt to Small Worlds.
On the day I traveled by Bullet Train, or the Shinkansen, between Tokyo & Kyoto; I had the opportunity to purchase & enjoy a couple of Ekiben boxes, aka Bento Boxes available at the train stations. One Ekiben I tried I ended up saving the box to keep for my Bulleit Journal, where I have scrapbooked much of the ephemera I collected on this journey. This was a tuna sashimi & ikura (salmon roe) on rice box. The other was a Sanrio’s Gudetama themed yellow bullet train shaped box which came with egg fried rice, a soft boiled egg, & other snacks. After navigating Tokyo Station, a few ticket related hiccups notwithstanding, this was a hearty meal to be able to enjoy on the quick trip between my destinations.
I am very comfortable on a bar-stool, I was often entertained by a local baseball game or just people watching in general. In one such bar, where I had a roast beef Gyūdon with egg yolk after a visit to Toji Temple I enjoyed watching solo motor boat races (Kyōtei) with some young gentlemen enjoying their cigarettes & placing, albeit unlucky, bets. We all had a good laugh when I left & said “hey, better luck next time!”. On another adventure, this time taking a trip to Osaka for a night after receiving a new tattoo at Three Tides Shinsekai, I was joined by a lovely couple on the Kyo-Train Garaku from Kyoto to Osaka, where we had lunch. The establishment we visited was represented by a panda & you could select your soup ingredients for your soup with different sticks you would then hand to the cashier. I asked for soup on the spicier side, which is an uncommon request. For some dishes the Japanese palette is suited for appreciation of each individual ingredient where spices are not so commonly used. Where I am used to spice in terms of heat (think habanero cholula), their spicy condiments impart a more peppery flavor with their heat, I came to appreciate this & subsequently purchased a couple containers of Ichimi Togarashi when I got home.
It’s funny to me looking back on it now how many noodles I ended up eating over the course of 20 days. Ramen & Udon remain my favorite go-tos as they are a great way to replenish electrolytes; that’s with an average of 15,000 steps a day in some muggy heat mind you. Among the izakaya & bars I experienced; one I remember fondly, named Shishimaru Uzumasa, is owned & operated by a family I had rented my Airbnb from in Kyoto. Their restaurant was right under the apartment, & the family participated in regular hunting for their meat supply. I very much enjoyed their boar bowl, and it was the first time I had tried this meat outside of a sausage form (the Vermont Country Store carries this in their food section). While I had regretably only visited this family owned establishment one time, I had revisited at least two other stops because of how much I enjoyed the food & atmosphere.
One such Izakaya, named Sama Sama, offered free t-shirts for a google review which I was very happy to receive. I had visited Sama Sama on at least two occasions as I had tried a series of izakaya on this street corner near my hotel every night. On my last night in Kyoto, I had ordered multiple items including but not limited to oxtail udon soup, firefly squid, grilled chicken thigh, & fried dumplings; on their menu you could even order a round of drinks for your chefs (this is a nice option when tipping is not a normal part of dining culture). I had a funny moment when the chef appeared to be handing me a drink, but was reaching out for Kanpai (cheers!). Though somewhat awkward I will remember this moment fondly.
Of the handful of eateries I made at least one return trip to, Washoku Sato due to convenience albeit delicious, my favorite among them was Tendon Makino within the pedestrian pathway known as the Teramachi Shopping District. On my first visit I greatly enjoyed a freshly fried meal of tempura delights over rice & some options including seasonal offerings for their seafood items. Upon my second visit I had the pleasure of adding a bowl of clam soup to my sumptuous meal, all over the course of several accompanying Kirin beers. Teramachi had become my haunt in Kyoto, I had visited this district several times for different foods in between shopping bouts & jaunts around the city. After one class I had taken, I was greatly craving beef; this is where I found a delicious bowl of beef ramen.
I think constantly about the joys of Japanese culinary delights on my travels. You get so much out of a new experience when you sample the foods & flavors of a foreign culture. Exploring the Big Three; Tokyo, Kyoto, & Osaka; through the lens of food is an adventure I highly recommend. Even if you’re trying out an establishment chain inaccessible in your home country. It is possible in some small part to order online or pick up a variety of ingredients & snacks to try many Japanese dishes at home. I have since added snacks like Dango (a sweet glutinous rice dumpling) & Iced Mugi-Cha (barley tea) to my regular staple purchases. These are the little ways that I can enjoy the memories of my journey.
