One must do in Kyoto is to visit the Kinkaku “Golden” Temple. And the name pretty much says it all.
It is absolutely majestic and David and I immediately decided that we needed to paint a room inside our house this burnished gold colour.
The sun was shining and the weather was perfect for walking and walking. When we got home, we met up with Ayami, Jenn and Cam and spruced up a bit to head out for our sake tasting at Fushimi Sake Village. These are sake barrels:
Cam and Jenn are getting good at figuring out the trains so they lead us on the two train rides to get to our destination. That and Google Maps – a godsend to travellers everywhere. Found it with no problems and it is so cute!
There are not a lot of tourists in here – if any – so we got a lot of stares, a couple of smiles, and one thumbs up. It seems that the 18 taster flight is the way to go, so four of us ordered that, Jenn ordered a flight of three, and someone ordered a beer.
According to David, they serve the cheapest sake to us in Vancouver and maybe he’s right, because we have never really enjoyed sake before, but 17 of the 18 tasters were actually really good! But the one most of us liked the best was one that Jenn got in her flight of 3, and was not included in our flights of 18. So we had to order an additional glass of that one – very appley and delicious. They put a glass in a lacquer box and then over poured, so that you drank from the glass and then from the box. You can kind of see it here in this little video.
We had some little appetizers, but the kids decided we needed to have some authentic sushi, so ordered this platter:
Aiyeee . . .
Don and I immediately stole the prawns, but then Don was feeling brave so we shared the raw scallop one. It was actually pretty tasty and had a silky texture. That was about it for my desire to be adventurous, but Don actually does like fish, so the kids convinced him to try one He needed a little help getting it in there, but declared it “not too bad”.
Not having had enough to drink yet and still being hungry, Ayami suggested a nearby okonomiaki place. This is a Japanese cross between a pancake and an omelette, filled will varying things and topped with bbq sauce and Japanese mayo. In this restaurant the table has a grill in down the centre where they place the items to stay hot. They are all delicious. The boys ordered “mega high-balls” – it was great fun.
We managed to find our way home with no problem and then the kids headed off to do some karaoke. Don and I were bagged and headed directly for bed – and I didn’t even hear the kids come in! Even in our hundred year old house with rice paper walls – that’s how tired we are at the end of the day. Although I did hear the lady who goes up and down the street every night at a certain time, clapping two sticks together to scare away the demons.
That’s it for now – tomorrow is a shopping day for Don and me because the kids are heading to Osaka for the Sumo Festival. That should be interesting!
Jan and Don Travel the World 