Kyoto Part 2 – Shopping and Eating

Genevieve: After leaving Kiyomizu, Kenji and Walter went back to the ryokan for an afternoon nap and I met my mom and her friend, Tara, for a tour of Nishiki Market.  Nishiki is amazing, and a must-see for anyone interested in Japanese food. The narrow shopping arcade is 400 meters in length, with just over 100 vendors; although it seemed to be endless, as we were unable to make it through to the end in the 2 hrs we spent there. Among other items, I bought some soft warm sembei (Japanese rice crackers) topped with goma (sesame), shishimi (chili pepper), umeshiso (plum with shiso leaf), and ao nori (seaweed powder).

We sampled tons of Kyoto tsukemono (pickles) which no kidding, were all delicious! While I was inside one of the pickle stores, a famous Japanese actress came in which caused a big commotion. I’d never heard of her though–apparently she’s in a ton of commercials.

We also saw beautiful matsutake mushrooms (see pic of my mom with mushrooms), Japanese sweets (see pic of Okashi (Japanese sweets)Tons of tsukemono (see pic of Pickle man and pickles) and tons of gorgeous fresh vegetables (like wasabi) and all sorts of fish I didn’t recognize. It really made me wish I had a kitchen and all of my cooking supplies back home.  My mom was able to take a few cooking classes though and was therefore able to use many of the ingredients we saw in Nishiki.

On Sunday we went to Toji to the Garakuta-ichi antique flea market that happens there on the first Sunday of each month. However, the markets held on the 21st of the month at Toji and the the 25th at Kitano-tenmangu Shrine are much more expansive (not only do they sell antiques but they sell new items as well). When I lived in Kyoto yrs ago, I would always go the market on the 25th–that’s where I found many vintage kimonos (many for $5 or less) and antique dishes.

This trip to the market proved to be less exciting, but was still very interesting. We went with my mom who had never been and therefore spent hrs puttering around (as one should) searching for treasures. Here are some pics:

See more pics  Chopstick rests,  The Toji antique market, Dog on roof at Toji, Mom browsing at Toji

All in all, it was a really fun trip albeit a bit exhausting. One of the highlights was Walter’s and my first date out without Kenji. My mom came over and watched Kenji at the ryokan, while we went to this restaurant called A Womb. The food was as delicious as it was beautiful. It was kaiseki ryori at its best with an inventive and creative twist. The space was pretty cool too (made to invoke the feelings of being in a womb which the owner assumed must be a really good experience). We were the only patrons, which normally I don’t really like, but it actually made the experience more special. I wish I’d brought my camera so I could share some pics of the food and space.