Kyoto Kamo River Hanami Picnic – 2012

Kyoto Kamo River Hanami Picnic - 2012 京都鴨川お花見ピクニック

Greetings From Kyoto

Kyoto photographer Kosuke Okuda and I teamed up to do an article for the Russian travel magazine Afisha Mir (Афиша-Мир). I just got a PDF of the article — hot off the server!

In the article I introduced the long history of Aritsugu which was founded in 1560. Aritsugu is one of the most famous makers of traditional Japanese knives and they are found in good kitchens all over Japan. We focused on the special eel bone cutting ‘honegiri’ knife that is used for the traditional Kyoto summer delicacy of ‘hamo’ pike eel. The knife is over 40 cm long, weighs more that 500 gm and costs more than $1,000 USD!

I wrote it, but I can’t read it!!

Kyoto photographer Kosuke Okuda and I teamed up to do an article for the Russian travel magazine Afisha Mir (Афиша-Мир). I just got a PDF of the article — hot off the server!

In the article I introduced the long history of Aritsugu which was founded in 1560. Aritsugu is one of the most famous makers of traditional Japanese knives and they are found in good kitchens all over Japan. We focused on the special eel bone cutting ‘honegiri’ knife that is used for the traditional Kyoto summer delicacy of ‘hamo’ pike eel. The knife is over 40 cm long, weighs more that 500 gm and costs more than $1,000 USD!

I wrote it, but I can’t read it!!

Kyoto photographer Kosuke Okuda and I teamed up to do an article for the Russian travel magazine Afisha Mir (Афиша-Мир). I just got a PDF of the article — hot off the server!

In the article I introduced the long history of Aritsugu which was founded in 1560. Aritsugu is one of the most famous makers of traditional Japanese knives and they are found in good kitchens all over Japan. We focused on the special eel bone cutting ‘honegiri’ knife that is used for the traditional Kyoto summer delicacy of ‘hamo’ pike eel. The knife is over 40 cm long, weighs more that 500 gm and costs more than $1,000 USD!

I wrote it, but I can’t read it!!

Kyoto photographer Kosuke Okuda and I teamed up to do an article for the Russian travel magazine Afisha Mir (Афиша-Мир). I just got a PDF of the article — hot off the server!

In the article I introduced the long history of Aritsugu which was founded in 1560. Aritsugu is one of the most famous makers of traditional Japanese knives and they are found in good kitchens all over Japan. We focused on the special eel bone cutting ‘honegiri’ knife that is used for the traditional Kyoto summer delicacy of ‘hamo’ pike eel. The knife is over 40 cm long, weighs more that 500 gm and costs more than $1,000 USD!

I wrote it, but I can’t read it!!

Hanami, or ‘flower viewing’ is a delightful tradition that all Japanese enjoy when the cherry trees blossom in the spring. People picnic and drink with friends under the blooming cherry trees in parks. In Kyoto, the banks of the Kamo River are a very popular place to enjoy the cherry blossoms. Kyoto-based photographer friend, Miao Miao and I had a riverside picnic today. It was a pretty chilly day and as we set out our lunch, we noticed a few snowflakes fall! This spring has been cold and the cherry trees were still a few days for full blossom, but I thought it best to go today as the last few days have brought heavy rains and very strong winds – either of which will rob us of our time to enjoy the best few days of the spring.

We had a picnic of sashimi, sushi and okowa with a dessert of wagashi.

Kyoto Kamo River Hanami Picnic - 2012 京都鴨川お花見ピクニック

Kyoto Kamo River Hanami Picnic - 2012 京都鴨川お花見ピクニック
Miao Miao and Wagashi

Kyoto Kamo River Hanami Picnic - 2012 京都鴨川お花見ピクニック

Kyoto Kamo River Hanami Picnic - 2012 京都鴨川お花見ピクニック
Wagashi Japanese Confection – The flowers are salted cherry blossoms.
Kyoto Kamo River Hanami Picnic - 2012 京都鴨川お花見ピクニック
Hanami Picnic Lunch

Kyoto Kamo River Hanami Picnic - 2012 京都鴨川お花見ピクニック Kyoto Kamo River Hanami Picnic - 2012 京都鴨川お花見ピクニック Kyoto Kamo River Hanami Picnic - 2012 京都鴨川お花見ピクニック Kyoto Kamo River Hanami Picnic - 2012 京都鴨川お花見ピクニック Kyoto Kamo River Hanami Picnic - 2012 京都鴨川お花見ピクニック

Kyoto Kamo River Hanami Picnic - 2012 京都鴨川お花見ピクニック
Yukiyanagi, lit ‘Snow Willow’