Michael

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November 13, 2008 at 4:12 pm in reply to: Where to Purchase Basic Ingredients for Japanese Cooking in Kyoto #4543

Michael
Participant

Welcome to Kyoto and thanks for your question! Here is a start.

So far, we have recommendations for shoyu (soy sauce), oil, vinegar and miso.

Cooking Advice from Miwa (Paku on KyotoFoodie): For cooking the moderately priced oils on the supermarket shelves is fine. But oil, shoyu, and vinegar for use in sauces, dressings, and directly on fish, etc, the premium (EXPENSIVE) stuff is worth the extra cost. A little goes a long way and you will definitely notice the difference.

Kyoto Shoyu (Soy Sauce) Shinise: Sawai Shoyu Honten (澤井醤油本店)

Sawai Shoyu Honten is located just a few blocks west of the Imperial Palace (Kyoto Gosho) on Nakachoja-machi Street, Sawai Shoyu Honten is a wonderful shinise and the family owner have been very friendly to me when I have been there and when I asked a lot of questions they just lead in back to the production area and gave me a look around. The shoyu rules!

circa 1995 website: http://www.sawai-shoyu.com/ (no English)

tel: 075-441-2204 (assume no English spoken)

京都市上京区中長者町通新町西入ル

Kyoto Oil Shinise: Yamanaka Aburaten

Yamanaka Aburaten is a real legend and sells very high quality oils for both cooking and eating as well as traditional Japanese tsubaki (camellia) oil for hair and skin. I understand that they have some modern skincare type products now too. The main store (honten) is a store and museum now. The building is a wonderful old Kyoto machiya (townhouse) and is located in the Nishijin area on Shimodachi-uri Street to the west of Chie Koin Street. This is the old weaving district of Kyoto.

Yamanaka Aburaten has an extensive variety of sesame oils that are probably just the best in the world. They make olive oil as well now. I have not tried it but I have heard good things about it.

Tsubaki oil is great stuff for your hair, you might want to give it a try. If you have seen Japanese period dramas on television, you probably noticed the distinctive hair styles, that is tsubaki oil.

http://www.yoil.co.jp/ (no English)

075-841-8537

京都市上京区下立売通智恵光院西入下丸屋町508

Kyoto Vinegar Shinise: Chidori Su (千鳥酢)

Chidori-su is the brand name of the popular vinegar made by Murayama Zosu (村山造酢). Chidori-su brand vinegar is widely available in Kyoto and many major stores around Japan.

Located on Sanjo Street on the east side of the Kamo River about half way between Kawabata Street and Higashi-oji Street. It is a little hard to miss as the entire neighborhood smells of vinegar! We can find no website for Chidori-su. This is a big company now and we are not sure if vinegar is sold retail at the Sanjo ‘Honsha’ location. I think I have seen it for sale at neighborhood shops and surely the Kyoto department store food courts would have it. It should be available in a lot of super markets and liquor stores as well.

Japan’s most famous living novelist, Haruki Murakami is wild about Chidori-su. You can’t beat that now can you?

Kyoto Miso Shinise: Honda Miso Honten (本田味噌本店)

Honda Miso Honten is a shinise and probably Kyoto’s best known miso maker. This is the place to buy fine miso. The honten (main store), like most honten in Kyoto is in a beautiful and historic traditional Kyoto-style machiya (townhouse). Honda Miso products are also available other places, you could try the three departments store food courts, but if want the old Kyoto experience, you will want to visit the honten.

Honda Miso Honten is located west of Kyoto Gosho (Imperial Palace) on Muromachi Street just north of Ichijo Street.

http://www.honda-miso.co.jp/ (no English)

075-441-1131

京都市上京区室町通一条558

closed on Sunday

Recipes (Japanese language, but beautiful photos)

http://www.honda-miso.co.jp/7/recipe.html

Products

http://www.honda-miso.co.jp/goods/category.html

November 10, 2008 at 8:19 am in reply to: Vegetarian/Vegan and Visiting Japan at New Year’s #4541

Michael
Participant

Hello Qphelia,

Visiting Japan at New Year’s, Oshogatsu (お正月)

Generally I would NOT recommend visiting Japan during the New Year’s celebration for several reasons

– New Year’s in Japan is family time, like Christmas in Western countries.

– Few shops, stores, restaurants will be open from January 1-4.

– Hotel and ryokan will be very difficult to book.

Oshogatsu is a wonderful time in Japan, here is how you might be able to experience it:

– Book an EXPENSIVE ryokan, probably 6-12 months in advance would be required. Some (wealthy) families book the same ryokan every year for decades. At an upscale ryokan you will be very well taken well care of with breakfast and dinner included. (In Kyoto plan on about $1000 per day for two people at a nice ryokan at New Year’s.)

– If you can stay with friends or family in Japan, you will surely have a great time.

Vegetarian Food in Japan

Vegetarian food in Japan is a rarity. Shojin ryori (精進料理), or ‘temple food’ is your best bet. In Kyoto there are a number of restaurants that offer shojin ryori, but many use fish based dashi (出汁), soup stock, so this won’t work for vegans. Shojin ryori is fairly expensive and more restaurant are open from 11am to 4pm. So, dinner is not available.

Shojin ryori article in Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_cuisine

Happy Cow’s Vegetarian Guide for Kyoto

http://www.happycow.net/asia/japan/kyoto/index.html

Vegan Food in Japan

Vegan Food is virtually impossible to get in restaurants in Japan. If you are vegan, and you really want to visit Japan, I think that you need to stay somewhere that has an attached kitchen so that you can cook your own food.

In Kyoto, there is Cafe Proverbs [15:17] (formerly Dining Bar Peace and before that Cafe Peace) located in the Hyakuman-ben neighborhood of Demachiyanagi and Kyoto University.

Dining Bar Peace – 100% Vegan in Kyoto (Our review of what is now Cafe Proverbs [15:17])

http://kyotofoodie.com/dining-bar-peace-100-vegan-in-kyoto/

Cafe Proverbs [15:17] homepage

http://www.proverbs1517.com/

November 3, 2008 at 1:50 pm in reply to: Ramen: Great Ramen Shops in Kyoto #4539

Michael
Participant

Places to ‘Ramen’ in Central Kyoto

Ippudo Nishiki-koji Store (一風堂錦小路店)

— excellent, excellent ramen —

Ippudo came to Kyoto about five years ago from Hakata, Kyoto and has been a big hit. Ippudo is located on the north side of Daimaru Department Store near the Shijo-Karasuma intersection in central Kyoto. It is one block south of Nishiki Market (shopping arcade).

http://www.ippudo.com/shop/26kyoto.html

Gogyo, Kyoto (五行京都)

— great Kyushu ramen in historic Kyoto machiya house —

New and elegant ramen restaurant in Kyoto. Gogyo offers other ‘ippin’ dishes lots of drinks.

http://ramendining-gogyo.com/shop_kyoto/index.html

[Now Closed, Nov. 2011] Takaraya Ponto-cho Store (宝屋先斗町店)

— original, elegant ‘Kyoto’ ramen–

Takaraya is located near Sanjo Bridge in Ponto-cho neighborhood. No ramen lover would want to miss Takaraya’s ‘Sumashi Ramen’ while they are in town. If you can handle underdone eggs, do try their ‘Demachi-no-Tamago-kake Gohan’.

KyotoFoodie review: http://kyotofoodie.com/takaraya-ramen/

Ponto-cho Store: http://www.takaraya.info/shops/pontocho.html

JR Kyoto Station Store: http://www.takaraya.info/shops/kyotosb.html (＊this location does NOT offer Sumashi Ramen)

Kyoto Ramen Koji (Little Ramen Street) – Kyoto Station

— seven of the best regional ramen flavors in Kyoto —

Located on the 10th floor of the Kyoto Station Building, this is a great place to take your pick from 7 of Japan’s regional tastes of ramen.

Japanese language site only: photos and graphics give you the idea)
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