The Taxi Gods and The Shirobi Welcome Cat

Honenin Temple

Sake Pitcher

In the Gallery

Noodles for Lunch at Omen with Robert Yellin

Shibori Welcome Cat

Fois Gras Pudding with Truffle

Tenderest Beef Ever

A rainy night in Kyoto

It was raining in Kyoto, but it didn’t make any difference. We decided to go to Robert Yellin’s Gallery. I also wanted to go to a restaurant for noodles called: Omen. Before we left the hotel we had them write in Kanji the address where we wanted to go. We could then show that to the taxi drivers none of whom speak English. After a ride out of the center of the city we were dropped off in front of a classic Japanese building and garden. This was not our destination, only a landmark for the taxi driver. We then had a map of how to proceed from that point to the gallery. It was pouring rain. So we trouped in the rain down the street, across a bridge, down a few more streets, pass a parking lot, up some stairs. We eventually found the gallery. I realized I didn’t bring my iphone, so I used Robert’s to take these pictures, he mailed them to me, but the resolution was poor. You get the idea however.

Robert Yellin is an expert in Japanese Ceramics and an interesting man to talk to. We spent quite a lot of time (and money) in his gallery. Although we appreciate decorative arts, we really like functional ceramics from which we can eat and drink. When it was time to leave, I mentioned that I wanted to go for noodles at Omen. Robert said great, it is a 5 minute walk in the rain from his gallery. I had no idea it was near, I expected it to be back in Central Kyoto. This was a very authentic Japanese Udon restaurant. You are served a bowl of delicious broth, a bowl of hot (or cold Udon) and a platter of very fresh vegetables.  Add them all together sprinkle with sesame seeds and you have the perfect lunch for a rainy day.

Robert suggested before we taxi back home, that we walk in the rain to a nearby Temple: Honenin. It is like a boutique Temple. It is very small but gorgeous the rain actually enhanced the experience. We were practically the only visitors.  The highlight of the Temple is the beautiful gate that as you approach it frames the temple complex and the view of the forest. All throughout Japan you are constantly aware of how architecture is used to frame views. This one was superb.

We returned to our hotel and went back out in the rain. We visited an incense shop to explore for our friend Michael the Incense use by the Royal Family. This turned out to be a bit of fools’ errand because of the difficulty in communicating. We did however sniff around and decided it was best to abandon this quest.

We have been in Kyoto long enough now to have a general sense of direction and understanding of the major streets. Taxi drivers have very sophisticated GPS and most have knowledge of the city. If they can’t find something as a last resort they call someone for sort a sort of live Google Maps. We were trying to find a museum. The Taxi driver, GPS’d, he called someone, he drover around in circles. We were getting ready to abandon ship. He gets out in the rain, he relooks at our map, he finally pulls over and says there it is. We get out in the rain. We go up to the museum. The museum is closed for the day. The vacation gods were on strike.

The rain had subsided and we decided to walk to a store that specializes in Shibori, a style of dying textiles that we like. Back into a cab to return us to our hotel. We hand the cab driver our hotel card, on one side is the name of the hotel in Japanese and the hotel phone number. (The phone number is critical because the Taxi GPS can accept a phone number and map a route to the location). On the other side of the hotel card is a map in Japanese of the hotel. Our taxi driver can not find our hotel. I by now know where we are going, this dude doesn’t. After driving all around he finally gets us near to our hotel. I indicate this location is perfect we get out and walk that last half block. We looked forward to cocktail hour!

We left our hotel walking in the rain going to a Kaiseki dinner in the Gion. The dinner was at Misogui-gawa in the Gion. The Gion is the old Geisha area of Kyoto. There are still Giesha’s here. We were shown to a private room in an old tea house. This was like stepping back into a movie from 100 years ago. Our small room was isolated by sliding shoji screens. We had two Kimono clad servers. The unique thing about this dinner was it was all haute French. There was NOTHING Japanese about it other than the setting and the concept of Kaiseki (multiple small courses). This could have been a tasting menu at a 3 star restaurant in Paris. Skipping to just one course, Cathy and I both felt that the Beef which was from Hokkaido in Northern Japan, was absolutely the most tender beef we have ever had. Not only did we eat it with a chop stick, you could cut it with a chopstick. We matched the dinner with a 2009 Pinot Noir from Bourgogne. After the dinner we staggered back to hotel oblivious to the rain. The streets were crowded with Kyoto youth enjoying their Friday night as they went from sake bar to sake bar.