To the Sagawa Museum and on to Tempura

Exterior of the Sagawa Museum

Gossamer Textiles Illuminated by light thru the water

Raku Displays

Noodles with fish, Yum!

Sashimi Appetiser 

Frying Tempura

Shrimp Tempura

Scallop Tempura 

Rice with broth and Vegetable Tempura

Dessert

Garden at the Yoshikawa Restaurant

We are happy!

Robert Yellin had suggested that we visit the Sagawa Museum. He said they have an incredible display of Raku. The museum is not located in Kyoto but in Moriyama in another prefecture. We decided to go. Getting there was fun for we had to negotiate the JR Train system and figure out the correct train to get us there.

The museum is very modern and is surrounded by water. There are several different aspects to the museum but we were only interested in going to the Raku Exhibit. The museum is below ground level under the pool, light flows into the museum thru the water. Every aspect has been thought through. This is Japanese elegance distilled to its essence. Very few people were in the galleries. We essentially had the museum to ourselves. Actually there are very few Raku pots on display, maybe 20. They are lit perfectly in very dim light. It forces you to really concentrate on the objects. In addition there are beautiful textiles that are displayed. Perhaps they are showing no more than 10 or 15. By just highlighting a few items in a perfect setting the impact is breathtaking. We loved the experience and highly recommend the Raku Museum. Thanks Robert, or we never would have ventured to this museum. After lunch at the museum (Noodles with whole fish, it was great), we trained back to Kyoto and returned yet again to the Some Museum only to discover it is closed between shows. It was worth the taxi ride there, for Cathy spotted a great clothing store nearby.

We decided to have Tempura again. After our very expensive experience in Tokyo, I am happy to report we had a more satisfying Tempura Dinner in Kyoto. Yoshikawa Tempura Inn is a small ryokan hotel. It looks hundreds of years old, but since it is made of wood, I am sure it isn’t. It is charming, with old lanterns, sliding doors, a great koi pond, and fantastic tempura. They only seat 10 guests, and course after course is made in front of you. The chef speaks almost no English, so you can’t really chat with him. I consider it a victory if I can figure out the correct sauce to use. Some Tempura gets dipped in salt, others in lemon juice, others in a sauce. It was all great. For dessert they have you move from the Tempura Room to a separate room in the Inn. The night was cool and it was perfect being inside of this old building.