Good Food and Views are Worth the Journey
I balked when a friend suggested that we have pizza in Kyoto. The thought of giving up one precious Kyoto experience for an Italian street food item elicited a reluctant agreement from me. But I had faith that my foodie friend knew better. And so it was - the best pizza I’ve ever had.
En Boca, with a branch each in Kyoto and Tokyo, is a gourmet pizzeria that uses the finest seasonal ingredients. Besides the traditional Italian choices (e.g. quattro formaggio), there are Japanese...
It’s possible to get an overload of temples in Kyoto. And with beautiful sites easily accessible, the imperial gardens of Shugakuin and Katsura Villa may be overlooked by non-Japanese tourists. Certainly if you have a shortage of time, you may not want to allocate two hours to the imperial sites. However, I certainly think they are worth a visit - the landscaping is remarkable. These were residences after all, of Japan’s former royal families.
Between the two, Shugakuin is...
I was fooled. I ordered what I thought was a minced pork ramen at Mamezen and found out even the “meat” was made of soy. This vegetarian ramen restaurant makes its noodles from soy, its broth from soy milk and of course, as it turns out, its garnishing from soy and other vegetables. Taste-wise, I don’t think you’d realize that the meal was soy based other than from the milky appearance of the soup. My husband, a major carnivore, and I were both amazed by the richness of the broth....
Here are some photos from my walk in Kanazawa’s Kenroku-en, known as one of Japan’s three great gardens. I was there in December when there was a light dusting of snow on the ground. It must also be beautiful now in May with the flowers in bloom.
This itinerary accompanies the narrative in the blog Kanazawa - Little Kyoto, Big Garden, Great Seafood. Read the blog for more detail.
Access: Kanazawa sits on the west coast of Central Honshu. The nearest airport is Komatsu - around 40 minutes drive from the town centre or one hour by airport bus. If you’ve flown into Tokyo, however, do try the bullet train to Kanazawa, which takes around two and a half hours. As with other cities in Japan, Kanazawa is well connected...