alone.in.kyoto

Instead of the usual ramblings, this post, I leave you with images :)

Kinkakuji

Kinkakuji garden

Kinkakuji

Tea and yokan at Ryokan Uemura

My room at Ryokan Umeda

Ishibei-koji

Night-time kouyou at Kiomizu-dera

Kiyomizu-dera

Ginkakuji

Tetsugaku no michi

Tetsugaku no michi

philosopher cats at Tetsugaku no mich

cat contraption "Japan is taking a rest." - Tetsugaku no michi

Kouyou at Honenin Temple

Heian Shrine

Garden at Heian Shrine

Living my obsession - reenacting my favourite scene from my most beloved film of all time :) (There was a traditional wedding taking place AND It was chilly and overcast to boot ~ The setting could not have been more perfect! )

Garden at Heian Shrine

Garden at Heian Shrine

Wildlife at Heian Shrine

Streets of Gion

食べ物

Well, I haven't posted in a while, so I thought I'd take the time to add another post about food and beverage. I've been trying a lot of new things. Most of which I love. Drink-wise, shochu, matcha, matcha latte, and ice coffee (milky, sweet coffee that comes in a carton) are among some of my new discoveries. I like to drink shochu with tea - so delicious.

Origami coffee maker

Although I'm not much of a coffee drinker, I do appreciate the occasional cup of joe when my nerves can handle it. I found the most adorable single-cup coffee making contraption - if you will - at the local supermarket. Its an origami coffee filter/holder complete with the perfect amount of coffee pre-packed inside the filter. You simply unfold the origami holder, place it on your cup, and poor some boiling water. Genius! I think I will take a few of these along with me during my Christmas/New Year excursion.

A couple weeks ago I mentioned the delicious wagashi I've been eating since I've begun studying tea ceremony. Here are a few from this week's Sado lesson. From left to right there are dorayaki, a sweet breakfast food made of what seems much like a sandwich made from small pancakes and an (red bean paste); maple yokan, a think sweet jelly often made from either red or white kidney beans; and higashi, dried sweets. I absolutely love everything matcha and red bean related really. Manju is thus far my favourite, although we didn't have any this week.  Today my sensei made zenzai, (善哉) which is a delicious combination of fresh mochi served in a bowl with sweet red beans - kind of like a sweet soup. It is usually served during holidays and special events. Delicious.

Zenzai

Today's wagashi

Manju

Since I left Canada, my diet has changed a bit, but nothing drastic. I already ate lots of fish rice and tofu back home so this has remained a major part of my regular diet. I have, however been cooking a wider variety of meals and have been doing some Japanese-style cooking since local ingredients are much cheaper than imported goods common back home. A few additions that have become the norm for me during my stay thus far include soba and udon noodles to which I usually add veggies and tofu. Fried tofu is especially delicious with any kind of noodle soup. I've also been simmering a lot of kabocha and eggplant since they're currently in season.

I've also recently discovered a delicious local bakery with locations in both Shingu and Kumano that makes delicious Karipan (curry buns). They're just as the name describes. Straight-up mild indian style curried vegetable filling packed inside a deep fried crispy bun. Absolutely delicious. I will have to strictly monitor my intake of these precious delights.

Something I noticed recently is that in-season produce seems to effect my buying habbits alot more here than it did in Canada. It seems back home we usually had everything for the most part available all year round (which now makes me somewhat suspicious). Whereas here the selection is more limited and subject to whichever types of produce are being harvested at the moment. Perhaps its a shipping issue, or perhaps its simply because I'm in the country side. We will see about this when I head to Tokyo in March.

Seseame tofu from Koyasan

I was super excited the other day when my friend/coworker pointed out seseame flavoured tofu from Koyasan at the supermarket in Shingu. My with my love for tofu - I had to try some. It was an aquired taste... I'm sure after a few more tries I will probably start to crave it. I was expecting it to be a bit sweet but I think its actually leans much further toward the extreamly healthy side. It was literally tofu with seseame. Pretty sure it contained no sugar or other like additives. You might be wondering how to go about eating something like this. I was told to just spoon it out of the package, much like pudding, so that's what I did. I think it would definitely make a good breakfast counterpart. Perhaps a yogurt alternative. I wouldn't recommend it for those who are not regular tofu eaters :)

But wait there's more. There's one last delicious snack I need to mention here. Onigiri Senbei! The have become my all-time favourite junk-food/snack. What they are - rise crackers seasoned with shoyu (Japanese soy sauce) and sugar! They are delightfully tastey!

Taiji Whale Festival

Today was Taiji's Whale festival. Taiji is a small fishing village in southern Honshu where whale has been traditionally been and continues to be hunted and eaten. I went with my coworkers and a few ALTs from Mie. It was an interesting day to say the least. As a large posse of gaijin, we were nearly mistaken for Sea Shepherds as we approached the festival. In fact, it almost seemed as though we would be asked to leave the festival before we even got there, had it not been for a local friend of ours who kindly explained that we were indeed local English teachers coming to enjoy and experience the festival, rather then disrupt and cause trouble. After being ID'ed (there were 15 of us so this took some time), we were permitted to enter the festival. Once they realized we weren't Sea Shepherds, the police where actually quite kind about the whole situation and invited us to proceed. I can understand we looked suspicious as a large group of white folk in a small fishing village that has been the common subject of harsh cultural criticism and protest for years. (In fact, there were Sea Shepherds up on a mountain creeping down on those enjoying the festival - very Big Brother-like. I wonder if we will be making an appearance in The Cove 2...).

Free bowls of whale ramen were served and being the ramen lover that I am, I of course had to try some, despite my lack of taste for red meat. While the broth and noodles where quite delicious, the meat itself was nothing special. It tasted quite similar to beef only a wee bit more tough with a touch of sea-like flavour.  All in all, not something I would go out of my way to have again.


After the festival the lot of us checked out the local whale museum where I fell in love with a whale puppet I now wish I would have brought home with me... (sigh). The museum was well worth while and covered subjects on the evolution and biology of whales as well as the history of whaling practices around the world (weapons and boats included - very fascinating). Although I couldn't understand much of the written information about the history and practices of whales and whaling, I was able to grasp quite a bit of insight through imagery as the museum was full of specimens, paintings, photos, antiques, and replicas. In all honesty after eating whale, then watching their friends do a show at the museum, followed by a gander at whale hunting gear and romanticized paintings of whale hunting, the whole process does seem quite violent and I personally have some mixed feelings on the matter. To each their own I suppose...

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Last Sunday was the KICC Halloween party, so today us teachers have an extra day off this week. The party had a great turnout and I was happy to see many of my students in their adorable costumes. It was also a great way to meet some new people!

I thought I'd take advantage of the time off to relax and enjoy the day. This morning I woke up fairly early for my Sado class at 10am. Today I learned practiced various methods of folding, and how to purify the utensils before and after serving. My sensei has lent me some of her things to practice with. My aim is to practice everynight before bed! We'll see if I can stay true to my word.

I picked up some adorable white flowers at the local supermarket this morning. The marigolds I had used form my ikbana arrangements on Saturdy have arlready died but my branche are still staying lovely so I had to find a replacement for the flowers ASAP. Perhaps the theme is a little bit too winter-like for this time of year (especially in southern Japan). But, being a winter lover myself, I think it suits me just fine. There was no name on the flower packaging but I later realized that I had bought snow ball chrysanthemums. Turns out they are commonly used at funerals and are recognized as a symbol of grief...  oooops.