JAPAN Day 7

October 27 - Another One

Words: Sebastian + Images: Araceli

The morning served as an opportunity to do some laundry, and for the eternal coffee quest. Our side quests in Japan were either finding coffee, finding a smoking area, or finding a trash can.
Weekenders is a tiny spot in a parking lot. An unusual location for a space where a great deal of care was put into the design. The seating capacity is a total of 1. Never mind, we were happy sipping our coffees on the parking lot's many low railings. Observing locals and tourists alike come and go is a pleasant distraction while we sip on our pour-overs.
Back to finish laundry duty and getting ready for our first lunch booking: Shiki Nakamura. A smaller counter Kaiseki restaurant, completely managed by the couple. The remaining available 3 seats were eventually filled by local regulars. We were asking a lot of questions, and the chef at times struggled to find English translations. They all chipped in to help. We became a quiet and discreet curiosity. By the end of the meal, we were qualified as elegant. What higher praise can you get?
The restaurant's highlights were the citrus, all grown by the chef's mother. The mushroom tempura, crispy, meaty and soft. Their dashi and pumpkin pudding also deserve praise. Gingko nuts, fried, are quickly becoming the season's favorite surprise. During the meal, we learned a wonderful anecdote. Traditionally, to serve soup or broth dishes, black lacquerware was used. Lids are closed and sprayed with water. The undisturbed droplets indicated to the guest that the dish wasn't tampered with. A refined way of saying I'm not trying to kill you.
The Chawanmushi tested Araceli's limits for a third time. However, the worst was yet to come.

After lunch, coffee time. Kurasu Ebisugawa is the spot we chose. The coffee shop is small, compact, with a large island serving as barista station, cashier station, service station, merchandise display and seating counter. The new flower dripper caught our attention. We should have gotten one according to our friend David...
The afternoon was for walks and store hopping again. Arts & Science by the river, Naito Shoten for brushes. As we were arriving at the latter, the sky darkened, and a few droplets started to fall.
Leaving the store on our left, Araceli noticed a rice cracker shop, quite old but well-maintained by the looks of it. As we looked at what would satisfy our afternoon craving, the weather took a turn for the worse. All of a sudden, the sky burst open and heavy hail mixed with fat drops crashed down. The store was right on the corner facing one of Kyoto's many bridges crossing into Gion.
People were scrambling, running from the bridge to safety, under tiny umbrellas. It got so bad that the owner of the store closed the shutters, trapping us inside for a good 20 minutes. Fortunately we had snacks.

Once we saw a gap in the downpour, we darted towards the covered street where our next cluster of stores were. Beams , again. Beams is a universe, there are multiple sub-brands, collabs, and collections... It's hard to grasp what they really do, but they do it all well.
The hotel's concierge recommended a good Ramen spot, we proceeded to check if many people were in line. We were 5th in line. As the queue was getting long, the kind attendant asked us to come back after 20 min. We obliged and went for a quick break at the hotel, right around the corner. Back in line, we had the time to look at the menu. They specialize in fish stock dashi, using ultra fine katsuobushi and blending it with white or black soy sauce. Toppings are mostly pork, egg and seaweed. The pear juice and ginger ale are great fresh sides.
A great first full day.