Kyoto: Ryokan and Kaiseki

As you may (or may not) know, Matt and I usually consult a Frommer’s guide when planning trips to foreign destinations. I’ve looked at lots of different guide series, starting with Let’s Go in my backpacking days, but Frommer’s is the one that really seems to be on par with what we want to do, see and experience in our travels. They are consistent and dependable, and I like that they are frank without being disparaging (though they did instill a healthy fear of what we would encounter in China). And I really enjoy the front section of “Best of” lists. When we were planning our trip to Kyoto (“If you go to only one place in all of Japan, Kyoto should be it”), Frommer’s highly recommended staying in a ryokan and eating at least one kaiseki meal.

Ryokans are traditional Japanese inns, much like bed and breakfasts in the United States or pensions in Europe. The rooms have traditional tatami mat floors and shoji doors and guests sleep on futons on the floor. There are public baths, but many rooms often have private bathrooms and guests are also given slippers and yukata (cotton robes) to wear in their rooms and common areas of the inn. When we arrived at our ryokan, a maid showed us to our room and served us green tea and a Japanese sweet at a low table as we sat on the tatami mats. It was very cool to stay in the traditional inns, especially when our one room overlooked a Japanese garden and waterfall, but sleeping on the futons was a little hard on the back and shoulders (and my hip bones). On our last evening, I found additional futons in the closet and stacked our beds princess and the pea style so we had some extra padding.

Another benefit of the ryokan is that a traditional kaiseki meal is often included in the stay in addition to Japanese breakfast (though I found raw fish first thing in the morning is just about as appetizing as it sounds). Kaiseki is Japanese cuisine at its finest. It consists of an elaborate spread of dishes that are served on plates of different shapes and sizes that complement the textures and colors of food. The food is prepared many different ways –raw, steamed, grilled, broiled – and accompanied by soups and rice. The plates and garnishes, as well as the type of food served, create a seasonal theme making kaiseki quite literally a culinary art. The table setting was beautiful – almost too pretty to touch – and also somewhat confusing because we weren’t sure where to begin. Matt and I agreed that the intricate display and traditional atmosphere were the best part of the meal because I think a lot of the food didn’t necessarily appeal to our Western palates.

This was our table after the meal - one of my favorite dishes was a broiled salmon with a fresh green herb paste. My least favorite was the gelatinous bowl with a raw baby octopus.

Matt getting ready to begin the feast. As you can see from the top photograph, we accented our meal with sake and the old standby, Coca Cola.

Our room at the Ryokan Nishiyama. The shoji screens opened onto a view of the central garden and waterfall, which gave a nice relaxing sound to our room.