#japantravel Archives - Page 2 of 4 - Pechluck's Food Adventures

Japan Travel: Kyoto Tofu

April 5, 2016 by Pechluck 11 Comments

For Travel Tuesday in Japan this time, I want to take a break from the sightseeing and let’s talk about some Kyoto food! As I mentioned, Kyoto served as the capital for Japan for about 1000 years, so has a culinary lineage that includes royalty and imperial court, as well as the base for literally thousands of temples and shrines in the area. Famous kinds of foodie goals to seek out while in Kyoto include

Kaiseki, elaborate haute multi-course traditional Japanese dinners
Shojin Ryori, Japanese Buddhist vegetarian cuisine
Tofu
Sake

I have already shared with you how I enjoyed a kaiseki dinner and breakfast when I stayed at a ryokan by Mount Fuji. You can see a great breakdown of what are the kinds of foods you would see in a kaiseki here at Japan Guide and Japan Talk.

And I showed you a Zen vegetarian shojin ryori lunch at Shigetsu restaurant at Tenryu-ji Temple at Arashiyama.

But, did you also know that the waters in Kyoto are reknown for how clear and pure its waters are, and some byproducts of utilizing that perfect water are Tofu and Sake? In fact, Tofu is considered a local specialty in Kyoto, might be considered the best in Japan, and is popular enough to be Tofu Ryori (“tofu cuisine”).

Tofu is everywhere – and it’s really tasty. I discovered I’m in love with yuba (tofu skin). In fact the common availability of Kyoto tofu is one of the reasons F found Kyoto to be his favorite destination of all the places we visited in Japan during our 2 week trip. If you are vegetarian, even vegan, you are going to get along well in Kyoto.

Yudofu

During our visits to Kyoto temples and shrines, we stopped at a restaurant just below stage at Kiyomizudera by Otawa Waterfall’s 3 streams for a late breakfast and fueling of Yudofu. Yudofu is a hot soybean curd- it was a bargain for 2 people at 800 yen I thought. You carefully remove a piece from the hot water with light flavoring, and then in your own individual bowl add condiments like green onion or sauce (you can see the sauce container is placed in part of the yudofu wooden bath). Simple perfection.

It’s hard to describe what it could be comparable to – the tofu is solid but soft, almost the texture of big dumplings in being solid yet soft, and absorbing the flavors in the bowl while offering its own clean freshness.
Yudofu - we stopped at a restaurant just below the famous stage at Kiyomizudera by Otawa Waterfall's 3 streams. Yudofu is a hot soybean curd- it was a bargain for 2 people at 800 yen I thought. You carefully remove a piece from the hot water with light flavoring, and then in your own individual bowl add condiments like green onion or sauce Yudofu - we stopped at a restaurant just below the famous stage at Kiyomizudera by Otawa Waterfall's 3 streams. Yudofu is a hot soybean curd- it was a bargain for 2 people at 800 yen I thought. You carefully remove a piece from the hot water with light flavoring, and then in your own individual bowl add condiments like green onion or sauce Yudofu - we stopped at a restaurant just below the famous stage at Kiyomizudera by Otawa Waterfall's 3 streams. Yudofu is a hot soybean curd- it was a bargain for 2 people at 800 yen I thought. You carefully remove a piece from the hot water with light flavoring, and then in your own individual bowl add condiments like green onion or sauce Yudofu - we stopped at a restaurant just below the famous stage at Kiyomizudera by Otawa Waterfall's 3 streams. Yudofu is a hot soybean curd- it was a bargain for 2 people at 800 yen I thought. You carefully remove a piece from the hot water with light flavoring, and then in your own individual bowl add condiments like green onion or sauce

Tofu with Beer

We went to a craft beer bar called Beer Komachi that along with their local Kyoto and Japanese brews and a few imports also offered an izakaya food menu that included vegetarian friendly options including tofu options of Tofu Pizza (which F ordered twice during our visit it was so good). I was taken aback how how great Yuba soy milk skin goes with beer, and it’s fresh creaminess was surprisingly reminiscent of burrata!
Beer Komachi offers izakaya style food highlighting Kyoto ingredients along with craft beers in Kyoto At Beer Komachi in Kyoto offering craft beer and craft food, Beer Komachi offers izakaya style food along with craft beers in Kyoto. The chef has a very small kitchen to work from of only a stove, deep fryer, oven, and toaster oven but puts out lots of options from the kitchen The Deep Fried Tofu Pizza at Beer Komachi, Kyoto, so good that Fred ordered a second one shortly after finishing the first order Kyoto's Yuba Soy Milk Skin - at Beer Komachi. I really liked this dish, and it goes really well with beer

Tofu Kaiseki at Tousuiro

There is one restaurant that specializes in Tofu Kaiseki in Kyoto called Tousuiro – it has two locations, and it turns out the one in Gion was essentially just a block away from our AirBnB. So I had F ask a colleague who can speak Japanese to call and make a reservation for us, ensuring that at least his dinner would really be completely vegetarian – my version could include seafood. Here’s a look at our experience to Tousuiro

Outside of Tousiro, a Tofu Kaiseki restaurant

We ordered local Kyoto sake to enjoy with our dinner.
Sake - first bottle we ordered at Tousuiro of a local sake Sake - second bottle we ordered at Tousuiro of a local sake

When we arrived, we removed our shoes and were seated at a chef’s bar that thankfully had sunken seating (Zashiki) so although we were on the floor I didn’t have to sit awkwardly in my dress and could stretch my legs in the sunken floor. Sitting at the bar meant we got to watch the chef prepare everything, though we didn’t really talk because I don’t think he spoke much English. Our only communications was to express with gestures how beautiful and delicious everything we had was.

Even looking back at these photos, I am a little teary eyed at how achingly exquisite this meal was. I didn’t want to be obnoxious with my camera so was trying to take them quickly and also eat at a good pace as I think we were among the last seating for the evening. But I hated destroying by eating the stunning art before me, even though I knew that was its purpose. Ha such mixed feelings…

First course

This is the “can have seafood” version I ate
Tousuiro, a Tofu Kaiseki restaurant. Tousuiro specializes in homemade tofu and offers a kaiseki dinner that can include seafood or can also be completely vegetarian. This is the can have seafood version of the first course Tousiro, a Tofu Kaiseki restaurant. Tousuiro specializes in homemade tofu and offers a kaiseki dinner that can include seafood or can also be completely vegetarian. This is the can have seafood version of the first course Tousuiro, a Tofu Kaiseki restaurant. Tousuiro specializes in homemade tofu and offers a kaiseki dinner that can include seafood or can also be completely vegetarian. This is the can have seafood version of the first course

This is the vegetarian version
Tousuiro, a Tofu Kaiseki restaurant. Tousuiro specializes in homemade tofu and offers a kaiseki dinner that can include seafood or can also be completely vegetarian. This is the can have vegetarian version of the first course

Second Course

Yudofu. We ate the same thing, but had different sauces to add to the tofu. The chef said we could get this refilled as many times as we wanted. We had him refill it once, but were afraid to do any more or we wouldn’t be able to eat the other courses though we didn’t know what was coming yet…
Tousuiro, a Tofu Kaiseki restaurant. Tousuiro specializes in homemade tofu and offers a kaiseki dinner that can include seafood or can also be completely vegetarian. The Yudofu here is sublime and supreme

Third Course

Soup- my version that can include seafood, and his that is completely vegetarian. I think his was better.
Tousuiro, a Tofu Kaiseki restaurant. Tousuiro specializes in homemade tofu and offers a kaiseki dinner that can include seafood or can also be completely vegetarian. This is the vegetarian version of the soup course

Fourth Course

I had been tortured by the scent of the chargrilled tofu for a while, and was so stoked when it finally arrived. His version didn’t have the shrimp on the plate but was otherwise the same. It was sooo good, one of my top two favorite dishes of the night with the smoky sweetness from the grill and miso sauce that has carmelized.
Tousuiro, a Tofu Kaiseki restaurant. Tousuiro specializes in homemade tofu and offers a kaiseki dinner that can include seafood or can also be completely vegetarian. This chargrilled tofu skewer was one of my favorite of the night with its smoky sweetness, the vegetarian version doesn't have the shrimp on the plate obviously

Fifth Course

This is the “can have seafood” version I ate
Tousiro, a Tofu Kaiseki restaurant. Tousuiro specializes in homemade tofu and offers a kaiseki dinner that can include seafood or can also be completely vegetarian. This is the can have seafood version of the fifth course

Sixth Course

I always love how gorgeous and elegant the bowls are and then the surprise when you open it to reveal what’s inside! This is the “can have seafood” version I ate
Tousiro, a Tofu Kaiseki restaurant. Tousuiro specializes in homemade tofu and offers a kaiseki dinner that can include seafood or can also be completely vegetarian. This is the can have seafood version of the sixth course

This is the vegetarian version
Tousiro, a Tofu Kaiseki restaurant. Tousuiro specializes in homemade tofu and offers a kaiseki dinner that can include seafood or can also be completely vegetarian. This is the vegetarian version of the sixth course

Seventh Course

I was super jealous of his vegetarian course with the yuba.
Tousiro, a Tofu Kaiseki restaurant. Tousuiro specializes in homemade tofu and offers a kaiseki dinner that can include seafood or can also be completely vegetarian. This is the vegetarian version of the 7th course

Eighth Course

Dessert!
Tousiro, a Tofu Kaiseki restaurant. Tousuiro specializes in homemade tofu and offers a kaiseki dinner that can include seafood or can also be completely vegetarian. This is the 8th course, dessert

If you think you don’t like tofu – I would suggest that perhaps you haven’t really tried high quality, fresh tofu yet. The difference between the tofu that I made faces at when I first started dating F and was trying to figure out which plastic packaged in water kind to get at Whole Foods and how now I mainly get my fresh tofu at Bui Tofu (best tofu in Portland I think) is vast – sort of like the difference between frozen microwavable burgers and the best burgers in town like at Toro Bravo or Little Bird (my current faves). It’s like American cheese vs real aged cheeses.

There are many preparations of tofu out there – some almost disguise it such as in Chinese MaPo Tofu or Korean SoonDuBu Jjigae with so much spice. What I really love about the Japanese treatments you see here is that they keep it simple and let you really taste the tofu’s clean flavors that can be creamy like with yuba, smokey and sweet like with the grilled skewers, silky yet firm like in yudofo, or solid enough to be a vehicle for toppings with tofu pizza. You just have to find what fits you.

I would go to Kyoto again in a heartbeat, and definitely seek out tofu again. Did any of these dishes intrigue you, would you try any of them? Did you know tofu was such a specialty in Kyoto?

Here’s a summary of my Japan Travel post series:

Guide to Planning a Trip: Research
Guide to Planning a Trip: Mapping
Hagoita Ichi Winter Festival at Sensoji Temple, Japan
Japanese Treats at Temples and Shrines
Winter Illuminations in Tokyo (Winter Season – November – February!)
Snow Monkeys in Hot Springs
Onsen by Mount Fuji covers Onsen 101 and how we loved our stay at Lake Kawaguchiko
Dining at a Ryokan a look at what a traditional dinner and breakfast might be during a ryokan stay
Visiting Cup Noodles Museum in Yokohama (just outside Tokyo)
Visiting Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum
Kyoto Temples and Shrines (walking tour starting in Higashimaya with stops especially at Kiyomizudera Temple, Kodaji Temple, Heian Shrine)
Kyoto Temples in Arashiyama
Kyoto Tofu
Kyoto Famous Sights of the Kinkakuji (The Golden Pavilion) and Fushimi Inari (Red Torii Gates)
Famous Signs of Osaka and eating Osaka Food specialities like okonomiyaki, takoyaki and kushikatsu
Visiting Himeji Castle, the famous white castle in Japan
Fun at Japanese Cafes and More including Maid Cafe, Cat Cafe; theme parks of J World and Namja Town, a geeky stop at Kanda Myojin, and Ghibli Museum
Japan Eating Checklist is my top 25 list of things to try to include as an eating experience when visiting Japan
New Year’s in Japan: Oji Fox Parade, and some photos of a Meiji Shrine visit on New Year’s Day

Filed Under: Food and Drink, Travel Tagged With: #japantravel, #pechandfredjapan2015, #traveltuesday, Beer Komachi, chargrilled tofu, Deep Fried Tofu Pizza, Guide to Kyoto, Japan, Japan travel, Kyoto, Kyoto Cuisine, Kyoto Dining, Kyoto Eats, Kyoto Food, Kyoto Tofu, Kyoto Tofu Ryori, Kyoto travel, skewered tofu, tofu, tofu cuisine, tofu kaiseki, tofu pizza, tofu ryori, tofu skewers with miso, tofu skin, tofu soup, tofu with beer, Tousuiro, Travel Guide to Japan, travel Japan, Travel Kyoto, Travel Tuesday, vegetarian Japan, vegetarian Kyoto, Visit Japan, Visit Kyoto, yuba, yudofu

Japan Travel: Kyoto Temples in Arashiyama

March 29, 2016 by Pechluck 5 Comments

Last week I walked through how we walked the 2 miles through some of the most famous temples and shrines in Southeast Kyoto. Today, I’m going to share another day that we walked through visiting temples in Kyoto, but this time in the Arashiyama area. You can spend a whole day in this area because there are plenty of sights, but we only spent a half day (I’ll go through the first half of this day, which was at the famous Fushimi Inari Shrine, in a future post). I feel like the Kyoto Temples in Arashiyama are a must see, even if they don’t have the same level of reknown. That is because unlike the famous temples, these in Arashiyama are much more introspective and don’t have the crowds. It feels like a more authentic visit to a temple that has beauty, history, as well as timeless non-specific spirituality, whatever your beliefs may be.

Arashiyama is farther out west from the city center, which means it will likely take about 30 minutes by transit. The main street is busy and touristy, centered by the the famous Togetsukyo Bridge, Tenryuji Temple, and the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove.

Tenryu-ji Temple

Tenryuji Temple is considered one of Kyoto’s five great Zen temples, and is a world heritage site. The curved gable roof of this wood and plaster Temple Living Quarters is one of the most commonly photographed of Tenryuji’s buildings and is a something of a symbol for the temple itself. The temple is also known for its garden that includes integration of water (both with real water with the koi and as represented by arranged white sand in wave pattterns), rock, sky and mountains.

Tenryuji Temple was built in 1339 but the temple buildings were repeatedly lost in fires and wars over the centuries, so most of the current halls date from the relatively recent Meiji Period (1868-1912). Unlike the temple buildings, Tenryuji’s garden survived the centuries in its original form. I don’t know how original the giant koi here are though…
Tenryuji Temple was built in 1339 but the temple buildings were repeatedly lost in fires and wars over the centuries, so most of the current halls date from the relatively recent Meiji Period (1868-1912). Unlike the temple buildings, Tenryuji's garden survived the centuries in its original form. I don't know how original the giant koi here are though... Tenryuji Temple as built in 1339 by the ruling shogun Ashikaga Takauji. Takauji dedicated the temple to Emperor Go-Daigo, who had just passed away. The two important historic figures used to be allies until Takauji turned against the emperor in a struggle for supremacy over Japan. By building the temple, Takauji intended to appease the former emperor's spirits. The Kairo (covered colonnade) at Tenryuji Temple, Kyoto

Also located at Tenryuji is a Zen Vegetarian restaurant called Shigetsu, where we enjoyed traditional Buddhist vegetarian cuisine also known as shojin-ryori. After paying you remove your shoes because inside are all wooden hallways and inside the rooms are tatami mat floors.
Entrance to Shigetsu: Tenryu-ji's Zen Vegetarian Restaurant serving traditional Japanese Buddhist cuisines, also known as shojin-ryori. After you enter, you remove your shoes because inside are tatami mat floors as you'll soon see. This building is also known as Ryumontei (Dragon Gate Pavillion).

You head into a common room to eat kneeling as the monks do. I wouldn’t say we were silent but we were very quiet, whispering in our small parties. Each person sat side by side so you didn’t even look at them directly when dining. This is so different from normal eating in the US where as we kneeled eating silently, we were forced to focus on the presentation and subtle flavors before us and nothing else, without the distraction of conversation or anyone else moving or making noise around us.

Red lacquer is used extensively to show off the good presentation. We got the Yuki (Snow) set ¥3,000 that includes rice, soup, and five side dishes – these first two photos are not the entire set, as the soup came after the first tray, and then there was an additional dessert tray.
Shigetsu: Tenryu-ji's Zen Vegetarian Restaurant serving traditional Japanese Buddhist cuisines, also known as shojin-ryori. The word shojin generally means Buddhist vegetarian in Japan but originally meant 'zeal in progressing along the path to salvation.'

On that center dish, in the back is is yuba, or tofu skin and to the left the rectangle is Nama-fu or wheat gluten. The vegetables are pea pods and a mushroom. To the upper right, the tofu had the sauce at the bottom and its made with sesame not soy. All the dishes were focused on highlighting simple but local and fresh ingredients while also balancing hot and cold, sweet, sour, savory, salty, and a bit of bitter, as well as different textures.
Details of one of the dishes as part of our set of shojin-ryori lunch at Shigetsu, Tenryu-ji's Zen Vegetarian Restaurant. In the back is is yuba, or tofu skin and to the left the rectangle is Nama-fu or wheat gluten. The vegetables are pea pods and a mushroom. The last dish - dessert - of our set of shojin-ryori, our Buddhist vegetarian lunch at Shigetsu: Tenryu-ji's Zen Vegetarian Restaurant

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

After exiting the north entrance of Tenryuji Temple, you will then be able to walk through the famous Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. The way the light filtered through the bamboo, the sounds and the sight of the woods swishing when it swayed from the wind was something you can’t capture in photos, though it is really picturesque.
Arashiyama Bamboo Grove in Kyoto

Then, as you walk north from the bamboo groves, you enter a more rural area. There were even times I kept double checking my Custom Google Map as all the people around us thinned out. There were times during our 30 minute walk it was just us walking along an empty path, with nothing on the sides but homes or fields, and at one point old fashioned wooden storefronts along the Saga-Toriimoto Preserved Street in the style of the Meiji period. You can imagine yourself stepping into the same small town and countryside that you see set in Studio Ghibli movies.

There are a few other temples along the way early on before it turns into countryside, but I was focused specifically on visiting two small temples a little over 2 km away from where most of the tourists of Arashiymama congregate. Both of these two small temples off the beaten path have lots of statues – but in totally different contexts.

Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Temple

Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple is a temple dedicated to the repose of souls who have died without families to remember them. Numerous stone monuments and images – in fact 8000 of them – honor the souls of the dead who during the Heian (794-1185) to Edo (1603-1868) periods, were destitute and left to the hills with no tombstone or proper burial. When we arrived, we didn’t see anyone there – and during our entire stay we only saw a handful of other visitors. It felt very solemn, and coming across the main field of the thousands of statues is humbling.
Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple in the Arashiyama District, a temple dedicated to the repose of souls who have died without families to remember them. The hundreds of stone buddhas and towers here are dedicated to the nameless deceased through the hundreds of years that are scattered and buried in the fields and mountains of Adashino Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple in the Arashiyama District, a temple dedicated to the repose of souls who have died without families to remember them. The hundreds of stone buddhas and towers here are dedicated to the nameless deceased through the hundreds of years that are scattered and buried in the fields and mountains of Adashino Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple in the Arashiyama District, a temple dedicated to the repose of souls who have died without families to remember them. The hundreds of stone buddhas and towers here are dedicated to the nameless deceased through the hundreds of years that are scattered and buried in the fields and mountains of Adashino Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple in the Arashiyama District, a temple dedicated to the repose of souls who have died without families to remember them. The hundreds of stone buddhas and towers here are dedicated to the nameless deceased through the hundreds of years that are scattered and buried in the fields and mountains of Adashino

It must be extraordinarily beautiful here during the end of August, when they light more than 1000 candles here in the evening over a couple days to honor the ancestor spirits here. There are no red and gold wooden beams like from the shrines, or gentle curved roofs with ornamental tiles at this temple: just the sombering simplicity of so many stones.

Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple in the Arashiyama District, a temple dedicated to the repose of souls who have died without families to remember them. The hundreds of stone buddhas and towers here are dedicated to the nameless deceased through the hundreds of years that are scattered and buried in the fields and mountains of Adashino Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple in the Arashiyama District, a temple dedicated to the repose of souls who have died without families to remember them. The hundreds of stone buddhas and towers here are dedicated to the nameless deceased through the hundreds of years that are scattered and buried in the fields and mountains of Adashino

Within this temple, there is also a bamboo grove path that is much quieter than the one we just visited which is more well known (and ok, Arashiyama Bamboo Grove is free while we had to pay to enter this temple). But that also means you can see it without all the other people – and it’s also the location for the cover of the Lonely Planet Japan guide 13th edition.
Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple in the Arashiyama District. This bamboo grove path is much quieter than the one we just visited which is more well known (and ok, free since we had to pay to enter this temple) - and it's also the cover of the Lonely Planet guide 13th edition

Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple

Walk another 750 m north to this even more secluded temple of Otagi Nenbutsuji that features 1200 stone sculptures of rakan, the Buddha’s disciples, all with different facial expressions and poses. It’s more out of the way, but well worth it.
Otago Nenbutsu-ji Temple in Kyoto is famous for its 1200 stone sculptures of rakan, the Buddha’s disciples, all with different facial expressions and poses. Otago Nenbutsu-ji in Kyoto is famous for its 1200 stone sculptures of rakan, the Buddha’s disciples, all with different facial expressions and poses. Otago Nenbutsu-ji is hidden away at the far end of the beautiful and popular Arashiyama neighbourhood in Kyoto’s western hills. and is famous for its 1200 stone sculptures of rakan, the Buddha’s disciples, all with different facial expressions and poses. The quirky figures are scattered amongst a few small temples and pagodas in a shady temple complex. Otago Nenbutsu-ji is hidden away at the far end of the beautiful and popular Arashiyama neighbourhood in Kyoto’s western hills. and is famous for its 1200 stone sculptures of rakan, the Buddha’s disciples, all with different facial expressions and poses. The quirky figures are scattered amongst a few small temples and pagodas in a shady temple complex.

Similar to Adashino Nenbutsu-ji, when we first entered we only saw a few statues… and then we take a step, turn a corner, and suddenly all the statues in all their uniqueness expand from scattered to rows of men and then into a sea of faces, all the same but all different.
Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple features 1200 stone sculptures of rakan, the Buddha’s disciples, all with different facial expressions and poses. Many are covered in moss and crumbling away, but this just adds to the atmosphere and the feeling of discovering a lost treasure

When worshippers of the temple celebrated the temple’s restoration after it was destroyed, they did so by donating the 1200 rakan sculptures. A famous Japanese sculptor taught many amateurs how to carve from stone, and they all had a different response to the challenge.
Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple Rakan represent the disciples of Buddha. These statues, in keeping with rakan traditions, are generally humorous. The one in the middle I liked as he laughs, head tilted back

Many are covered in moss and crumbling away, but this just adds to the atmosphere and the feeling of discovering a lost treasure like in some sort of archaeological exploration of a previously hidden culture.
Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple. Many of these statues are covered in moss and crumbling away, but this just adds to the atmosphere and the feeling of discovering a lost treasure like in some sort of archaeological exploration of a previously hidden culture.

There is everything from cute to scary to sad to serene to funny to bizarre. We spent a long time here, trying to absorb all the various faces we could see. Some of the ones in the photos below include one with kind eyes and a smile, one wearing shades (and a scary wrinkly one behind him), one playing peek a boo, and one with a funny face behind a scary mask, among others. We saw ones with an owl pet, two that were drinking together, even one with a tennis racket, and more.
Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple features 1200 stone sculptures of rakan, the Buddha’s disciples, all with different facial expressions and poses. This one on the left has kind eyes and smile "Otagi

Overall, I really enjoyed Otagi Nenbetsuji in that it reminded me of the little nuances that each person has to contribute, and that there’s also joy even as time continues to march on with us and one day past us. This was one of F’s favorite temples we visited in Japan, and mine too.

As I mentioned at the start, the visits above in the Arashiyama area were essentially from lunch on – so just a half day. We first headed to this area for lunch since I knew it would make vegetarian F so happy to have a known, completely safe Buddhist vegetarian meal with lots of dishes. From Tenryuji Temple through the Bamboo Forest and Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple to Otagi Nenbetsuji Tempe was about 3 km, or a little less than 2 miles, total one way.

We then hopped on a bus that we had seen on our way there to get back. We also then got a little lost as I got frustrated that Google Maps wasn’t translating the bus lines and numbers even though the buses themselves had English – trying to match kanji or katakana is no joke. We ended taking 3 buses back, transferring to another bus by Togetsukyu Bridge, then at Kyoto Station to the Gion area. So lest you think our travels are always smooth – no, we totally get lost too.

And this was an intense walk day of 24509 steps, or almost 11 miles!

What do you think of the Kyoto Temples in Arashiyama versus the famous temples and shrines from last Travel Tuesday’s post of the famous Temples and Shrines of Kyoto?

Here’s a summary of my Japan Travel post series:

Guide to Planning a Trip: Research
Guide to Planning a Trip: Mapping
Hagoita Ichi Winter Festival at Sensoji Temple, Japan
Japanese Treats at Temples and Shrines
Winter Illuminations in Tokyo (Winter Season – November – February!)
Snow Monkeys in Hot Springs
Onsen by Mount Fuji covers Onsen 101 and how we loved our stay at Lake Kawaguchiko
Dining at a Ryokan a look at what a traditional dinner and breakfast might be during a ryokan stay
Visiting Cup Noodles Museum in Yokohama (just outside Tokyo)
Visiting Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum
Kyoto Temples and Shrines (walking tour starting in Higashimaya with stops especially at Kiyomizudera Temple, Kodaji Temple, Heian Shrine)
Kyoto Temples in Arashiyama
Kyoto Tofu
Kyoto Famous Sights of the Kinkakuji (The Golden Pavilion) and Fushimi Inari (Red Torii Gates)
Famous Signs of Osaka and eating Osaka Food specialities like okonomiyaki, takoyaki and kushikatsu
Visiting Himeji Castle, the famous white castle in Japan
Fun at Japanese Cafes and More including Maid Cafe, Cat Cafe; theme parks of J World and Namja Town, a geeky stop at Kanda Myojin, and Ghibli Museum
Japan Eating Checklist is my top 25 list of things to try to include as an eating experience when visiting Japan
New Year’s in Japan: Oji Fox Parade, and some photos of a Meiji Shrine visit on New Year’s Day

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: #japantravel, #pechandfredjapan2015, #traveltuesday, Adashino Nenbutsu-ji, Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple, Arashiyama, Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Guide to Kyoto, Japan, Japan travel, Kyoto, Kyoto travel, Otagi Nenbutsu-ji, Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple, Tenryuji Temple, Travel Tuesday

Japan Travel: Kyoto Temples and Shrines

March 22, 2016 by Pechluck 3 Comments

If you visit Japan, I highly recommend including Kyoto during your stay if you can. Kyoto was once the capital of Japan from 794 until 1868. Because of that long history as being the capital for 1000 years, you can find a lot of older buildings reflecting traditional architecture that are entire streets and neighborhoods, as well as literally thousands of temples and shrines. In fact, Kyoto has the largest concentration of designated Cultural Properties in Japan.
The Deva gate and three-storied pagoda at the entrance of Kiyomizudera Temple. Also one super fierce dragon sculpture.
Details at Kiyomizudera Temple

Kyoto is also famous for its cuisine because as a city away from the sea it grew a lot of unique regional food fit for royalty, and even Kyoto water is reknown and used by many sake producers. With the combination of palaces as well as temples in its culinary lineage, you can choose from enjoying elegant kaiseki cuisine or Buddhist vegetarian temple cuisine. For today’s post, I’m going to focus first in Kyoto Temples and Shrines.

After our onsen stay and dining on ryokan cuisine for breakfast, we then spent a travel day getting from Lake Kawaguchiko by Mount Fuji to Kyoto. You can see it took a few transfers but it is a pretty popular route – so much that the entrance at the Kawaguchiko train station had this nice sign showing the main travel and transfer points.

For us, this means Kawaguchiko (the red dot you see to the left) to Otsuki, transfer there and ride to Hachioji where we transfer again until we reach Shinyokohama (same area as the Ramen Museum I covered last week), and from there a shinkansen to Kyoto! It sounds like a lot of transfers, but checking out and catching a train around 11 AM, we still got to Kyoto sometime around 4 PM in the afternoon to relax the rest of the evening.

On our first full day in Kyoto, we decided to stretch our legs from all that sitting on the train on our travel day by doing a self walking tour of a few of the beautiful and most famous Kyoto temples and shrines. It’s so easy to walk and find a temple or shrine along the way everywhere in Kyoto that you actually need to be careful you don’t get “templed/shrined out” where you see so many they start to blur. I found the Japan Guide on Kyoto extremely helpful in planning which stops we wanted of the many options thanks to their descriptions and photos of each of the sites which are organized by districts in Kyoto.

I recommend adding each of the destinations you are interested in into a custom Google Map like I covered previously in a how to. This then helps you create your own tour based on where everything is, and you can see exactly the distances. I also tracked each option in a spreadsheet with its attributes of what made it special, hours of operation, and admission fee to help me distinguish the options until I narrowed it down to which would be on this walking tour.

So here is my list of Kyoto Temples and Shrines you can visit in a single day just by walking. These I am sharing today are all located in Southeastern Kyoto. I have another walking tour for visiting temples in the Arashiyama District of Kyoto in a future post. This walk starts from Kiyomizudera and goes about 3 km or about 2 miles north to Heian Shrine, but with all the sights along the way it really is an all day excursion.

Kiyomizudera Temple

Kiyomizudera Temple is famous for it’s wooden balcony that gives visitors a view of Kyoto as well as cherry blossoms and maple trees in spring and fall, respectively. Since I came in winter and currently parts of the temple are going through reconstruction, it was not the stage that stood out from Kiyomizudera for me.
The most famous part of Kiyomizu-dera temple is Kiyomizu Stage, which is the veranda of the Main Hall extended over a precipice

Instead, it was

1. Jishu Shrine is a shrine dedicated to the deity of love and matchmaking. Right after passing the balcony, which is super crowded, you will see stairs leading upwards to your left. You should walk pass the god of love himself, Okuninushi, and his rabbit companion, Hare of Inaba who is a messenger.
Kiyomizudera Temple Jishu Shrine has a statue of Okuninushino-mikoto, a Japanese god in charge of love and good matches and the rabbit besides him Hare of Inaba is a messenger - you saw his picture with the rabbit on some of the ema boards

Specifically for Jishu Shrine, there are two stones on either side that you are supposed to navigate from one to the other with your eyes closed in order to have luck in finding love. Some have people help guide them a little, which means that you will find love but with help.

This area is also full of various shrines to different gods besides love to pray for other kinds of wishes, as well as various talismans varying from ema boards, incense, omikuji (paper fortunes), etc. There are even hitogata paper dolls to “wash away” your health problems by placing them in buckets: when the paper dissolves in the water, your troubles will be cleared up.
Kiyomizudera Temple Jishu Shrine offers many different also offers various talismans, incense, and omikuji (paper fortunes) as well as gods to pray for wishes like here Daikoku

You can purchase charms /omamori varying from good health, long life, conception, children, to successful study to traffic safety. Unlike most temples who offer omamori, here at this shrine they have English translations for all the charms and all the altars which helps give a lot of context to what you are seeing.
Lots of charms / omamori at Kiyomizudera Temple Jishu Shrine, a shrine dedicated to the deity of love and matchmaking

2. Otowa Waterfall is the reason Kiyomizudera Temple was founded here. After going downhill from the balcony to its bottom, you will find three streams of water where visitors use cups attached to long poles that are disinfected each time using UV rays. The belief is that each individual stream of the three streams offers a blessing of long life, success, and a good love life. Drinking from all three streams is considered greedy, so make your choices carefully!
The Otowa Waterfall is located at the base of Kiyomizudera's main hall. Its waters are divided into three separate streams, and visitors use cups attached to long poles to drink from them. Each stream's water is said to have a different benefit, namely to cause longevity, success at school and a fortunate love life The Otowa Waterfall is located at the base of Kiyomizudera's main hall. Its waters are divided into three separate streams, and visitors use cups attached to long poles to drink from them. Each stream's water is said to have a different benefit, namely to cause longevity, success at school and a fortunate love life

Higashiyama District

On the way from Kiyomizudera Temple to our next temple, Kodaji Temple, you will be walking through the Higashiyama District which is a historic shopping street area, also referred to by the actual street names of Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka. These streets with its old fashioned storefronts has been serving those on temple visits for centuries and lets you stroll around what feels like the traditional Kyoto of old.
Kyoto - walking in the Higashiyama District, a preserved historic districts that feels like traditional old Kyoto, with the wooden buildings

Stores range from selling lots of lucky cat and other animal trinkets to ceramic kitchenware, including lots of chopstick rests that they had glued below their windows as decoration. Besides lots of little stores, there is plenty of food, from restaurants to snack stands including versions of the temple and shrine snacks I highlighted earlier in a post.

store in the Higashiyama District that had lots of cat but also other cute animal trinkets

Higashiyama District also has a whole map of various healing Buddhist statues you could seek out to touch/rub for merit with your right or both hands. I didn’t visit them all, but I found quite a few without seeking then out. I rubbed Hotei a potbelly deity of good fortune thought to bring prosperity, Daikokuten an Indian deity one of the seven gods of good fortune that you can wish for prosperity, the Temmangu Ox said to bear your suffering for you if you touch the corresponding area of the ox, and statues of Hideyoshi and Nene which you can wish for a happy marriage like them and for peaceful remaining years surrounded by many people like Nene. It can’t hurt to touch just in case it does work right?
Higashiyama District had a whole map of various Buddhist statues you could seek out for merit to touch / rub

Kodaji Temple

Kodaji Temple was established in memory of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, one of Japan’s historical figures who helped play a part to unify Japan, by Hideyoshi’s wife Nene. What is notable about this temple is its Zen Gardens, aka the carefully maintained rock garden. It’s not as famous as Japan’s most well known Zen Garden at Ryoanji Temple (also in Kyoto), but the location in this area is more convenient to seeing a lot in one day, and still evokes the same beauty, even if interpretation of what the designs mean isn’t quite as enigmatic.

I was surprised that this was one of F’s favorite temples/shrines that we visited because he really enjoyed the moss landscaping, and I really liked the delicate shapes in the rock garden. The peacefulness here was very inviting of contemplation and worth the small entrance fee.
Looking back at the gate from the path that led to Kodaji Temple in Kyoto Kodaji Temple in Kyoto is famous for it's Rock Garden Kodaiji's Tsukiyama garden with Kaizando Hall

Yasaka Shrine

Now continue walking north to Yasaka Shrine. The most distinguishing characteristic of this shrine is it’s great location not far from Gion (Kyoto’s entertainment and geisha district) and there are lots of great restaurants just outside of its gates along the streets of Shijo Dori and Higashi Oji Dori.

This Shinto Shrine has lots of gorgeous lanterns that look great both in the daytime and in the nighttime (it is always open, always free). You can see since it’s close to New Year’s how the stage happens to be decorated for the year of the monkey.

Yasaka Shrine

Chionin Temple and Shorenin Temple

Chionin Temple‘s Sanmon Gate is the largest wooden gate in Japan and dates back to the early 1600s. It’s on the way to our final destination for today in Kyoto Temples and Shrines. We didn’t stop at Chionin, just walked by so we can admire the entrance. If you do enter, make sure you check out the largest bell in Japan, weighing some 74 tons and cast in 1633, it requires 17 monks to ring the bell at New Year. The temple grounds are free, but there is an admission fee to visit the gardens and the “Seven Wonders” of Chionin, one of which is a uguisubari or nightingale floor that chirps with every footstep so no one can sneak around!
The massive Sanmon Gate of Chionin Temple, Kyoto is the largest wooden gate in Japan and dates back to the early 1600s.

We also walked by Shorenin Temple without going in (there is an admission fee). Mainly, we admired this beautiful mossy tree just outside. This temple is not as busy as the famous Kiyomizudera or Chionin, and has a tranquil, secret feel with multiple gardens and ponds, teahouse, and paintings to admire that are connected all by covered walkways between the buildings.
Mossy tree in Kyoto by Shorenin Temple entrance

Heian Shrine

I knew the Heian Shrine gates was supposed to be huge – it is after all the largest Torii Gate in Japan. I was still shocked when I could already see it down the street – way down the street, but still really visible – from the Shorenin Temple a little over half a mile away. Below, you can see how it compares in sizes to a huge tour bus and cars/people behind me.

First sighting of the massive Torii gates of Heian Jingu, or Heian Shrine in Kyoto - it's the largest Torii Gate in Japan. Built in 1929, it is 24.2 meters high; the top rail is 33.9 meters long

In truth, the Heian Shrine isn’t that old – it was built in 1895 for the 1100th anniversary of the founding of Kyoto (then named Heian-kyō). The buildings convey the atmosphere of the Heian Period which had artistic integration with Chinese culture. Heian Shrine is supposed to be a 2/3 scale replica of the original Kyoto Imperial Palace (now destroyed). It was refreshing to have such a big open courtyard space to walk in after the smaller spaces of all the previous stops.
The shrine’s main buildings convey the atmosphere of elegance of the Heian Period (794-1185). In those days, the Japanese people welcomed Chinese culture warmly, and we can still find in this shrine today many features and artifacts connected with Chinese culture. The actual shrine grounds themselves are very spacious, with a wide open court at the center. Kyoto was shocked and depressed after the capital was moved to Tokyo in 1940. Later, the citizens came together to build a new city after World War II. The construction of Heian Shrine was a symbol of revival for the city. The revival consisted of the new Kyoto in education, culture, industry, and daily life, where at the same time the

We were pretty beat by this time (it was late afternoon) and I really only wanted to see the main courtyard and the giant gates, so we walked back to our lodging to relax and rest our feet before dinner after this. If you still have some wind though to keep going, there are also huge gardens to visit (the Heian Shrine is free, but there is a fee to enter the garden).

Even though the distance between Kiyomizudera Temple and Heian Shrine is only 3 km or about 2 miles, when I looked back at my phone pedometer at how many steps I took that day, it totaled 19725 steps – or about 8.75 miles!

So of all these stops I’ve shared today in Southeast Kyoto, which do you think you would most be interested in? Do you put together DIY tours in a neighborhood or area when you travel?

Here’s a summary of my Japan Travel post series:

Guide to Planning a Trip: Research
Guide to Planning a Trip: Mapping
Hagoita Ichi Winter Festival at Sensoji Temple, Japan
Japanese Treats at Temples and Shrines
Winter Illuminations in Tokyo (Winter Season – November – February!)
Snow Monkeys in Hot Springs
Onsen by Mount Fuji covers Onsen 101 and how we loved our stay at Lake Kawaguchiko
Dining at a Ryokan a look at what a traditional dinner and breakfast might be during a ryokan stay
Visiting Cup Noodles Museum in Yokohama (just outside Tokyo)
Visiting Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum
Kyoto Temples and Shrines (walking tour starting in Higashimaya with stops especially at Kiyomizudera Temple, Kodaji Temple, Heian Shrine)
Kyoto Temples in Arashiyama
Kyoto Tofu
Kyoto Famous Sights of the Kinkakuji (The Golden Pavilion) and Fushimi Inari (Red Torii Gates)
Famous Signs of Osaka and eating Osaka Food specialities like okonomiyaki, takoyaki and kushikatsu
Visiting Himeji Castle, the famous white castle in Japan
Fun at Japanese Cafes and More including Maid Cafe, Cat Cafe; theme parks of J World and Namja Town, a geeky stop at Kanda Myojin, and Ghibli Museum
Japan Eating Checklist is my top 25 list of things to try to include as an eating experience when visiting Japan
New Year’s in Japan: Oji Fox Parade, and some photos of a Meiji Shrine visit on New Year’s Day

Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: #japantravel, #pechandfredjapan2015, #traveltuesday, Guide to Kyoto, Heian Jingu, Heian Shrine, Higashiyama District, Japan, Japan travel, Jishu Shrine, Kiyomizudera Temple, Kodaji Temple, Kyoto, Kyoto Shrines, Kyoto temple and shrine tour, Kyoto Temples, Kyoto Temples and Shrines, Kyoto travel, Kyoto Walking Tour, Ninenzaka, Otowa Waterfall, Sannenzaka, Southeast Kyoto walking tour, Southeastern Kyoto, travel in Kyoto, travel Japan, Travel Tuesday

Japan Travel – Visiting Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum

March 15, 2016 by Pechluck 4 Comments

Last week, I covered part one of our day trip to the Yokohama area, and visiting the Cup Noodles Ramen Museum and making our own custom Cup Noodles. Part two is when we headed to the Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum. Shin Yokohama is located about 15 minutes from Yokohama, or about 45 minutes from Tokyo.

Just outside the doors fo the Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum indicating you have reached the right place!

We didn’t stay to eat ramen at the Cup Noodles Ramen Museum during our visit because it isn’t vegetarian friendly – and by vegetarian I include not eating seafood. There are lots of places in Japan to eat delicious ramen, and you can even find several areas where there are many ramen joints close together so you can progressively enjoy multiple ramen shops at once – the famous areas particularly are Tokyo Ramen Street at Tokyo Station, and Kyoto Ramen Koji/Street. But, good luck again finding multiple vegetarian ramen.

The Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum, on the other hand, not only offers multiple ramen, including “mini” portions that are smaller intentionally to help you try multiple bowls of ramen. And, there are multiple vegetarian ramen choices if you combine all the 9 shop options. And, the vegetarian ones are clearly marked. If you don’t eat pork, these are also clearly marked.

Atmosphere

After purchasing your entrance admission (310 yen) to the Ramen Museum here, you have a day pass – so you could come for lunch and then leave and get your hand stamped and return for dinner. After going through the turnstile showing your ticket or handstamp, you enter a entrance hallway. Here, you can see boards listing the free wifi information as well as info about the different ramen shops you can dine at and what they specialize in. They have brochures too with a map in multiple languages.

I should warn now that although it is titled the Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum, I would not really call this a museum. It really qualifies more as a food amusement park featuring ramen dishes from different regions of Japan. The museum is part of the gift shop and maybe has only 2 walls worth of information letting you know about the 26 prefectures and showing you some historical ramen items, but not much else in terms of content. The museum is the same size as the gift shop, which is smaller than the slot race track which I’m not quite sure why it’s also here.
The Shin-Yokahama Raumen Museum is more of a food park then a museum, since this is one of the few exhibits they have on ramen, and this museum is maybe the same size as the gift shop right next to it

To get to the food part, descend to the 2 floors of basement below – you can find small lockers on your way down here to leave your coats if you’d like. As you go down the stairs, the effect is as if you had just walked down the stairs from the train, and it’s also a jump back in time because the streetscape is like it’s almost dusk in 1958. Even though this area is really 2 floors of basement, the details of the sky, the 2nd floor windows with laundry and lights like they are apartments, and first floor windows are decorated like storefronts or movie theaters, really add to a cool atmosphere of old era Tokyo.
Inside the Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum, featuring a streetscape like it's 1958 and nine ramen shops from around Japan with different specialty ramen to eat

On the first floor of the basement, there are even sound effects on loundspeakers of monks chanting, or a cat meowing, or movies or radio music from the era, as you walk down the different “alleys” of a neighborhood of homes and bars that circle around the since the middle area is open to the second floor.
Inside the Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum, featuring a streetscape like it's 1958 there are even sound effects on loundspeakers of monks chanting, or a cat meowing, or movies or radio music from the era, as you walk down the fake alleys of a neighborhood of homes and bars

There are different food stands throughout the 2 floors including 8 ramen shops, 1 Okinawa Izakaya tavern, a bar, and a cafe and snack shop. There is also a fortune teller at a table you can visit, a old fashioned neighborhood sweets shop, and there seems to be a game for kids in Japanese where they help look for clues and solve a crime/Wanted Poster cases as we saw them turning their evidence into a “uniformed officer” during our visits. We also saw other performers, like a magician.

To order, like many ramen shops, there is a machine by the door where you put in money. After pushing buttons corresponding to your food, little slips of paper with the dish names print out. This is true of all the ramen shops, the Izakaya tavern, as well as the bar at Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum.
The Bar inside the Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum where you also order by machine

As a plus though, here at the Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum there are also several large laminated menus in multiple languages (Japanese, Chinese, Thai, and English) with corresponding numbers to match the machine buttons and with symbols standing for whether a dish has pork, is vegetarian, etc.
At Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum, similar to many ramen shops, at each place you order from a machine. Here luckily plastic laminated menus explain the dishes in Japanese, Chinese, Thai, and English with corresponding numbers to match the machine you will insert money and get your food ticket from.

Not only are main dishes like ramen on the machine, but so are extra accompaniments you might want to eat such as extra meat, noodles, rice, or side dishes, or beverages. For instance at the shop Nidai-me Genkotsu-ya they offer jumbo gyoza – just look how big they are compared to my chopsticks!
At Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum, you can get more than ramen- for instance Nidai-me Genkotsu-ya offers jumbo gyoza

They were super juicy too…
At Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum, you can get more than ramen- for instance Nidai-me Genkotsu-ya offers jumbo gyoza

When there are seats available you hand it to the attendant at the front and they will bring you your food when it’s ready. On the menu, there are always a few “mini” smaller portions so you can try a couple different ramen from different places. Every person who sits down is expected to order ramen if they are an adult.

Ramen Recap

The first ramen place we decide to try at Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum is at the shop Ryu Shanghai Honten, whose trademark is in its super-fat noodles folded over 32 times and that their spicy miso ramen is topped off with a scoop of the raw, spicy-hot miso. They had a mini version of this specialty spicy miso ramen that I ordered, while F got a full portion of his first vegetarian ramen.
The first ramen place we decide to try at Shin Yokohama Eamen Museum is at the shop Ryu Shanghai Honten, whose trademark is in its super-fat noodles folded over 32 times and that their spicy miso ramen is topped off with a scoop of the raw, spicy-hot miso

The second ramen place we decide to try is an Italian ramen restaurant called Casa Luca featuring Milano Tonkotsu that is advertised as having Italian flavor, plus you can order it with Peperoncino or with Parmesan, though I did neither. The pork bone broth (tonkotsu) has olive oil added to it, the chashu is grilled after being massaged with Italian rock salt that gives a hint of pancetta, and the noodles use a blend of Japanese flour and Italian flour of Durum Semorena, a flour often used for Italian pasta and bread. This time the vegetarian shoyu ramen version looked different enough to get a photo. You can also order Italian sodas and wine if you’d like at this shop.
The second ramen place we decide to try at Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum is Casa Luca featuring Milano Tonkotsu that has Italian flavor (you can order it with Peperoncino or with Parmesan) The vegetarian ramen at the second ramen place we decide to try at Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum, Casa Luca Milano

Next for the third ramen he and I separated- him to Komurasaki known for their specially-flavored oil, and roasted, crumbled garlic chips on their ramen to get the vegetarian ramen there, while I headed to the famous Sumire which didn’t offer vegetarian ramen. Here’s a look at their shoyu broth ramen and then their famous miso ramen where the meat is minced and distributed throughout the bowl so some people order a bowl of rice to go with their miso ramen. Of all the noodles I had these were my favorite of all the shops, they are Hokkaido-style noodles that are medium-thick, slightly hard and curvy.
Sumire which didn't offer vegetarian ramen. They are famous for their Miso Ramen, but I hit the wrong button and got the shoyu and didn't realize it until the ramen got served... oh well! This shoyu broth was still super delicious, and these were my favorite noodles Visiting the Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum - My mini-ramen here from Sumire. They have Hokkaido-style noodles that are medium-thick, slightly hard and curvy and were my favorite among the ramen I tried. I'm getting the famous miso one. The meat is minced so is throughout the bowl - some people order a bowl of rice to go with this Visiting the Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum - My mini-ramen here from Sumire. They have Hokkaido-style noodles that are medium-thick, slightly hard and curvy and were my favorite among the ramen I tried. I'm getting the famous miso one. The meat is minced so is throughout the bowl - some people order a bowl of rice to go with this

F’s vegetarian ramen from Muku Zweite and then my mini ramen with meat. The ingredients for the ramen noodles uses durum flour for pasta and flour for pizza which is unique for this ramen shop with origins from Frankfurt, Germany. For my ramen broth, the soup is boiled for 3 days with pork bone and chicken. You can also order German beer and currywurst sausage here in the shop and include as one of your toppings for the ramen sauerkraut (!? Which I didn’t do).
Visiting the Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum - Fred's vegetarian ramen from Muku Zweite. The ingredients for the ramen noodles uses durum flour for pasta and flour for pizza which is unique for this ramen shop from Frankfurt, Germany

Finally, the Okinawa “Ryukyu new noodles Tondo” by tavern Ryo Next / Izakaya Ryouji with their scorched black shoyu ramen.
My mini bowl of scorched black shoyu ramen, my last bowl at the Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum

Dessert at the bar included shochu and sweet potato ice cream, and beer.
A beer at the bar of Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum Dessert at the bar of Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum included shochu and sweet potato ice cream

I know some online reviews complained about having to pay an admission to then pay for food and drink at shops to eat, but 310 yen is so little for the clean access to restrooms and the wi fi and the English translations I think it’s totally worth it – and even more so if you have a vegetarian with you, or someone who doesn’t eat pork, since both those are labeled on all the menus here. As a vegetarian, F loved that he has multiple options here and so I definitely recommend if you are vegetarian and in Tokyo you come and visit.

Perhaps I could have gotten better ramen at specific shops in Tokyo, but the ones here were pretty good and all conveniently located. I did try to go to Tokyo Street later during the trip, but the lines were so long we ended up coming back to Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum a second time to get ramen we missed during our first visit. I would be impressed if you can fit more than 3 mini ramen portions in a visit – because that’s all I could handle.

Check out the Shin Yokohama Museum website for which ramen shops are here (they may rotate) – they have the menus of each of the shops, and also an approximate waiting time if any, but only on the Japanese version of the website so you’ll need to translate. They also have videos with subtitles of visits to each shop to give you an idea of the various shop specialties before you visit available on both the Japanese and English versions of the site.

For me, my favorite style of Japanese Ramen is the intense Sapporo style ramen which has the depth of a fermented miso base, especially with the additional topping of corn and a pat of butter, and Hokkaido noodles which are thicker and wavy instead of straight, which makes a different in that they are more firm and I like the texture of the slight folds even though it means more likely splatter when slurping. The soup is so super rich that you can order an additional plate of noodles after your first bowl (kaedama) to add to your soup and still be really happy. At least that’s me.

What do you think of the Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum – would you call it a food amusement park? Would you ever visit a food amusement park – and what of food would you want to see featured?

Next time on my Japan Travel post, I’m finally going to take you out of the Tokyo area and show you our explorations in Kyoto! And if you are getting a craving for ramen after this post, come back on Friday when I talk about where you can get authentic Tokyo ramen in Portland.

Here’s a summary of my Japan Travel post series:

Guide to Planning a Trip: Research
Guide to Planning a Trip: Mapping
Hagoita Ichi Winter Festival at Sensoji Temple, Japan
Japanese Treats at Temples and Shrines
Winter Illuminations in Tokyo (Winter Season – November – February!)
Snow Monkeys in Hot Springs
Onsen by Mount Fuji covers Onsen 101 and how we loved our stay at Lake Kawaguchiko
Dining at a Ryokan a look at what a traditional dinner and breakfast might be during a ryokan stay
Visiting Cup Noodles Museum in Yokohama (just outside Tokyo)
Visiting Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum
Kyoto Temples and Shrines (walking tour starting in Higashimaya with stops especially at Kiyomizudera Temple, Kodaji Temple, Heian Shrine)
Kyoto Temples in Arashiyama
Kyoto Tofu
Kyoto Famous Sights of the Kinkakuji (The Golden Pavilion) and Fushimi Inari (Red Torii Gates)
Famous Signs of Osaka and eating Osaka Food specialities like okonomiyaki, takoyaki and kushikatsu
Visiting Himeji Castle, the famous white castle in Japan
Fun at Japanese Cafes and More including Maid Cafe, Cat Cafe; theme parks of J World and Namja Town, a geeky stop at Kanda Myojin, and Ghibli Museum
Japan Eating Checklist is my top 25 list of things to try to include as an eating experience when visiting Japan
New Year’s in Japan: Oji Fox Parade, and some photos of a Meiji Shrine visit on New Year’s Day

Filed Under: Food and Drink, Travel Tagged With: #japantravel, #pechandfredjapan2015, #traveltuesday, Japan travel, Japanese ramen, ramen, Ramen Amusement Park, ramen food park, Ramen in English, Ramen Museum, Ramen Park, Ramen Tourism, Ramen Tourist, Recap of Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum, Shin Yokohama Ramen, Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum, Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum Review, Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum, Tokyo ramen, Tokyo Ramen Museum, Tokyo vegetarian ramen, travel Japan, vegetarian ramen, vegetarian ramen in Tokyo, Visiting Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum, Yokohama Ramen Museum

Japan Travel – Visiting Cup Noodles Museum

March 8, 2016 by Pechluck 4 Comments

During our first week staying in Japan, we stayed in Shinjuku, a busy area known for lots of shopping, entertainment, and Shinjuku Station is Japan’s busiest railway station. This was great for us in that it was super easy to get food and drink (varying from department stores to lots of restaurants and nightlife establishments), and the train station is a hub for many train lines.

So it was very easy to decide that morning to take a day trip to Mount Takao, or on another day, we took a day trip to Yokohama and made it a Ramen Day! Our first stop was visiting Cup Noodles Museum, also known as the Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum. This is one of the 2 branches of the museum – the other is in Osaka.

Not far from Tokyo – about 40 km south, or about an hour by train, is the city of Yokohama. If you recall vaguely from your history books, this is the fishing village that became the epicenter of foreign trade when Commodore Matthew Perry landed around here in 1853 and Japan opened itself for the first time to the outside world. Today, Yokohama is the second largest city outside, and the foreign influence shows in that is a port town, and it is also home to the largest Chinatown in Japan. It is still home to lots of trade and visitors, though now the focus is more on amusement and tourism then foreign trade and military presence. This includes the Cup Noodles Ramen Museum, Cosmo World Amusement Park, Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium and amusement park, Kirin Beer Village, and other activities. You could easily spend a whole day, and it would be a great family trip together.

As you are walking from the train station to the Cup Noodles Ramen Museum in Yokohama, you won’t help but notice the huge Cosmo Clock 21, at one point the tallest ferris wheel in the world and the world’s largest clock with a height of 112.5 m / 369 ft and diameter of 100 m / 330 ft and 60 cars each carrying 8 people. The presence of the tall ship as we walked along the waterfront past Cosmo World was a modern nod to the ships that might have docked in the area more than 150 years ago. Other modern skyscrapers also compliment the skyline here.
Cosmo Clock 21 (at one point the tallest ferris wheel in the world and world's largest clock with a height of 112.5 m / 369 ft and diameter of 100 m / 330 ft and 60 cars each carrying 8 people) in Yokohama

Both Cup Noodles museums in Yokohama and Osaka have an instant ramen workshop allowing visitors to make their own “fresh” instant noodles (fresh as in just made the noodles at least!). Reservations must be made in advance for this fresh ramen making activity called Chicken Ramen Factory. There is also a My Cupnoodles Factory where visitors can assemble their own personal Cup Noodles from pre-made ingredients for a small fee. You can decide to do this when you buy your admission ticket if there are times available, so much easier to add to your schedule. We decided to only do the personal Cup Noodles container since making noodles is a lot like pasta making so that workshop didn’t seem worth the time… especially since we were planning to go to another Ramen Museum after this (I’ll cover that next week).

At least in the Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum we visited – there are 5 floors of ramen fun. Well, really only 4 since the 5th is for events. The 1st floor is the Museum Shop, 2nd is a theater explaining the history of instant ramen’s invention, the 3rd has activities like making ramen noodles or your personal Cup Noodles, and the 4th is a Noodles Bazaar with various ramen from around the world to eat in a food hall.
Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum - very clean, simple design reflected throughout the museum except in the Noodles Bazaar. This is reflective of the philosophy that you don't need state-of-the-art facilities to research and invent things because it’s the knowledge in your head that’s important Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum - 5 floors of ramen fun! Well, really only 4 since the 5th is for events. The 1st floor is the Museum Shop, 2nd is a theater explaining the history of instant ramen's invention, the 3rd has activities like making ramen noodles or your personal Cup Noodles, and the 4th is a Noodles Bazaar with various ramen from around the world to eat in a food hall.

The way of the flow of the museum goes, you start with the history area, which is on the second floor since the first floor is the lobby with Entrance Hall to buy your admission or make activity reservations and the Museum Shop.

Visiting Cup Noodles Museum – Second Floor

It’s a pretty cool visual sight to see what they dub the Instant Noodles History Cube that displays the original Cup Noodles Chicken Ramen from 1958 through the approximately 800 product packages that were created to now. The breadth and depth of different packages really demonstrates how a single product has grown to the 100 billion servings of instant noodles that are consumed every year around the world now.
Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum - the Instant Noodles History Cube shows the instant noodles lineup that started with the original Cup Noodles Chicken Ramen. Approximately 800 product packages shows how a single product grew to te 100 billion servings of instant noodles that are consumed every year around the world Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum - the Instant Noodles History Cube shows the instant noodles lineup that started with the original Cup Noodles Chicken Ramen. Approximately 800 product packages shows how a single product grew to te 100 billion servings of instant noodles that are consumed every year around the world Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum - the Instant Noodles History Cube shows the instant noodles lineup that started with the original Cup Noodles Chicken Ramen. Approximately 800 product packages shows how a single product grew to te 100 billion servings of instant noodles that are consumed every year around the world Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum - the Instant Noodles History Cube shows the instant noodles lineup that started with the original Cup Noodles Chicken Ramen. Approximately 800 product packages shows how a single product grew to te 100 billion servings of instant noodles that are consumed every year around the world

It’s fascinating seeing the various flavors that have been created and changes in marketing over time and how it varies internationally.
Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum - in the Instant Noodles History Cube, see rare products from the past. Take a trip down memory lane as you search for a favorite instant noodles package from your past or kinds you never saw before from other places in the world

You can then watch a 15 minute film about the history in the Momofuku Theater of how Momofuku Ando came up with the idea for instant noodles. It is a pretty fun film using animation with big bobble headed versions of people and a little humor to walk through the thoughts that led up to the invention of instant ramen and then of Cup Noodles.
At Cup Nooodles Museum, watch the 15 minute Cup Noodles history in the Momofuku Theater with animated episodes demonstrating the thoughts that led up to the invention of Cup Noodles

Momofuku Ando invented the world’s first instant noodles, Chicken Ramen, in 1958 after an entire year of research using common tools in a little shed he had constructed in the backyard of his house. Right after the short film, a wall opens to a narrative timeline of the instant ramen invention (Creative Thinking Rooms) that starts out with a replica of his little shed (Momofuku Work Shed). You can step right into the shed, which is very humbling to see as the origin of such a vast empire and a savior to many a poor student. The giant wok pot of oil he was experimenting with definitely seemed to be very unsafe lab conditions for the year while he was inventing instant ramen!
Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum - On August 25, 1958, Momofuku Ando invented the world's first instant noodles, Chicken Ramen, after an entire year of research using common tools in a little shed he had constructed in the backyard of his house. Cup Noodles was invented then in 1971

One of the things I really enjoyed about the museum is also the philosophy it tries to teach to its visitors. Momofuku Ando was 48 years old when he started Cup Noodles. It involved a huge bounce back from personal hardships which they kept sort of vague, but I found he was raised by his grandparents because his parents died when he was an infant, and as an adult he went to jail convicted of tax evasion in the form of providing scholarships to students, and his company went bankrupt and he lost all his assets except his house.

There is no such thing as too late in life and don’t give up, the museum tries to message. Given the era of time this was also in (end of WW II), you can see how this optimism was really reflective of the rebuilding the whole country was going through too.
Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum - On August 25, 1958, Momofuku Ando invented the world's first instant noodles, Chicken Ramen, after an entire year of research using common tools in a little shed he had constructed in the backyard of his house. There is no such thing as too late in life and don't give up, the Momofuku Ando Cup Noodles museum tries to message.

The museum aesthetic is very clean, simple design reflected throughout the museum rooms except in the Noodles Bazaar. This is reflective of the museum’s other message that you don’t need fancy or expensive facilities to research and invent things because it’s the knowledge in your head that’s important. The museum goes into detail in finding inspiration from every day things and thinking outside the box. Charming doodle like drawings accompany the narrative from the original instant noodle ramen invention in 1958 to the Cup Noodles initial invention in 1971 to Cup Noodles for consumption in outer space and carried on the Space Shuttle Discovery. It does seem though those who know Japanese get a lot more info than those who just know English from the placards.
Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum - there's an actual vacuum pack of Space Ramen, the instant noodles developed for consumption in outer space and carried on the Space Shuttle Discovery

Visiting Cup Noodles Museum – Third Floor

On the next floor is the area for the Chicken Ramen Factory I had mentioned earlier where you done bright yellow bandannas with the Nissin chick mascot on it and make noodles, as well as the area where you make your own custom Cup Noodles – My Cupnoodles Factory. It’s pretty cheap to sign up for the custom Cup Noodles experience and it will only cost you 300 yen. The admission is for set times during the day, so make sure you keep an eye out for when your time slot is. As you can see, this is appropriate for pretty much ALL ages.
Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum - Here at the My Cupnoodles Factory, you can create your own completely original CUPNOODLES package. In a cup that you design, select your favorite soup from among four varieties and four toppings from among 12 ingredients. Altogether, there are 5,460 flavor combinations.

There’s just 8 steps to the process:

Get a cup from the vending machine (300 yen) and sanitize your hands.
Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum - Here at the My Cupnoodles Factory, you can create your own completely original CUPNOODLES package. Get a cup from the vending machine (300 yen) and sanitize your hands. The cup will have a lid on it for now to keep it clean

You will be directed to empty seats at communal tables that have markers to decorate your cup. You will also see a preview of the ingredients you can choose to fill your custom cup with a custom ramen noodle combination. There are four varieties of soup and you get to choose four toppings from among 12 ingredients. Don’t worry, there is a lid on your cup as you are decorating to keep it uncontaminated inside.
Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum - Here at the My Cupnoodles Factory, you can create your own completely original CUPNOODLES package. A lid is put on top of your container so it stays uncontaminated until the ingredients are added while you decorate your cup

Next you will be directed to one of the lines to fill your cup. I have to hand it to the ladies who man those cup filling stations, they were super cheerful and patient with guests of all ages and languages, and always had a bright smile on their faces and clear gestures to show you the process. In the first part, you will turn a lever to place the noodle cup over the already flash fried noodles upside down – one of the big discoveries as part of the Cup Noodles invention. By putting it upside down, the noodles don’t get stuck when you drop into the cup and mess up the assembly line.
Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum - Here at the My Cupnoodles Factory, you can create your own completely original CUPNOODLES package. By putting the cup upside down onto the noodles, the noodles don't get stuck when you drop into the cup and mess up the assembly line.

The designer in me loved the clear simple explanation in multiple languages on the glass of each station, and when you’ve reached the end of turning the cup to place the noodles in the right part, the crank gives this satisfying click and you can feel it click in the handle too.
Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum - Here at the My Cupnoodles Factory, you can create your own completely original CUPNOODLES package. By putting the cup upside down onto the noodles, the noodles don't get stuck when you drop into the cup and mess up the assembly line.

Now you choose one soup flavor from among 4 varieties and four toppings from among 12 ingredients. Altogether, there are 5,460 flavor combinations possible! Soup flavors include original, seafood, curry or chili tomato. Ingredient options include kidney beans, crab flavored fish sausage, corn, shrimp, egg, cubic roast pork, garlic chips, kimchee, Hiyoko-chan fish sausage (the chicken face chips), cheddar cheese, and green onion, and one seasonal limited edition additional ingredient that varies.
Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum - Here at the My Cupnoodles Factory, you can create your own completely original CUPNOODLES package.

The next portions the staff perform for you to observe – the packaging of the cup where you seal the cup,
Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum - Here at the My Cupnoodles Factory, you can create your own completely original CUPNOODLES package. Staff will seal your cup after adding ingredients

then you shrink wrap the cup
Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum - Here at the My Cupnoodles Factory, you can create your own completely original CUPNOODLES package. Staff will seal your cup after adding ingredients

Then you inflate a protective bag using an air pump
Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum - Here at the My Cupnoodles Factory, you can create your own completely original CUPNOODLES package. Inflate a protective bag using an air pump as the final step

Now you can wear it as a ridiculous necklace accessory.
Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum - Here at the My Cupnoodles Factory, you can create your own completely original CUPNOODLES package. You decorate it yourself and choose the ingredients for a custom ramen mix

Visiting Cup Noodles Museum – Fourth Floor

The Fourth Floor is the Noodles Bazaar, which is essentially a food court offering instant ramen flavors from around the world at various stations that you then eat in an open cafeteria area. Our goal was to go to another Ramen Museum which had ramen representations of different prefectures o eat, so I only have a few pictures to show you the atmosphere here since we didn’t eat any ramen.

All around the Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum Noodles Bazaar eating area are multiple booths with various kinds of ramen from around the world to try in a setting like an outdoor food court market

So, what did you think of this Ramen Adventure part 1? Is it what you expected from an Instant Ramen museum? Would you visit this museum or not, and what would you decorate or choose for ingredients in your custom Cup Noodles cup?

Next week- Ramen Adventure part 2 to Shin-Yokohama Raumen Museum.

If you’d like to read a little more on Momofuku Ando, it was his 105th birthday on March 5 2015 and Google had a cute doodle for him you can read here!

Here’s a summary of my Japan Travel post series:

Guide to Planning a Trip: Research
Guide to Planning a Trip: Mapping
Hagoita Ichi Winter Festival at Sensoji Temple, Japan
Japanese Treats at Temples and Shrines
Winter Illuminations in Tokyo (Winter Season – November – February!)
Snow Monkeys in Hot Springs
Onsen by Mount Fuji covers Onsen 101 and how we loved our stay at Lake Kawaguchiko
Dining at a Ryokan a look at what a traditional dinner and breakfast might be during a ryokan stay
Visiting Cup Noodles Museum in Yokohama (just outside Tokyo)
Visiting Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum
Kyoto Temples and Shrines (walking tour starting in Higashimaya with stops especially at Kiyomizudera Temple, Kodaji Temple, Heian Shrine)
Kyoto Temples in Arashiyama
Kyoto Tofu
Kyoto Famous Sights of the Kinkakuji (The Golden Pavilion) and Fushimi Inari (Red Torii Gates)
Famous Signs of Osaka and eating Osaka Food specialities like okonomiyaki, takoyaki and kushikatsu
Visiting Himeji Castle, the famous white castle in Japan
Fun at Japanese Cafes and More including Maid Cafe, Cat Cafe; theme parks of J World and Namja Town, a geeky stop at Kanda Myojin, and Ghibli Museum
Japan Eating Checklist is my top 25 list of things to try to include as an eating experience when visiting Japan
New Year’s in Japan: Oji Fox Parade, and some photos of a Meiji Shrine visit on New Year’s Day

Filed Under: Food and Drink, Travel Tagged With: #japantravel, #pechandfredjapan2015, #traveltuesday, Cup Noodles Museum, Cup Noodles Ramen Museum, Cup of Noodles Museum, Day trip from Tokyo, guide to Cup Noodles Museum, Guide to Visiting Cup Noodles, Instant Ramen Museum, Instant Ramen Museum Tokyo, Japan travel, Make your own Cup Noodles, My Cupnoodles Factory, Ramen Museum, Ramen Museum Yokohama, review of Cup Noodles Museum, Tokyo Ramen Museum, tour of Cup Noodles Museum, travel Japan, Travel Tuesday, traveling in Japan, Visiting Cup Noodles Ramen Museum, Yokohama

Japan Travel: Kyoto Tofu

Yudofu

Tofu with Beer

Tofu Kaiseki at Tousuiro

First course

Second Course

Third Course

Fourth Course

Fifth Course

Sixth Course

Seventh Course

Eighth Course

Japan Travel: Kyoto Temples in Arashiyama

Tenryu-ji Temple

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Temple

Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple

Japan Travel: Kyoto Temples and Shrines

Kiyomizudera Temple

Higashiyama District

Kodaji Temple

Yasaka Shrine

Chionin Temple and Shorenin Temple

Heian Shrine

Japan Travel – Visiting Shin Yokohama Ramen Museum

Atmosphere

Ramen Recap

Japan Travel – Visiting Cup Noodles Museum

Visiting Cup Noodles Museum – Second Floor

Visiting Cup Noodles Museum – Third Floor

Visiting Cup Noodles Museum – Fourth Floor

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