Double Room
As I mentioned in my CIM 2012 race report, I chose the Hyatt Regency Sacramento for a number of reasons as our hotel for the night before the race.
The Pros: Convenience
Endo Sushi, Osaka
Osaka has a central wholesale fish market much like Tsukiji in Tokyo, with its own 4:15am Tuna auction. Had we known that Tsukiji would be so restricted (we should have known and watched for this after the earthquake), we would have made more of an effort to make it to Osaka’s version, which seems more welcoming to tourists.
But the real reason we journeyed to the Central Fish Market was in order to visit a tiny sushi-ya that’s been around for over a hundred years (est. in 1907) we had read about from Chubby Hubby, and really, how could one go wrong having sushi for breakfast right on the grounds of a fish market?
Takemura
This hundred-year-old restaurant is smack dab in the middle of Arashimaya in Western Kyoto. Although we stayed at a Zen Temple, meals were not included as part of our lodgings. We were, however, able to sample a delicious vegetarian yudofu – boiled tofu – meal at Takemura.
We didn’t go into this blind; we found Takemura via one of my favourite Japan bloggers (Blue Lotus) and decided that we were definitely stopping by when we went to look at the beautiful bamboo groves.
Japadog Food Truck
We knew we were going to have very limited time in Vancouver. 3 full days, most of which would be taken up by family gatherings (Chinese Banquets, a wedding, a wedding-related cocktail and hors’d’ouevres afternoon)… DD had mapped out a strategy of how to make the most of our time in Vancouver/ Richmond, food-wise, and that was to target the best items or dishes that specifically typified “Vancouver” — that which we may not be able to get anywhere else. Needless to say, Japadog was in our sights.
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Twisted Fork
My cousin’s wedding was a whirlwind. We didn’t have much time to visit – only about 3 days all told, and it was a veritable nonstop stream of family activities and Chinese Banquets from the time we arrived on a Friday afternoon. On Sunday morning we were able to sneak away to Vancouver, short SkyTrain ride away from the Richmond Landsdowne station. A neighbour of ours had recommended Twisted Fork, describing it as a “feast of a brunch,” and other online reviews indicated that we might have a nice, tasty time. We exited the Yaletown station, and walked a couple of short blocks to Granville. We anticipated a wait, having reached the restaurant around 11:30 or so.
Takaraya Ramen, Pontocho, Kyoto
We arrived in Kyoto in the evening, as dusk was just starting to fall. We’d been travelling all day, from Kanazawa in the North, by the Sea of Japan. It was too short a visit, but we wouldn’t be making the same mistake while were in Kyoto – planning a good 5 days in Japan’s ancient erstwhile capital. We didn’t have any definitive dining plans, so once settled at Shunkoin Temple, we decided that ramen made for a fast and easy meal option. For many of our food recommendations, we relied on Kyoto Foodie’s blog and headed out to the other side of town in search of Takaraya Ramen on Pontocho, near Gion.
Shunkoin Entrance
When planning our Japan trip we booked our Kyoto accommodations first, sensing while doing a cursory initial search, that we would have the most difficulty here for finding something within our requirements and budget. We didn’t want to stay at a standard Western-style hotel, and we also didn’t want to splurge on a $300/person/night Ryokan. (Heck, even a $100/person/night would have been a little steep for us.) That left a few mid-range Ryokan or Minshuku, and we didn’t necessarily want to stay at backpacker’s hostels, either.
And that’s where Shunkoin Temple fit the bill, though I did send out more emails inquiring as to where other places had availability. In truth, my first choice had been the Guest House Waraku-an, found through Flickr friend San ku-kai’s beautiful photostream of his Japan trips. Waraku-an bills itself as a hostel, but has private accommodations available for couples and groups.
Mugaritz
Though the meal we had here is more than 3 years old, I still look back on Mugaritz, nestled in the hills of Basque country, so fondly as being the best dining experience we’ve had yet. And indeed, calling it “lunch,” though it was technically that, is truly an inadequate way to describe what we ate, saw, and how we were treated. Continue reading
Line outside Ichiran
Hideki had pointed out Ichiran from where we met on the Ebisubashi bridge, telling us that it was a pretty good ramen place, possibly the best, in his opinion. So on our last night in Osaka, after drinks in the Umeda Sky Tower at Sky Lounge Stardust, we headed back to the Dotonbori to check it out. It’s along the Dotonbori canal, near the Nihonbashi bridge, which flanks Ebisubashi. Like Ippudo, Ichiran serves a Tonkotsu Hakata-style ramen made with pork broth. Continue reading
Kichisen Take-away Bag
In Europe, we knew better than to ask for take-home boxes or doggie bags if we somehow were not able to finish the food on our plates. And in Japan, we rarely encountered a meal wherein we might have been compelled to take food home. We were really surprised then, that at the end of our first fancy-schmancy meal at Kichisen, the chef presented us with a “take away” (their term, not mine) bag for asa-gohan (breakfast) the next day. Continue reading
