Reliving the Johnnie Hillwalker Tour in Kyoto

13 Thursday Jun 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Japan, Kyoto

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Asia, Food & Drinks, Higashi-Honganji, Japan, Johnnie Hillwalker Tour, Kyoto, Kyoto Station, Nintendo, Nishi Honganji, Ramen, Selfish Years, The Selfish Years, Toyokuni Shrine

Back in 2010, Mr. Selfish and I went on the Johnnie Hillwalker tour of Kyoto. It’s a five hour walking tour taking you through the back streets of Kyoto. The tour starts at Kyoto station and ends in Higashiyama near Kiyomizu Temple. It was a fun walk and only cost about 2,000 yen per person. I highly recommend it.

This time around, we decided to primarily visit the same sights on our own. Our apartment was in Higashiyama so we did the tour backwards and ended at Kyoto Station. First, we went to Toyokuni Shrine, which was built in 1599. This Shinto shrine is dedicated to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who was a famous warrior and general and was best known as being responsible for the restriction that only the samurai class could bear arms.

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Monks, Monkeys, and Moss: Visiting Arashiyama

12 Wednesday Jun 2013

Posted by misterselfish in Asia, Japan, Kyoto

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Adashino Nenbutsuji, Arashiyama, Japan, Kyoto, Otaginenbutsuji, Selfish Year, Selfish Years

When looking up pictures of Kyoto, I kept stumbling across the same picture – an arresting grove of bamboo.

Having previously visited Kyoto, I felt this couldn’t be accurate. After all, if Kyoto had had something this beautiful, shouldn’t we have heard of it and visited last time?

No, apparently. The bamboo grove was just one of the many spectacular sites of Arashiyama – a beautiful area located on the western outskirts of Kyoto.

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Sake it to me!

11 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by misterselfish in Food & Drinks, Japan, Kyoto

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Japan, Kyoto, Sake, Selfish Year, Selfish Years

Prior to coming to Japan, I knew absolutely nothing about sake. Oh, I’d ordered it a few times from our local sushi restaurant, but all I knew was that sake was made from fermented rice, and that you should always drink good sake cold (and drink bad sake hot to hide the impurities).

So when Mrs. Selfish told me she had booked a tour of the Yamamoto Honke Sake Brewery, I was pretty excited.

Be warned – there is a lot of educational information about sake ahead!

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Climbing Mount Kurama Near Kyoto

10 Monday Jun 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Japan, Kyoto

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Asia, Japan, Kurama-dera, Kyoto, Mount Kurama, Selfish Years, Tengu, The Selfish Years, Yuki Shrine

Mr. Selfish and I decided to take a short day trip to Mount Kurama, which is about a half an hour train ride away from Kyoto. Mount Kurama is a mountain that is northwest to the city and is the birthplace of Reiki practice, which is a form of alternative medicine.

The most popular attraction on Mount Kurama is the Kurama-dera, which is a Buddhist temple. Apparently, Kurama-dera is quite popular with Japanese tourists since it has an aura of mystery and occult associated with it. In particular, it is still believed today that tengu and other mountains spirits live in the area. Tengu are mythical creatures with human and avian characteristics, which are often depicted with large noses.

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Will the Real Wagyu Beef Please Stand Up?

09 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Japan, Kyoto

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Asia, Beef Cutlet, Beef Cutlet Sandwich, Food & Drinks, Hafuu, Inoda Coffee, Japan, Kobe Beef, Kyoto, Selfish Years, The Selfish Years, wagyu, wagyu beef, Wagyu Cutlet, Wagyu Cutlet Sandwich

After all of the controversy about Kobe beef not actually being Kobe beef in the States, Mr. Selfish and I decided to have some wagyu beef while in Kyoto. Wagyu beef is notoriously expensive. We decided to have some katsu wagyu beef sandwiches, which are a little less expensive but still a bit costly. We tried two place, and both were delectable.

First, we went to Hafuu (located at 471-1 Sasayacho, Nakagyoku, Kyoto), which was well-know for its wagyu takeout sandwiches. Each sandwich was 1,800 yen and completely worth it.

The beef was perfectly cooked and melted. The sandwich also had lettuce, tomatoes, and a heavenly sweet but savory sauce. It was as wagyu should be. I’ll be sad when we leave Japan and all we have our supposed “Kobe” beef.

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Oh Deer: Chased for Food in Nara

08 Saturday Jun 2013

Posted by misterselfish in Asia, Japan, Kyoto

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Nara, Selfish Year, Selfish Years

Mrs. Selfish and I decided very early on that a trip to Nara was necessary as part of our long stay in Kyoto. Nara was the capital of Japan prior to Kyoto, though only for a period of 70 years. It does have some pretty magnificent sites, however, including the largest Buddha in Japan and a shrine with over 3000 stone lanterns.

It also has deer – lots of deer. According to legend, the deer are heavenly protectors of Nara, and enjoy a special status. What it means in practice is the Nara parks are packed with deer and people selling deer merchandise and deer food.

It also means the deer are very aggressive.

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The Most Expensive and Most Difficult to Get Into Sight in Kyoto: The Moss Temple

07 Friday Jun 2013

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Asia, Japan, Kokedera, Kyoto, Moss Temple, Saihoji Temple, Selfish Years, The Selfish Years

Since Mr. Selfish and I were in Kyoto for three weeks, we wanted to visit some of the more obscure and difficult sights. The most expensive and most difficult to get into sight in Kyoto is the Moss Temple, which is also known as Saihoji Temple or Kokedera. Admission costs a whopping 3,000 yen (~$30 USD).

You can only visit the Moss Temple by mailing a special reply postcard requesting a reservation at least 7 days in advance. Your postcard should indicate: (1) your name and address, (2) the number of people in your party, and (3) the date(s) on which you are available to visit the temple. Your postcard should also include a stamped and self-addressed postcard, which the temple will return to you with your scheduled date and time. In Japan, you can request this type of special reply postcard at the post office; it is known as ofuku hagaki. The Moss temple’s address is: Saihoji Temple, 56 Jingatani-cho, Matsuo, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto 615-8286, Japan.

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Japanese Curry: A Love Letter

06 Thursday Jun 2013

Posted by misterselfish in Asia, Japan

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Japanese Curry, Selfish Year, Selfish Years

Before heading to Japan, Mrs. Selfish and I had built up a healthy fascination with Japanese curry. If you’ve never had it before, Japanese curry is completely different from your Thai or Indian curries. It’s thick, savory, and packed with umami. It’s also typically not that spicy.

Since it’s rarely made from scratch (even in Japan), you can get a decent approximation at your local grocery store in the foreign aisle. We typically make it with chicken, potatoes, carrots, and onions – though you can add whatever you want.

Ah Golden Curry, the old standby.

Just keep in mind, if you use the full box you’ll end with over 8 portions of curry. And that stuff gets old after a few days. Not so with Japanese curry in Japan – I could eat that stuff from dusk until dawn without stopping.

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Hiding from the Rain in the Kyoto International Manga Museum

05 Wednesday Jun 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Japan, Kyoto

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Asia, Japan, Katsuya Terada, Kyoto, Kyoto International Manga Museum, Manga, Manga Museum, Selfish Years, Sketchtravel, Sugar Sugar Rune, The Selfish Years

My good friend, Devon, recommended a temporary exhibit at the Kyoto International Manga Museum to me. I’m not really into manga (Japanese comics). However, due to a confluence of circumstances (proximity of the museum to an udon restaurant, the fact that Mr. Selfish’s sister was visiting, and the constant rain that day), we actually went to the manga museum.

Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed the museum. The museum has three stories and is primarily a huge manga library. There were tons of locals, including families and couples, reading manga. The library section also contains an exhibit on the history of manga, which was quite well-done. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside. I did sneak a couple though.

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The Magnificent Osaka Unlimited Pass

04 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by misterselfish in Asia, Japan

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Osaka, Selfish Year, Selfish Years

Since we were staying in Kyoto, Mrs. Selfish and I decided a day trip to Osaka was in order. Osaka is only a 30 – 45 minute train ride away from Kyoto and is accessible by metro for the relatively low price of 450 yen.

Historically a commercial center, Osaka was known as “Japan’s kitchen” during the Edo period, and thus has a number of food specialties. Being a castle buff, I also really wanted to see Osaka Castle after viewing the pictures online.

The Osaka Unlimited Pass

After arriving in Osaka, Mrs. Selfish and I immediately sought out the Osaka Unlimited Pass, which we picked up at the train station’s information desk. At 2000 yen (~$20) the pass gives you unlimited use of Osaka’s public transportation system, and gets you into over 28 attractions for free, and others with a heavy discount.

The pass comes with a number of tiny tickets that you tear out at each attraction, and a pass for trains/buses. Since we planned on hitting at least 4 attractions, this ended up saving us close to $25 per person.

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Enjoying Desserts and Coffee in Kyoto

03 Monday Jun 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Japan, Kyoto

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Asia, Coffee, Desserts, Efish, Food & Drinks, Ice Cream, Japan, Karafuneya, Kinako, Kyoto, Parfaits, Selfish Years, The Selfish Years

Mr. Selfish and I have quite a sweet tooth. We learned while in Kyoto that the Japanese also have an affinity for sweet desserts.

First, we went to Kinako (祇園きなな), which is located at Kyoto-shi, Higashiyama-ku, Gion-machi Minami-gawa 570-119, for the best soy bean ice cream ever. It was quite simple but smooth and packed full of flavor. We also had Berry Berry Kinana parfait, which was visually pretty but had too many different components that were all competing with one another. I found the soy bean ice cream to be more than sufficient for my ice cream palate.

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Exploring Higashiyama and the Kiyomizu Shrine

02 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by misterselfish in Asia, Japan, Kyoto

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Higashiyama, Kiyomizu Shrine, Kyoto, Selfish Year, Selfish Years

When looking at apartments in Kyoto, Mrs. Selfish and I decided we wanted to stay somewhere that was decidedly old world. After all, we were staying in one of Japan’s oldest cities, so what was the point of renting a sleek apartment?

In the end we settled on a place in the Higashiyama ward, a culturally protected area with tons of traditional style buildings. While the apartment itself was not in the traditional style, we were in an excellent location to explore some of Kyoto’s more beautiful (if not heavily touristed) streets.

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Visiting the Homes of the Emperor and the Shogun: Kyoto Imperial Palace and Nijo Castle

01 Saturday Jun 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Japan, Kyoto

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Asia, Imperial Palace, Japan, Kyoto, Nijo Castle, Selfish Year, Selfish Years

Mr. Selfish and I decided to visit the Imperial Palace and Nijo Castle during our stay in Kyoto. We didn’t really know much Japanese history but it was still interesting to see the palace and the castle.

Apparently, in 1600, the Tokugawa Shogunate seized power and established a military government in what is now Tokyo. During this time period, the role of the emperor was largely symbolic since the shogun controlled foreign policy, the military, and feudal patronage. Although the government was in Tokyo, the shoguns still frequented Kyoto since it was home to the Imperial Court. Hence, the shoguns built Nijo Castle, which is quite close to the Imperial Palace.

Mr. Selfish and I toured the Imperial Palace first. You can only visit the palace through a tour, which is offered in English or Japanese. You have to bring your passport to the tour office and sign up. We were lucky in that we showed up about 20 minutes before an English tour was to begin and were able to join that tour.

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Yummy Yakitori and Karaage Craziness in Kyoto

31 Friday May 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Japan, Kyoto

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Asia, Chabuya, Chicken, Fukei, Japan, karaage, Kyoto, Selfish Years, The Selfish Years, yakitori

During our first trip to Japan, Mr. Selfish and I learned that Japanese food is quite diverse. We sampled yakitori, karaage, takoyaki, ramen, udon, soba, okonomiyaki, etc. Unfortunately, the majority of Japanese restaurants in the States only serve sushi and some form of teriyaki.

This post is dedicated to the wonderful chicken that we had in Kyoto, specifically the yakitori (grilled chicken on skewers) and karaage (deep fried chicken). I never knew that chicken could be so tender and delicious until I had it in Japan.

Our favorite yakitori place is called Chabuya (炭火焼鳥ちゃぶや), located at ３１０−３ Uradeyamacho. We ate here in 2010 with some locals and knew that we had to return during our selfish year. It is a small, unassuming place that is frequented by locals. Luckily, they have an English menu (though we never saw any other English speakers the two times we were there).

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Visiting Kyoto’s Free Shrines

30 Thursday May 2013

Posted by misterselfish in Asia, Japan, Kyoto

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Heian Shrine, Inari Shrine, Japan, Kyoto, Kyoto Shrines, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Shimogamo Shrine, Yasaka Shrine

As the long time capital of Japan, Kyoto has no shortage of sites. Designated as a UNESCO world-heritage site, Kyoto actually has 17 UNESCO sites within city bounds, and contains roughly 20% of Japan’s National Treasures.

But a lot of these sites cost money – usually 300 – 500 yen a piece, which can add up quickly – especially once you factor in transportation. With that in mind, Mrs. Selfish and I quickly set out to find the best free sites Kyoto had to offer.

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