Fall food in Kyoto with baby in tow
October 27, 2014 9:23 AM Subscribe
We're visiting family in Japan next month and will have a week in Kyoto. We've got historical/cultural/tourist sites figured out, but would like recommendations for food.
We're staying at the Hyatt Regency in Higashiyama and will be using public transit. Don't worry - we're New Yorkers!
I've seen this, which is great. Our situation differs slightly:
1) It'll be mid-November - what should we look out for for seasonal food?
2) One of us speaks Japanese, so communication shouldn't be a problem.
3) We have a seven month old baby! We'd love to go to some high-end places, especially for sushi, but aren't sure that will work out well. Thoughts/recs. about that?
4) That other thread didn't have any thing to say about unagi in Kyoto. We definitely want traditional, charcoal roasted eel. Where's a good place?
Thanks!
We're staying at the Hyatt Regency in Higashiyama and will be using public transit. Don't worry - we're New Yorkers!
I've seen this, which is great. Our situation differs slightly:
1) It'll be mid-November - what should we look out for for seasonal food?
2) One of us speaks Japanese, so communication shouldn't be a problem.
3) We have a seven month old baby! We'd love to go to some high-end places, especially for sushi, but aren't sure that will work out well. Thoughts/recs. about that?
4) That other thread didn't have any thing to say about unagi in Kyoto. We definitely want traditional, charcoal roasted eel. Where's a good place?
Thanks!
When we were in Kyoto this summer, we visited a bunch of restaurants recommended by this particular website, and they were all excellent. (It's a small page put together by a woman who runs a cooking school in the city, with lots of useful and detailed information.)
In particular, we went to Kanesho, an unagi place in Gion that she suggested, and it was FANTASTIC. I'd call and make a reservation as far in advance as you can manage, as they're quite small.
posted by Narrative Priorities at 9:33 AM on October 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
In particular, we went to Kanesho, an unagi place in Gion that she suggested, and it was FANTASTIC. I'd call and make a reservation as far in advance as you can manage, as they're quite small.
posted by Narrative Priorities at 9:33 AM on October 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
Fall food in Japan means matsutake and shiitake mushrooms.
posted by Nevin at 10:42 AM on October 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Nevin at 10:42 AM on October 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
We went to Japan as a family when our daughter was one and I don't recall any issue with taking her places (although we didn't go to too many high-end places). The only worry I would have for taking your baby is space - some of the restaurants may be pretty cramped. A small stroller should be doable, but a sling like a Baby Bjorn/Ergobaby would be even better.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 11:39 AM on October 27, 2014
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 11:39 AM on October 27, 2014
Seconding Matsutake. Also new rice!! This is definitely shinmai season!
Other fall foods are sanma, eggplant, katsuo, kaki (persimmons).
A good season for food!
posted by xmts at 1:12 PM on October 27, 2014
Other fall foods are sanma, eggplant, katsuo, kaki (persimmons).
A good season for food!
posted by xmts at 1:12 PM on October 27, 2014
Katsuo is the best! I don't know if you have had it before (I have never seen it in a restaurant in Toronto) but I eat it almost daily when I go back to Japan.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 2:58 PM on October 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 2:58 PM on October 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
Not to be contradictory, but katsuo is more of a summer fish. At this time of the year (mid-to-late fall) the fish to eat in western Japan close to the Japan Sea coast is buri, or yellowtail (not to be confused with yellowfin tuna).
It's still a little early for buri, which typically travels up the Japan Sea coast from Kyushu, reaching Toyama Bay in late November. But you can still get juvenile buri, which is called hamachi. It's typically farmed. Buri is a traditional winter fish that is delivered overland to the cities of the Pacific Seaboard in winter.
Another fish at this time of year would be fugu, or pufferfish. Almost all of the fugu in Japan is farmed, and farmed fugu are not poisonous at all. Fugu is typically eaten as hotpot.
The main fish in Kyoto would have to be mackerel, which was once again traditionally delivered overland from the fishing towns of the Japan Sea coast.
A very good seasonal meal at the moment would be grilled mackerel and mushrooms of some kind. These days, it must be said, climate change has wiped out the mackerel runs along the Japan Sea coast, so most of it is shipped in from Norway and the North Atlantic fishery.
Late fall and early winter also mark the start of snow crab season on the Japan Sea coast (Kyoto-fu of course stretches up to the Japan Sea), so you may be able to find it in Kyoto City proper.
However, Kyoto City is an inland town, and, coming from the coast, I have to say the fish ain't all that great.
Kyoto is great for both low-cost budget eating (especially around Karasuma and Shijo etc), thanks to the many universities in town, and "kaiseki-ryori", or gourmet cuisine. You can probably find "shojin-ryori", or Buddhist vegetarian fare.
In terms of kids, I doubt you are going to spend enough for it to matter (in other words, when people in Japan spend a lot on dinner, it's a lot of money, more than a tourist would likely spend).
The great thing about Japan is the open love of children (especially "foreign" children). There is greater apparent affection for children in Japan compared to, say, Canada, and more tolerance for their shenanigans at a restaurant. The only challenge will be that there may be no kids' menu.
The concierge at your hotel or the tourist info desk will probably try to steer you towards some sort of tacky dump they think foreign tourists will be more comfortable in, so it probably pays to do some research beforehand and figure out where you want to go. Have a list handy when you check in, and get the hotel to help you book a reservation.
posted by Nevin at 4:19 PM on October 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
It's still a little early for buri, which typically travels up the Japan Sea coast from Kyushu, reaching Toyama Bay in late November. But you can still get juvenile buri, which is called hamachi. It's typically farmed. Buri is a traditional winter fish that is delivered overland to the cities of the Pacific Seaboard in winter.
Another fish at this time of year would be fugu, or pufferfish. Almost all of the fugu in Japan is farmed, and farmed fugu are not poisonous at all. Fugu is typically eaten as hotpot.
The main fish in Kyoto would have to be mackerel, which was once again traditionally delivered overland from the fishing towns of the Japan Sea coast.
A very good seasonal meal at the moment would be grilled mackerel and mushrooms of some kind. These days, it must be said, climate change has wiped out the mackerel runs along the Japan Sea coast, so most of it is shipped in from Norway and the North Atlantic fishery.
Late fall and early winter also mark the start of snow crab season on the Japan Sea coast (Kyoto-fu of course stretches up to the Japan Sea), so you may be able to find it in Kyoto City proper.
However, Kyoto City is an inland town, and, coming from the coast, I have to say the fish ain't all that great.
Kyoto is great for both low-cost budget eating (especially around Karasuma and Shijo etc), thanks to the many universities in town, and "kaiseki-ryori", or gourmet cuisine. You can probably find "shojin-ryori", or Buddhist vegetarian fare.
In terms of kids, I doubt you are going to spend enough for it to matter (in other words, when people in Japan spend a lot on dinner, it's a lot of money, more than a tourist would likely spend).
The great thing about Japan is the open love of children (especially "foreign" children). There is greater apparent affection for children in Japan compared to, say, Canada, and more tolerance for their shenanigans at a restaurant. The only challenge will be that there may be no kids' menu.
The concierge at your hotel or the tourist info desk will probably try to steer you towards some sort of tacky dump they think foreign tourists will be more comfortable in, so it probably pays to do some research beforehand and figure out where you want to go. Have a list handy when you check in, and get the hotel to help you book a reservation.
posted by Nevin at 4:19 PM on October 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
I ate at two of the restaurants mentioned in this book, Old Kyoto, and they were both amazing.
Oh, and there's an Unagi restaurant mentioned in there called Matsuno that I had wanted to go to but never made it.
posted by Blitz at 9:01 PM on October 27, 2014
Oh, and there's an Unagi restaurant mentioned in there called Matsuno that I had wanted to go to but never made it.
posted by Blitz at 9:01 PM on October 27, 2014
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 9:29 AM on October 27, 2014