tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10983069599638974462012-01-02T19:12:20.767+09:00A personal account of a Kanto-born, Mid-Western-grown, self-claimed New Yorker living in Kyoto since 2008Kyoto Keihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00388973201948460684noreply@blogger.comBlogger121100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1098306959963897446.post-58920938175335963682009-11-20T03:42:00.003+09:002009-11-20T04:20:32.652+09:00

From winter 2006 in New York*******************************Renee is a college friend of mine, a rare one I have kept in touch with even through my more recent tumultuous and less proud moments. We are also the only two people I know in our age group and ambition proudly supporting 718 as the area code of choice for our cellular phones, representing our adopted home boroughs of Brooklyn (her; she

Kyoto Keihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00388973201948460684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1098306959963897446.post-3381868045225636602009-11-17T08:33:00.007+09:002010-11-12T06:38:49.978+09:00

I wrote this about three years ago when I still lived in Queens, New York. It makes me nostalgic thinking about all the places I talk about in it. Nostalgia mixes with a bit of embarrassment as I note my academic tone in this particular writing. But more than making me feel nostalgic or embarrassed, it makes me hungry for the favorite places I used to go to.***************************************

Kyoto Keihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00388973201948460684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1098306959963897446.post-85297323725568314482009-01-11T19:25:00.011+09:002009-02-02T18:26:42.955+09:00

I am tempted by New York - I always will be.As with many New Yorkers and former inhabitants of the City, I am eternally drawn to the energy, the people, the pace of life and the strange sense of comfort only to be found in New York City. I have not been back in 8 months; I am dying to go home. I am also interested in seeing the City in the midst of its difficult time. I wonder about the

Kyoto Keihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00388973201948460684noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1098306959963897446.post-2976160887817838252008-09-15T09:10:00.012+09:002008-09-15T13:03:14.032+09:00

Of course, this is not going to be completely free of prejudice; I had been working at Sasaki for several months until I finally got to eat in the establishment. It took me five months and friends from Tokyo/New York/Hong Kong to work up the energy to make myself a reservation.Yes, it's awfully difficult to get a seat at Sasaki. Currently (as of September 2008), all seats are booked for the year,

Kyoto Keihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00388973201948460684noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1098306959963897446.post-15503236297502429652008-05-20T15:21:00.009+09:002008-12-11T12:52:59.951+09:00

I zip through the streets of Gion district on my speed bicycle and arrive at the restaurant at 3:55pm. I park the bike in the garage, change my shoes into zori slippers, grab the reservation board from the shoe closet area and head upstairs. I climb the stairs quietly, as to not awake Oyassan's - Chef's - precious nap. I put my backpack in the private dining room and turn the cell phone on

Kyoto Keihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00388973201948460684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1098306959963897446.post-25551122292818426782008-05-09T10:40:00.006+09:002008-12-11T12:53:00.206+09:00

Up to this point, I have gone to and written about Kyoto restaurants as a visitor; when I went to Hyotei back in December 2007 I was still living in the New York. My life as a Kyotoite started in February of 2008 as I finally settled down to unpack the thirteen boxes I shipped from the States, impressed that they arrived exactly within the one-hour time frame given by the Japanese moving

Kyoto Keihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00388973201948460684noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1098306959963897446.post-53478738716103404192008-03-23T00:23:00.014+09:002008-12-11T12:53:00.714+09:00

Life makes us temporal beings, and temporality makes history a significant factor in the way we humans think about everything that surrounds us. In understanding any subject, whether it be literature, music or science, historical contexts play an essential role.Food, of course, is no exception.Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan from 794, is a city that thrives its present self on the past. Major

Kyoto Keihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00388973201948460684noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1098306959963897446.post-42512682862013891252008-03-18T23:57:00.024+09:002010-11-12T06:55:35.644+09:00

Located within Maruyama Park, Mizai is a special place even among all the special places in Kyoto. From the moment you find the converted tea house in the park, the transporting experience begins. Even if you are a Kyotoite, you feel like a tourist having dressed for the occasion and walking passed Yasaka shrine and Chion-in. Even if you are neither tourist nor Japanese, you will find yourself

Kyoto Keihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00388973201948460684noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1098306959963897446.post-42421225656847107202008-03-18T18:19:00.012+09:002008-12-11T12:53:02.069+09:00

After our visit to Soujiki Nakahigashi, Mr. Nakahigashi himself makes my dining companion a couple resevations at some of his favorite places in Kyoto, one of which is Daiichi, a suppon nabe (hot pot) restaurant that has been around since late-17th century.Suppon is snapping or soft-shelled turtle, one of the delicacies in Chinese, French and Japanese cuisines. You can pretty much eat all parts

Kyoto Keihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00388973201948460684noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1098306959963897446.post-44194638514731676172008-03-18T12:13:00.015+09:002008-12-11T12:53:02.719+09:00

Mr. Nakahigashi, the owner-chef of this popular kaiseki spot near Ginkakuji, goes in the mountains in the morning to gather his ingredients to serve to his customers that day. There is something homely and not-so-uptight about this place with twelve counter seats and two private rooms. The chef himself is a warm gentleman who is eager to answer your questions. My visit to Nakahigashi was in

Kyoto Keihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00388973201948460684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1098306959963897446.post-63740027026215912582008-03-18T09:39:00.004+09:002008-12-11T12:53:02.987+09:00

My visit to Gion Maruyama, a beautifully calm kaiseki place with eight counter seats and five tatami rooms, was in April of 2005. It was during the cherry blossom season, but the counter on that particular rainy evening was only filled with one other diner besides my dining companion and myself. The cherry blossom season is also bamboo shoots and kinome (baby leaf of Japanese pepper) season in

Kyoto Keihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00388973201948460684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1098306959963897446.post-37244534139281303572008-03-17T23:38:00.004+09:002008-12-11T12:53:03.203+09:00

For Tokyo there's Zagat and Michelin. There's bento.com and even chowhound.com has detailed posts on restaurants in Tokyo.But Kyoto? Not so much; not in English, at least. Here and there you'll find outdated articles from The New York Times on specific restaurants. Online searches only lead you to random places unheard of by locals.So what is a foreign gourmand to do? Have breakfast at Starbucks

Kyoto Keihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00388973201948460684noreply@blogger.com2