Still in capitals - Kyoto

 The morning was spent on walking around Nishiki Market where I enjoyed looking at all the food stalls and we both enjoyed a few tastings - but the only item purchased was chilli powder by Matt! 

We walked to the Gion district. We planned to eat the local specialty at a restaurant I found in the Bib-Michelan Guide. Kanesho was at the end of an alley and difficult to find. Only one dish was on the menu, fresh water eel. Honestly not my thing but I didn't hate my dish of grilled eel served with rice and omlet. Sitting at the counter and watching the chefs prepare our meal which started with oishinken and finished with a dashi broth was a great experience.

 
  

We took some down time in the afternoon before returning to Gion for a twilight stroll past the Kabuki Theater, the famous laneways and bridges lined with weeping willows, and yes, we did see a geiko on her way to an appointment but as she was in one of the alleys they request you not to photograph - I have no photo.

 

We then walked to Yasui Konpiragu love stone and shrine where we did see someone make his wish and climb through the hole in the stone (depending on the direction you crawl through you could be asking to break off a bad relationship or find a new one), and finally the famous pagoda.

 

After we had looked at the pagoda from all possible vantage points, we walked back to the street where a bus took us directly to Omiya station where we dined at a traditional sushi bar, Hiyoko Sushi Restaurant. Again, no English spoken but we were welcomed to sit and enjoy. 

Squeezed in between happy Japanese groups we ordered a range of sushi and watched it being prepared. It was much more simple than an Aussie sushi train, allowing the flavours of the bite sized morsels to shine without mayo or glazes. No wasabi. Beer, saki, or shoju to drink.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped in again at Azukiya where they welcomed us like long lost family members. We didn't quite hit 20k steps today, thank goodness for the Kyoto bus pass! 

Snacks anyone?  Dear Haagen Dazs, please bring this ice cream to Australia! And the kit kat haul included Sakura, Orange, and Peach flavours

 

A capital old place - Kyoto and Himijei Castle.

 We decided to base ourselves in Kyoto for several days and after a late start we arranged to leave our big bag at the hotel until our return to Tokyo, and caught the Shinkasen from Shingawa. Once I figured the ap out it was easy to purchase our tickets as we arrived at the station. Nearly lunchtime so we had the exciting experience of choosing bento boxes for snacking. 

About 45 minutes into our journey we finally saw Fuji-San. Not the best photo but at least recognisable despite being taken as we were wizzing past at 300-odd km/hour

Mount Fuji

Bento on the train

We found Kyoto busier and more crowded than Tokyo was, and the understandable resentment some locals have towards the tourist hoards was sometimes apparent. It was an easy bus ride to our hotel and we were glad we only had small carry on cases with us because of the overcrowding. 

Kombini snack of the day was a strawberry sando. Sounds weird but was light and tasty! Matt decided izikaya was the dinner of choice and said he'd found a bar with a great reputation. Found it on google that is, because actually FINDING it was quite the mission in the labrynth of  tiny alleys.

Mission Achieved!

A small room with space for maybe a dozen people belly up to the bar it was deserted when we entered but was soon full. We were the only tourists and were looked after by the owners and another guest who managed the karaoke bar upstairs. The food was amazing. Housemade kimchi. Deep fried oysters. Huge butter scallops. Chicken thighs. And all washed down with a dry sake (and beer). Adding up to the princely sum of Y5600 we decided it was a great experience and only a block or so from the main street.

Back to our small but well thought out hotel room we planned our next few days adventures.  

The next day was forecast to be a lovely 30 degrees as we caught another Shinkasen to Himeji to visit the famous White Heron Castle (as featured in numerous movies). The castle was simple to locate, you could see it as you exited the station. A wonderful restoration with the pathway to the castle itself winding through gardens with the last of the cherry blossoms still blooming. Once we reached the main keep it was a one way trip through the no-shoes-on structure up six staircases (which got narrower and steeper as you progressed). On our descent I took some of the backwards like climbing down a ladder! 

Amazing craftmanship and a beautiful space. Also it was MUCH more comfortable looking than a stone European structure of similar age! We then visited Koko En Gardens and I particularly enjoyed the water features. We were suprised to leanr it is a modern garden constructed in the Edo style as it looks as though it has been there for ever.

 

By the end of about 5 hours walking feet wanted a rest! So we caught a bus back to the station and while we had intended to take the local train back to Kyoto it was a long wait so we decided to get the next Shinkasen due in 10 minutes.

Final adventure of the day was shopping in Don Quiotje before dinner in one of the many restaurantes under the station.

I'm not sure what I just tasted but I think Matt captured what I thought of it!

Other Kombini snacks today - the famous egg sando and a banana crepe which had an actual banana in the middle. Cheaper than buying a piece of fruit.  Kit Kat flavours both based on drinks - match and milk tea.

 

Exploring Japan, One Kombini Snack at a Time!

 Cheap as chips! That's why we flew to Tokyo via Guangzhou on a late night flight with China Southern Air. Perfectly adequate service, some OK movies, and generous leg room. We arrived very early in the morning and as our luggage was checked through all the way we took advantage of the Priority Pass and had breakfast (and showers) in a lounge before the final leg.

Tokyo (Haneda) airport was absolute chaos with long long lines winding around in circles and multiple forms to complete but eventually we made it through the wilderness, cleared customs, purchased a Welcome Suica card and set off on the final leg for the last hurdle after a monorail and two trains. There was a long long flight of stairs and no lift or escalator.

And you thought YOUR check it staff were robotic...

Henn-Na Hotel has robots checking you in, I don't think we need to worry too much about the android uprising just yet. But the hotel has bigger than average rooms and is in a very convenient location.

Old houses between new buildings in Ginza

Local dining scene

After a walk to shake out the fidgets, a dinner of things on sticks, and an early night, we were ready the next day to explore, starting by walking past the Kabukiza Theatre and a wander round the old Tsujiji Fish Markets.

Very busy and crowded and selling all sorts of interesting things - but we were not quite ready for lunch yet, so travelled to Shibuya to see the famous Scramble. I'd been told you could get a good view from the 11th flood of the Hikarie Building, however, construction works obscured the view somewhat. We did have a great lunch which was advertised as being Tokyo Specialties before we headed to our destination of the day, the Meiji Shrine and gardens. We both enjoyed walking through the beautiful gardens which were not overly crowded and very peaceful. Sadly it was too early in the spring for the famous iris meadows to be in flower.

Lunch spot in Hikari Tower

A worthy wall

Blossoms in Meiji Gardens

Tori Gate outside Meiji Shrine

The Shrine

The Shrine honours Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken who are considered to be the founders of modern Japan. It's a reproduction of the original which was a casualty of WW2. This area was crowded with worshipers and tourists. I'm honestly surprised at the amount of fortune telling and superstition which we have seen, such a contrast to my image of Japan as a modern nation.

Our final stop for the day was to see another view of Tokyo, from Yebiso Garden Tower in Ebisu. Great view but no garden bar at the top so we adjourned to the Yebisu Brewery for a wee tasting.

 

Two different views of Yebisu

Kombini snacks and Kit Kats bought - strawberry and white chocolate and Mt Fuji, a blueberry flavour.

Three breweries and a distillery : a visit to Morisett's industrial area.

Over breakfast, a chance mention of some excellent op shops in Morisset saw us blatting around Lake Macquarie for a Saturday outing. Alas! What we didn't know until we arrived to find the shutters up was that said op shops were run by 7th Day Adventists and thus closed on Saturday. A change glance at google maps though meant I found something better. Did you know there were three breweries in the same little industrial estate? A new mission for the day was developed!

Brewery One: The Yard Brewery & Smokehouse

The largest and most commercial of our stops, this warehouse also contained a smokehouse and cafe. A very professional set up that could clearly cater to large groups and even had an upstairs section as well as outside dining area.

Food menu was American style BBQ with some burgers and pizzas thrown in. I wasn't hungry as I'd just come from an excellent and large breakfast with girlfriends so I told Matt I'd just eat his chips. He had a smoked kranski with jalapinos and hot dog stuff. Slightly too much stuff really as the result was messy but tasty. The chips by the way were EXCELLENT.

We shared a tasting paddle of 4 x 145ml mini tulips; lager, ginger beer, a Czech dark beer, and a stout. Well crafted and complex beers. Also very nice coasters.

Brewery Two : Lake Mac Brewing Company

A quirky set up complete with arcade games (frogger, pac man, donkey kong, etc) and an air hockey table, this destination had quite a crowd in the beer garden. Wings, burgers, and loaded fries were menu staples of this small venue.

Our shared tasting paddle was 4 ponies of your choice and we chose the lager, Lake Mac dry cider, Irish red ale, and porter. The cider was easy drinking but I found the beers a bit to bitter/hoppy for me.

Brewery Three : Bread and Brewery

A real micro brewery with seats for around 20 people. We sat at the bar and enjoyed our mini tasting paddle in a different way - one beer at a time (5x100mls) to allow us to enjoy the flavours without distraction of what comes next. The brewer Jay and his offsider, Mason (a part time Anglo Saxon and blacksmith), loved to share their passion for brewing and story telling. Each brew came with a story. We had an oated pale ale (return to sender), a smoked amber bock (by the horns), brown ale (brownie mcbrown ale), 2 types of beer blanket (a honey and chipoltle porter), and finished up with a sour style (g'h'ose't of the coast with lemon myrtle and salt). Probably our favourite visit because it was so interesting. 

       

Brewery Four : Not a brewery : Central Coast Distilling Co

This one wasn't on our radar until we parked outside Bread and Brewery and noticed the near neighbour. They've been open around 8 weeks but their offerings are super smooth. The cocktails looked amazing but we settled for a tasting paddle of 6x 15ml served with garnishes and Fevertree mediterranean tonic. Signature gin, pink gin, citrus shift, london dry style, chilli and fingerlime, and finally smokey chipoltle. As well as recommending which garnishes went with which gins the team gave us a little serve of nibbles. I liked the citrus shift and Matt liked the London dry so we bought both to take away.

An unexpected delight, you can visit all these venues yourself.

• https://www.yardkingsbrewingco.com.au/
• https://lakemacbrewing.co/
• https://www.breadandbrewery.com.au/
• https://www.centralcoastdistillingco.com.au/

PS we stopped at Salvos at Warners Bay on the way home where I scored a brand new set of Spiegelau martini glasses for $20. An excellent end to a fun day out!