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traveling-couch-potato · 5 years

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Japan Day 12

My two travel buddies left me today which means for the next 14 days I’ll be completely alone. I haven’t traveled alone since Puerto Rico and even that was for more than half this length so I’m a bit nervous. I took it extra easy today with only one main goal in mind: try funazushi.

I started off by walking north to the Higashiyama station. This led me to a different part of the Higashiyama district I didn’t get to explore. With the post-rain skies and fluffy clouds in the background of the little river and everyone at work, this was the most ideal spring-day I could picture.

I continued onward into the Furukawacho Shopping Arcade which is lined with a zig zagging road of colorful paper lanterns. I eventually made my way to the train toward Otsu City with my first stop being the popular funazushi seller/producer Ganso Sakamotoya. Unfortunately you can’t eat at the shop, so I bought some pre-packaged goods from the very very kind shop owner and headed out to find something for lunch.

The two main display cases at Ganso Sakamotoya.

I ended up strolling through a random shopping arcade in Otsu City to look for some actual food.

Random shopping arcade in Otsu City.

There were a few small restaurants but I ended up stumbling on a plain ole supermarket and decided to check that out instead. I picked up a few items then decided to walk towards Lake Biwa to have my lunch.

It's more or less the same as most of the Japanese markets back in the US except the prices for the raw fish was exponentially cheaper and there were so many more options when it came to prepped food in general. The lake area was almost completely empty. There seems to be a large sightseeing boat that goes around the lake and that attracted a few visitors but once that departed I basically had the entire region to myself.

It was a little windy but otherwise the weather was perfect for a pseudo picnic.

After slowly eating and relaxing by the lake I walked the area a little bit more before heading off to my dessert spot. A little confectionery store called Miidera Chikara-mochi Honke. Like everywhere else in town and I was the only one here. The shop workers didn't speak English but I was able to communicate that I wanted to order and eat there versus buy souvenirs to-go. One of the employees led me to a small room with a garden view toward the back end of the shop. I ordered one of the matcha sets. Once they brought it over, they left me alone so I could peacefully enjoy my snacks and the adorable garden view.

Some of the most amazingly soft yet bouncy mochi ever covered in a green kinako sweetened with honey. This was the best kinako I've ever had. And it paired so well with the matcha.

Got to enjoy this tranquil garden view as I ate and drank away. I meandered in the shop for a while because I didn't want to say bye to this quaint little town. But I needed to head back toward Kyoto.

Goodbye Otsu City. My time here was short but I enjoyed every second. Headed back into Kyoto and made a quick stop at Maruyama Park to catch a glimpse of it during the day. The weeping cherry blossom tree isn't nearly as gorgeous during the day but the small ponds positively twinkle in the sunlight.

It was still the early afternoon but I wanted to catch up on some work so I decided to retire a bit early. I picked up some sake, rice, and hot green tea so I could follow Ganso's shop owner's instructions for eating the funazushi. However as soon as I unwrapped the paper for the prepackaged fish I knew I had to run back to the Lawson's for a backup meal as well. According to the shop owner you should eat the carp over rice, pour hot tea over it, and enjoy with a bit of soy sauce. He also said it goes best with sake. So I picked up all the necessary ingredients and headed back to make the dish per his instructions.

I gave the dish an honest shot but the smell of sour rot mixed with clay was too much for me. I love sour things. Heck, I drink vinegar and eat lemons. But the pungency of the other aromas along with the tough texture meant I could only stomach a few nibbles. The sake did help mellow some of the flavors but not enough for me to be able to take more than a few bites. I defaulted to my combini food and finished off with some peach ice cream bites to finish off the night.

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