Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Our past few adventurous days...

One of the finest maple viewing areas is at Kyomizu Temple in Kyoto.  Despite the incredible crowds of people, the maples were at their finest, and our experience gave Dacia a true Japanese story to tell...

overlooking downtown Kyoto and Kyoto tower...
eating Soba Noodle- yummy!!










We took Dacia to one of the most unique dining experiences we've had yet in Japan : a traditional Sukiyaki dinner, Japanese style, set inside a shrine on a waterfall in the town of Sakamoto.  It was an absolutely awesome time of appreciating the Fall colors, and eating some of the finest beef and veggies.  Sukiyaki is a cold-season tradition of putting raw beef, onion, cabbage, mushrooms and other veggies, in a pot of boiling water that is seasoned with sugar and soy sauce. Sounds a little strange, but its a delicacy!  We then eat family style from the same central pot.  Very fun...









I heard of the little mountain village of Ohara from a friend of mine.  It took us about an hour on a bus from Kyoto to finally reach this quaint little town, and I'm glad we made the trek up there.  It was so charming : markets lining windy walkways, overhung with brilliantly colored maples and moss.  Dacia and I wandered the trails enjoying the local handicrafts including the hand dyed silk (below), then dipped inside a warm noodle shop for some "Kitsune Udon", my favorite noodle dish with tofu and onion.  Then, we discovered a wonderful "onsen" or natural hot spring to rest our cold bodies in.  The best part is that we had the onsen to ourselves!  




2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love seeing your pictures of Japan and reading about your adventures! Your pictures remind me of my time out there as well. Enjoy the rest of your time with Dacia!

Anonymous said...

The colors are beautiful! I never knew how beautiful Japan was until I've seen all of your photos. I bet it was sooo nice to have Dacia with you to share in some of your life over there. Wish I could visit. Not sure Tom could survive as a stay-at-home-dad, though:) Linds