Japanese Food Bites: Indulging in the Taste of Summer

Today marked my first full day in Kyoto: a day I had spent 3 days, 3 hotels and countless local train and shinkansen rides moving towards. By the time I had arrived, the exhaustion had managed to catch a ride and up to me too. I chose sleep over attending a breakfast that was given high praise by my peers and professors, and it wouldn’t be truthful if I didn’t say I had a bit of FOMO (hindsight is 20/20 and there was no need for that feeling).

Locals and foreigners alike wear kimonos on a bustling street where cars struggle to pass through. In this part of Kyoto, me and a few of my peers explore the variety of shops that both modern and traditional Japan have to offer: food, jewelry, pottery, popular character merchandise, clothes and, of course, kimono rentals that my friends were excited to try the following day.

During this exploration, a friend of mine and I split from our larger group to buy ice cream that she raves about: Matcha ice cream topped with Mont Blanc. It’s 1000 yen, which feels like a lot until your spoon gets lost in the depths of such green magic. I eat around the rims of the cup until I have my perfect bites to perfect the experience. Matcha and chestnut purée in a perfect ratio — the taste and textures melding together as soft nuttiness folds into creamy, earthy goodness.

Meanwhile, another friend of mine name Maryorie was trying matcha for the 2nd time, however this was her first time liking it. It was a strawberry matcha latte.

The first temple the two of us visit after our delectable dessert adventure is the Kiyomizu-Dera, to which she lets me know of its popularity for wishes. The collection of history encapsulated in bright red architecture that towers leaves me and the many other spectators stunned. It’s during our slow observation of its ancient walls and paths that she tells me of how she had wished for love while visiting this temple with someone and how it not only came true, but it was also with the person she had come to the temple with.

Afterwards, we explore a different temple where we observe people making wishes. First: someone casts a coin in front of temple. Second: they ring a large bell attached to a rope for us to swing. Third: a prayer/wish is made with a bow and lastly, the wish-maker claps twice (the order sometimes differs but the actions remain consistent). I am very much not knew to making wishes in Japanese temples at this point, but part of my is always compelled to participate in the different rituals for the practice. I follow what everyone else does — making the same wish I always do at every temple I visit. As the bell reverberates for all of Kyoto to hear and I clap for whomever or whatever needs to hear me, I expect to feel something — anything. But unfortunately, I feel nothing at all. It’s only when I hear the soft water running from the Kamogawa river that I feel a sense of peace and hope for the future.

After a long day of walking and taking in all the sites, we reunite with the larger group and eventually some of us go out to seek dinner. We, however, forget it’s a Friday night and therefore many restaurants are overflowing. We take our luck to an Italian restaurant called Kimuraya, which requires us to wait outside while American RnB plays to the sound of locals coming out of work and preparing to feast their stress away. After 20 minutes, our party of six sits and orders: pizzas, pastas, salad and one of the most amazing (and potentially only?) fondue I’ve ever had. An all around sweet ending to a fulfilling slow day in Kyoto.