Curious Japan: Car trip to kawadoko in Kyoto.

Starting the trip in Mie ken with a rented Toyota Vitz & GPS

(click the photo for a closer look.)

We started our car trip from Mie Ken to Kyoto with a Vitz (Yaris in the US market)rental from Toyota Rental. These cars are really nice despite being economy cars. They get excellent fuel mileage and come with a sophisticated GPS system. (Compared to the Hertz Never Lost GPS available in the US for an extra daily charge, the system in the Vitz is years ahead for no extra charge.) I wish we could get these systems on the lower priced cars in the US. They are really user friendly. In Japan it is essential to have a good GPS since many times even the locals have a hard time finding out of the way destinations.

The daily car rental fee is about ￥5000 (~$50) per day. That combined with the road tolls can be expensive, but the gas mileage is excellent. The total cost for renting a car versus taking the train is close but the convenience and our destinations tipped the balance for going by car this time.

With help of the GPS, the best route to Kyoto looked like the Meishin Expressway (名神高速道路) This section of the road was recently finished and is really a beautiful roadway. Unlike many of the older expressways in Japan that are narrow, bumpy and crowded, this one is wide and smooth with interesting scenery. A pleasure to drive.

One of the interesting sites along this road in addition to the scenery it the

Oumi Odori Bridge　(近江大鳥橋- おうみおおどりばし）

This one was taken on the way to Kyoto:

These 2 photos were taken on the sunny return trip a few days later to Mie Ken:

MONKEY MESH?

A bit further down the road this wire mesh appeared over the roadway. Just before this there were signs warning - beware of monkeys...

So could this be to keep monkeys off the road?

Does anyone know about this?

Next stop, Ippodo Tea in Kyoto:

Ippodo Tea has been in business nearly 300 years! Their teas are excellent and their shop in Kyoto is an interesting place to visit.

They remodeled recently creating a beautifully designed seating area next to the bulk tea sales counter. You can have a seat and try most of their teas along with a sweet. It is a great way to sample the wide variety they have and decide which you like best.

The servers all seemed well trained and able to answer any questions. They also show you, at your table, the recommended steps to brew twig, leave and macha teas. If you don't get the water temperature or steeping time right, you won't get the best flavor.

As you leave the serving area you pass the bulk tea sales counter which looks as it may have when they first opened. You can see and smell the teas displayed on the counter, try small brewed samples, and buy what you'd like to take home. If you like tea, Ippodo (map in English on their web site.) is definitely worth the trip while in Kyoto.

Next stop, Takao (高雄)

The Takao area is a lush area northwest of Kyoto by the Kiyotaki river (清滝川). Apparently the weather here is about 10 degrees cooler than in Kyoto. As a result, for relief from the summer heat, many years ago, someone came up with the idea for river side dining (川床料理 -かわどこりょうり).
Sounds like a good idea, doesn't it?

One of the places offering this summertime treat is the annex of Momijiya Roykan. They have one location a couple miles up the road and the annex is next to the river. They've been open here since 1907! Riverside dinning is only available from May to September.

This is roadway into Momijiya Roykan Annex next to the Kiyotaki river (清滝川）View from the bridge with the ryokan slightly visible in the distance on the hill.

Looking back at the bridge

Approaching the entry to the ryokan annex:

Entry to the suspension bridge leading to the ryokan annex.

Suspension bridge walkway to the ryokan:

View from the suspension foot bridge looking toward the river side dining area:

One of the reasons we chose Momijiya over the other places nearby is that they had a lot of good reviews from previous customers on Jalan travel web site . And few of the customer reviews said that they also had their rooms upgraded upon check in.

We chose this strategy on a weekday and lucked out. We reserved the lowest priced room of about ￥17800 (~$178)per person at the original ryokan (本館- ほんかん）on the road away from river. However, when were checking in they said they were not full that night and offered us a complimentary upgrade to a much nicer room (￥30000 ($300) per person!)at the riverside annex for no extra charge!

Rock garden in front of the check in desk at the ryokan annex:

Inside the room looking out on to the deck and ofuro area:

Interior of the room ( photo from the ryokan website)

Outside of the room with the ofuro in the foreground

Outside of the room showing the ofuro, shower, and deck.

Rustic table and chairs on the deck next to the ofuro.

I was a bit concerned that, with no wind in the sheltered valley next to the river, there would be mosquitoes, but either there were none or the proprietors have it under control somehow.

On to the riverside dinner:

Staff prepping to serve guests dinner: The kitchen is up two flights of stone stairs from the dining area, so the servers really spend the whole night running up and down the stairs serving meal courses and drinks. There is no tipping in Japan, but watching how hard the staff worked to serve the customers here they really deserved a huge tip.

Then the entertainment started ...

With dinner service mostly complete the entertainment started with a few Maiko(舞妓）san (geisha- 芸者-apprentices）taking turns dancing and visiting each table to chat with the customers. It's an interesting glimpse into Japanese history. The Maiko san that came to our table spoke English despite the fact that she was only 16years old. Another that only spoke Japanese was 18 years old. I was really surprised that they start so young.

It was a bit dark to take photos of the excellent food they served, but there are some beautiful photos on Momijiya's animated Japanese web page here.

Kawadoko is an experience that probably most Japanese haven't enjoyed. For a gaijin it is a privledge to get a glimpse into Japanese culture. If you don't want to stay at the ryokan, some of the hotels in Kyoto offer excursions to Momijiya for kawadoko. The over all experience was great, I recommend it highly and would definitely do it again.

The Oldest Tea Field in Japan?

While at the ryokan we learned that the oldest tea field in Japan was nearby, so we decide we had to take a look at that.

The tea field is on the grounds of Kozanji Temple. The monk Myoe founded and named the temple and is alleged to have plated seeds brought back from China by Eisai, a Zen priest. The story goes that the seeds were planted here at the beginning of the Kamakura period, about 800 years ago, and launched tea cultivation throughout Japan. Every November 8th tea growers from Uji come to make an offering of new tea at the temple. Map is here.

Old tea field marker with tea plants in the background:

And, here it is, the oldest tea field in Japan. Considering how important tea is in Japan I expected something a bit different. Can tea plants keep growing for 800 years?

Apparently we missed the crowds as there was no one there except the two women at the gift shop across the street.
Bus parking lot and gift (omiyage) shop in front of the old tea field.