Day 2 - 10

Post date: Jun 18, 2011 1:33:40 PM

Ok. So it hasn't been much of a blog. What with the late nights and some Internet issues, like losing my phone and the Xoom tablet being dominated by Ange, the opportunities for updates have been nil.

Also instead of Nihonshu (sake) this trip has been dominated by a search for yuzu which is a citrus fruit sort of a cross between mandarin and lemon. We were first introduced to yuzu at Tenkadori on our previous trip to Japan where it was used in an alcoholic drink. We visited Tenkadori again this time and the look on Yuchan's face when we walked in was worth the trip just by itself.

Next morning I had yuzu cha (Yuzu tea) which was yuzu fruit sliced thinly with the rind still on and mixed with hot water. Very refreshing.

We continued to look for yuzu at every opportunity and after walking the "Philosopher's Walk" again (see 2010 trip), which is a trail along a creek not a funny walk where you absently walk into and trip over things, we found a Tofu cafe where the food was excellent and they had yuzu soft drink. Have to admit I never thought I would enjoy Tofu as much as I did here.

After being taken to a very cheap but good quality Sushi restaurant by our Kyoto friends, Ange and I sent the kids back to the hotel room while we went to a whisky and Jazz bar. A tiny very narrow place which had a local jazz trio playing. They were very good and Ange had several margaritas while I enjoyed a couple of martinis and the jazz. Very relaxing, Ange and I started discussing the possibility of living in Japan for 12 months.

In Gion, Kyoto there was a shop dedicated to selling honey and fruit cordials i.e. honey and some sort of berry or fruit mixed together and concentrated, mix with hot or cold water to drink. We tasted several different flavours but everyone agreed the Yuzu one was the best so bought a bottle of it to bring home.

The trip to Nagoya to catchup with friends also turned in to a hunt for Yuzu in the supermarkets and we finally got to see the original fruit. Looks a bit like a lime but they turn orange when ripe (the ones we saw were still green). That night we sat down to a lovely meal prepared by our Nagoya friends which included yuzu vinegar to use as a shabu-shabu dipping sauce.

In Tokyo (Shinjuku) yuzu was not as prevalent but we still managed to find the occasional drink. A different drink called Calpis become a bit of a favourite more for the funny name than the drink. "I wouldn't mind a glass of 'CowPiss' how about you? Guffaw, chortle, etc." There were many whisky and jazz bars in Shinjuku. Not sure why the two combine however they were all either up or down stairs which was disappointing.

The wine bars were accessible and frequented by us on several occasions.

Expecting to buy lots of duty free sake and yuzu on the way out of Japan we were again caught out by the mindless, bureaucratic airport security. Our international flight had a stopover in Cairns which meant we could not re-board to go to Sydney with a significant quantity of liquid. Even though we could fly Sydney to Hobart with as much liquid (alcohol) as we could carry. Stupid!!!