Friday daydreamin’: My favourite city

I started thinking about which city I would write about in joining the Friday daydreamin’ linky by R We There Yet Mom? and realised it’s a tricky question. How do you chose just one?

I’ve had to rule out American cities — the ones I like the best also have such a personal connection that they have an unfair advantage. Besides, I’ve been lucky enough to visit some amazing places lately. It’s still a close call but at the top of the list for me right now is Kyoto.

We went there during a whirlwind tour of Japan. I’m embarrassed to say we only slept there one night. But in that time we were introduced to some of the exceptional elements of life in Japan.

Some of the best hospitality I’ve ever experienced

We stayed at Hotel Kanra, which I would urge anyone visiting the city to book. When we checked in we mentioned that we’d love a recommendation for dinner. Tabita sat with us for a good 45 minutes going over options, calling restaurants and seeing if they had availability, then discussing the differences. Then it was up to the room. We stayed in a superior room, which featured a sitting area with tatami mats and a cypress Japanese bath. It was beautiful and serene.

Food that makes eating dinner a transcendent experience

That evening we went to Sakura, a kaiseki restaurant. They spoke almost no English — the wonderful Tabita at the hotel had arranged it all and prepped them for our arrival. After a taxi dropped us in the vicinity, we had a drink at a local bar…then the bartender thankfully walked us over to the entrance to the small road, not much more than an alleyway, down which stood Sakura.

When we walked in they greeted us like old friends and ushered us to the bar seating area, where we could watch the staff work.

Kaiseki focuses on the taste, appearance, and seasonality of the food, which is presented in small courses like a tasting menu, although that is an overly simplified explanation. Each dish set in front of us was exquisite in looks and taste. It makes Heston Blumenthal’s tantalizing creations seem like child’s play.

While we sat at the bar, the owner came out and talked with us, pulling a young kitchen worker out — she’d spent a month in Australia — to act as translator. The atmosphere was convivial and humorous, with him telling us stories of how they prepared the food, about his third-generation restaurant family, about the ingredients.

After much backslapping and picture-taking, our “translator” walked us to a nearby temple, then we strolled through the darkened streets of Gion and caught a taxi back to the hotel. There, we donned the yukata in our room, and had a drink with friends in our tatami matted lounge area.

The overall beauty of the city and culture

We saw some other amazing sights in Kyoto: the stunning Golden Pavilion Kinkakuji, the Manga Museum and interesting shops selling the most beautiful and outrageously expensive shirts, woodblock prints, leather goods and more. All these demonstrated a devotion to aesthetics that was at once refined and obvious yet also understated.

We took a train back to Tokyo the next morning and flew out the following day to London. Our trip to Kyoto was brief but now that we’ve visited we’re more motivated than ever to get back there soon.