Udon Noodle Restaurant: Yamamoto Menzou

Yamamoto Menzou
34 Okazaki Minamigoshocho
Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, 606-8334, Japan

 

Like many noodle shops we saw, the first step is to line up on the street and have your order taken

Get to the front of the line, and move inside to a holding area

Then move to the back's 10 seats at the bar, or one of the two communal tables for 6 in front - we sat at the kitchen bar.

"Udon is a type of thick wheat flour noodle used frequently in Japanese cuisine. It is often served hot as a noodle soup in its simplest form, as kake udon, in a mildly flavoured broth called kakejiru, which is made of dashi, soy sauce, and mirin. It is usually topped with thinly chopped scallions." (Wikipedia)

They pour you some tea, and soon your order appears:

Vegetable tempura udon 990 yen

The man sitting next to me spoke English and helped us navigate the spices and techniques.  He translated as the friendly staff helped and explained.  They seemed honest to be excited that Amy and I were interested in everything.

Meat miso udon 850 yen

* Udon noodles with hot meat miso dissolved in soup stock.

This comes with the warning to add the miso a little at a time to control the spicy heat.

Add hot spices at your own risk.

Clockwise from top left:

Yuku Citrus Pepper

Zanthoxylum Fruit

Shichimi: Red Pepper with 7 Spices

Ichimi: Red Pepper

Off to another Temple and a Pagoda in the Higashiyama Ward before looking for dinner (yes, we eat often)

Off to See the World

Kyoto, Japan

After breakfast, we walked to the train to Fushimi Inari Shrine and Fukakusa Yabunouchicho

This is a Goshuin.  Most Temples and Shrines, issue a Goshuin, this red stamp document.  They are collected in a Goshuincho, translated as "Honorable Stamp/Seal Book." The basics are that they historically proof of attendance at a temple or shrine.  The calligraphy is the date, the name of the shrine or temple, the words "奉拝 (houhai)" (which means to worship), and a stamp with the name of the shrine.  The full story and an explanation of the seal's origins and collections can be found here.  I collected several in my Honorable Book.  Our friend Yuko added the post-a-notes so I would remember where they came from.  The stamps were 300 yen each, and most are done while you wait and watch.  Some sites had one calligrapher; the most I saw was six at one Temple.

An excellent reference for the manners expected at a shrine can be found here.

Young men on a school trip, performing the ritual cleansing before entering the temple

Fushimi Inari is the most important of several thousands of shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Foxes are thought to be Inari's messengers, resulting in many fox statues across the shrine grounds. Fushimi Inari Shrine has ancient origins, predating the capital's move to Kyoto in 794.

The foxes have various things in their mouths.

Flanking the entrance to temples. there are two figures associated with the temple.  One will always have the mouth open and one the mouth closed.

This complex is known for its foxes

Then we took the train to the hotel and changed to walk to the 

ROHM Theatre Kyoto,

13 Okazaki Saishojicho, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto, 606-8342, Japan

Then across the street to the 

National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto

The writer/director of the theatre piece has done a film included in the exhibition "Dress Code"

Then Off to a local Udon Noodle Shop

the b kyoto sanjo

Kyoto, Japan

49-1, Sanjo Ohashi, Higashiyama, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto 605-0001

The Room

The Breakfast Buffet

Sausages and Eggs

Bread and Rolls

Steamed Maceral in Miso

Meatballs

Pickled Vegetables

Curry and Rice

Off to Sightseeing

Arrival in Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto, Japan

Our first dinner in Japan was at 

Magurofactory, 220, 1-chōme Miyagawasuji, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, 605-0801, Japan

Exterior

A practice, never fully explained, is to pour the sake to overflowing into a bowl below the glass.  Highballs were offered everywhere.

Over-flowing Sake, edamame, Highball, and pickled veggies.

Not all tuna nigiri is raw.

Map of the parts of a tuna.  We would see this MANY times on the trip, this is just a cute tabletop version.

This was a very interesting, the oven hot dish and the rice cooked the egg, making a bowl of rich creamy rice with the warm tuna on top.

White truffle scented tuna ball cocot

On the way back, we stopped at our first shrine: Tatsumidaimyojin, 59 Motoyoshicho, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, 605-0087, Japan

This shrine is on a point between a fork in the road.

Nicely surrounded by trees this neighborhood shrine, The Tatsumi Daimyojin Shrine is a tiny local shrine frequented by neighborhood geisha.  We did see several geisha during our walk.

Then back to the hotel b sanjo

Travel to Japan

I was not looking forward to 14 hours on a single flight.  At least the beer and wine are free - maybe not available as advertised first pass through. While Miller® Lite, Stella Artois®, Elysian Space Dust IPA, and Goose Island® 312 Dry-Hopped were promised, Miller® Lite was the only available choice during the first beverage service.

Flightpath Newark, NJ to Tokyo, Japan

We had the Asian Inspired Vegetable Stirfry dinner.  If this was a taste of meals to come, we should have turned the plane around there and then. 

United's executive chefs Gerry McLoughlin and Gerry Gulli should be summarily discharged for thinking this over-sauced gelatinous mass of mushy shredded vegetables and rice was in any way tasty, acceptable and un-offensive to Asians, vegetables, or rice.  Well, at least the beer and wine are free.

We arrived at Toyko's Narita Airport to transfer to ANA's flight to Osaka.

Narita Airport is, honestly, a large world-class airport.  You could not prove it be the basement gates we found ourselves using. Half a dozen gates, all leading out onto the tarmac to buses for taking us out to the planes. 

State of the art signage

It has been a long time since I have actually climbed outdoor stairs to get to the plane.

All Nippon Airways was a great flight.  Amy and I did not sit together, it was a little turbulent, and the beverage service was cut short - but it was a good flight.  From the airport, it is an hour's ride to the hotel in Kyoto. We used the  Kyoto MK Skygate Shuttle, a shared taxi service, ¥3,000 per person airport to our hotel.  The driver was helpful, providing each passenger with an umbrella for the short walk from the terminal to the van.#GerryMcLoughlin #GerryGulli #UnitedAirlines