Japan Trip 2013 - Day 7 & 8

Day 7

Today, we made the long journey from Tokyo all the way out to Hakone to begin our 1 night relaxation excursion into the mountains.  The Hakone region is known for its many hot springs and many ryokans, Japanese inns, that provide hot tubs filled with water from these hot springs.  Kitty loves to soak and relax in hot tubs, hot springs, etc, so it was only natural that she included this in our itinerary.  After a long train ride and lugging our heavy luggage around, we finally arrived at our ryokan.  We were nicely surprised at the complimentary "gifts" on the table in our room.  

Biwa(Loquat) Jelly and Dried Umeboshi

Biwa Jelly

Dried Umeboshi

The umeboshi is like any other umeboshi with a salty and sour taste.  The Biwa jelly had a nice texture and sweetness to it.  It may be difficult to see in the picture, but there was biwa bits at the bottom of the jelly.  ts packaging was the first we have encountered.  The jelly was surrounded by a juice and the entire thing was packaged in a waxy paper wrapper.  

Standard Meal Menu

Aside from hot springs, ryokans are also known for their traditional Japanese type dinners and breakfasts. We chose the standard plan, but there is also a shashimi plant for extra money.    

Appetizer Sampler

The appetizer plate was composed of shrimp, ham, and abalone bits. The abalone bits was a nice surprise.  We are not entirely sure that it is abalone, but we both agree that it was some kind of clam. The ham and shrimp both tasted as expected. There were also miso marinated vegetables presented in the small bowl.

Ichinoyu Original Tofu

The tofu was very soft and silky.  The texture was a bit clumpy, soft, and easily scooped with a spoon.  The tofu was presented with some soup. It was so smooth and refreshing. Tofu lovers would really enjoy this.

Vegetables Boiled and Dipped in a Broth

The two on the left were mushroom and okra respectively. The piece on the back was tofu skin wrapped around seaweed. And the cube was a sort of egg and tofu mixture steamed with edamame beans inside.

Shabu Shabu Plate

They used Hakone raised pork for their shabu shabu. It was extremely tender and rich in flavor, which was quite the contrast to the all you can eat shabu shabu meat we had a couple of days earlier. Then there the usual vegetables and mushrooms. In addition there were noodles which we boiled after we ate everything else and then scooped into separate bowls along with the shabu broth that is now pre-flavored from the meats and vegetables. Then we poured their home made tare sauce (a sweet slightly thick soy sauce taste) over the noodles to consume with. It was a great way to finish off the meal.

Miso Grilled Fish

We also got miso grilled fish. It was a tad too salty for our tastes, but good none the less. The garnish was a pickled lemongrass, also equally salty.

Apple Sorbet

We both really enjoyed our dessert. It tasted really naturally, as if made from real apples (which is a real treat in Japan since fruits cost and arm and a leg here no joke). We only wish there was more...

Barley Tea

You also get some hot tea in the end to warm you up after that wonderful meal. Kitty promptly went to soak herself in the hot spring afterwards and lounge around lazily for the rest of the night.

Day 8

Breakfast

The breakfast had much more unusual and adventurous items on it than the dinner.  The most adventurous being the natto.  The natto is hidden in the picture in a small sealed container behind the black bowl of miso soup.  The other items included umeboshi, konnyaku, tofu nugget, onsen egg, grilled fish, burdock salad, seaweed, nagaimo paste, and rice.  The breakfast was pretty traditional.  The only things that we didn't like was the nagaimo and the natto.  Only Ducky was brave enough to take on the natto.  The natto smelled like stinky feet/cheese/locker room, but just tasted a bit like soy sauce.  The nagaimo paste was served with some okra and had the consistency of snot.  It was very slimy and a bit gross.  Everything else was pretty standard and didn't really stand out too much.  Overall, it was a nice traditional Japanese style breakfast.

After breakfast and packing up to check out of the ryokan, we took the arduous journey to get up to the volcanic valley of Owakudani to eat the legendary black eggs.  The area smelled like rotten eggs due to the sulfur and various active vents.  There were even signs warning visitors to not to stick around too long since the gases can be noxious and potentially fatal. The view was great though.

Owakudani Valley Black Egg

Black Egg Without the Shell

Through the Yolk

We only wanted to get 1 egg per person, but they are sold in sets of 5.  Needless to say, we ate a lot of eggs that day.  Once the shells are removed, the egg is just like any other hard boiled egg.  We didn't notice much difference in taste or smell aside from the black shell. The eggs are boiled in the sulfur hot springs, which turn the shells black. It is said that eating one egg will extend a person's life by 7 years.  If that is the case, we will live very long considering the number of eggs we ate.

Satisfied that we extended our lives, it was time to head down to Kyoto via the Shinkansen aka SUPER DUPER ULTIMATE FAST TRAIN. And whenever you have a long ride on the Shinkansen you must have a bento as you enjoy the view of Japan. Ducky said he didn't want one, but he still ate some of mine anyway.

Chicken Themed Bento

There was some chicken kara-age, pickled vegetables, scrambled eggs, and ground chicken with peas over rice. It was a wholesome and delicious way to pass the time while watching various cities and farmlands pass by.

Takoyaki Chips

Ducky bought a bag of takoyaki puffs in Tokyo, but we did not open it until the shinkansen ride to Kyoto. These are made by Frito Lay and taste just like the takoyaki sauce. They are crunchy little spheres much like Cheetos puffs.  Aside from the takoyaki sauce taste, there is not much other takoyaki flavors.  Overall, would get it again if I wanted.

Finally arrived in Kyoto in the evening. Our host graciously took us to an izakaya which is like a Japanese bar that serves food tapas style. We ordred a bunch of yummy things. Definitely not meant for anyone who is on a diet though.

Teppan-yaki Omelette

Gobo (Burdock) Chips with Mayo

Chicken Kara-age

Gyoza

Horse Sashimi

Ducky wanted to be adventurous and ordered the horse sashimi.  It pretty much looked just like thin slices of raw meat. It tasted like raw meat and was quite chewy.  The horsemeat had a bit of a bloody or iron metallic taste to it.  It was served with some grated mustard and ginger.  Definitely something to try at least once, but not as delicious as eating fish sashimi.  The meat was quite tough despite being such thin slices. Ducky would not order it again and will stick with fish sashimi.

Seven Spices Chicken Wings

Tiramisu Chocolate Parfait

Despite being full, Kitty insisted on ordering the parfait. It was not too sweet and had a great balance between ice cream, biscuits, tiramisu cakes, and cornflakes. Who are we kidding...parfaits are just awesome. Period.