天橋立、パート３

Reading: House of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
Listening: "Lover boy," Clazziquai Project

After a day of trekking around the bay, Chris and I were ready for an afternoon of relaxation at our 旅館 (traditional Japanese inn). We drove into ホテル北野や (Hotel Kitanoya) shortly before 3:00 pm, where we were received by the staff and along with our bags, were transported by golf cart up to the front entrance.

The warm staff gathered to welcome us in the front lobby, and we were ushered by a short, kimono-clad woman (who assisted us for our entire stay) to the hotel bar, where we were seated and checked in. We sipped cold yuzu juice (I love yuzu, a Japanese citron that is delicious as a flavoring in both sweet and savory dishes) as we specified the times at we would like dinner and breakfast.

The hotel woman then directed us to our room (our bags were already lined up neatly inside) and gave us a tour of all the features. My favorites were the following:

I would've taken this chair home if only it fit in my suitcase.

Ahh. Our 露天風呂(outdoor bath, hot with super water from the hotel onsen. The tub overlooks the bay.

Super hot!

And now for the good stuff.

Japanese inns feature amazing food. Traditional kaiseki style, the dishes arrives in small portions, beautifully constructed. Kaiseki cuisine emphasizes the use of ingredients at the peak of the season. Unfortunately, I know little else about kaiseki, and I was clueless as to what we were eating. I asked our hostess about the names and origins of certain dishes, but I wound up simply enjoying the food silently rather than harping on about the specific content of our meal.

海の幸 (Bounty of the Sea)
sashimi, shrimp, uni (sea urchin), and tunnel shell, garnished with ogo and shredded daikon.
I loved everything but the tunnel shell, which was unpleasantly crunchy.

The name of this cold, gelatinous mushroom mix is written in a notebook that I do not carry with me. The thin slice of lemon filled the dish with a bright citrus flavor.

steamed tai (snapper) with mochi rice (wrapped in sakura leaf), garnished with crisp spring peas

mamegohan

spring peas in rice

Freaky.
Yet the flesh of the fish was pillowy light and うまい！

Tai, amaebi sushi. I forgot about the wasabi and shoved the entire tai into my mouth, experiencing an unpleasant jolt of horror.

asari (clams) in broth

tsukemono

A fish. In yummy dashi. I liked the kabocha.

Enoki mushrooms. Sprouts. Homemade tofu. In broth.

Creamy mango pudding, garnished with kiwi and a cherry.