Toji Temple Market

 A few photos from our recent trip to the Toji Temple market. This once a month market is not to be missed by tourists! Many tourist goods are sold along side tasty Japanese stall food (like the mochi balls being made in the photo). There was a large asortment of bonsai, house plants, fabric for yukatas, and all kinds of other things. many websites warn you to go early, and they are right! We went around 10am and it was a mad house!

*The market is on the 21st of every month

This is the first time we have see pine nuts for sale at the markets. I'm sure they were not any more cost effective than in the U.S. 

We know what the fox says...Ohaiyo! Samui desu ne! 

Amidst the bustle of the market, temple men walk through the crowds, reminding everyone of why the market is happening. 

Training kids to love pachinko! These antique pachinko machines are for kids to play for prizes. 

bonsai for sale, some of which were in the $150+ range! 

Colorful spray painted succulents for holiday decorations

A Bungalow of Sweet, Sweet Craft Beer Love

So having put up with Nama Biru for the last 6 weeks, save for two visits to Tagd's in Kyoto, we finally decided to venture out to a new craft beer bar in Kyoto called Bungalow. Located at the corner of Shijo and Horikawa, it is conveniently located close to downtown.

We rode over to this place after our dinner at Kerala Indian Restaurant (our favorite Indian food here). The decor of Bungalow is very industrial/hipster... similar to a lot of the beer bars and breweries we were so fond of in San Diego. Based on their Facebook page, it seemed that they had about 10 rotating drafts, none of which was the normal run-of-the-mill Kirin/Sapporo/Yebisu garbage rice beer. We're talking beer with body, hop aromas, fruity esters, etc. I'm sure my pallet was on sensory overload as I started on the beer journey that took me from the mountains of Tottori (Daisen G Weizen by Kumezakura Daisen Brewery) to the sea at Osaka (Minoh W-IPA(double IPA) by A.J.I. Beer Inc.). Neither of these were cheap by US standards (~$9 for a 15oz pour), but were totally worth it.Meg tried a few chisai (schooner size glass) beers- Belgian White and a Belgian Stout, both of which were also delicious. We ordered a fine piece of cheesecake and ice cream to finish our night and thought were good to go...

... Until an overly friendly Japanese gentleman came into Bungalow by himself and asked to sit down at our table. Not knowing too many people in Kyoto, we kindly welcomed him in. Having joined our table, he insisted on an order of pickles (his treat) for us to share. I'm not a huge fan of pickles in general, but pickles after Indian food and cheesecake really didn't hit the spot. And we couldn't refuse- this is Japan, you eat what you are given whether it's plant or animal, cooked or raw, alive or dead, etc. After talking with him for a bit, we were able to conclude that he was an ex-employee of Panasonic and is now working for the Kyoto Chamber of Commerce. Since my background and current employment is in the same field he was in for ~40 years, we found an instant connection. I don't think he was too thrilled about his new gig, (and who would?), having worked at Panasonic for 40 years and now at the Chamber of Commerce. I'm not sure what events led up to his departure, but he didn't seem too positive about it. We exchanged contact information, as is tradition in Japan, and then we went on our separate ways.

Overall, Bungalow is a must-visit for anyone deprived of good beer. It's got great atmosphere, an awesome, fairly priced beer selection, and delicious food. On the SE corner of Shijo and Horikawa- don't forget it.  See the pictures below to get a feel for the bar and beer list.

Achievement Unlocked - Ordering Pizza Over the Phone

Friends and family, citizens of the world, we have an announcement.  In a stunning achievement, the ordering of food by telephone has just been accomplished by the very capable duo of Megan and Kevin.

It doesn't really matter that we had previously visited Pizza LA in person to create an account by providing them our physical address and phone number (after about 30 minute of back and forth banter in broken English and Japanese).  Nor does it matter that the bulk of the call was me just saying "Hai... hai.... hai" ("yes...yes...yes...") to anything they said, regardless of whether or not it was right.  At one point, I did realize I needed to pick a crust type.  "Crusto typee Itarian?" was my best attempt at "Italian Crust".  In total, maybe 20 words were spoken by me, about 300-500 by the clerk at Pizza LA.

Doesn't matter, because in the end, we had fresh hot pizza delivered in 20 minutes to our door, no tip required (this is Japan, good customer service is the norm).  It was a little odd because we got fresh basil delivered in a separate baggie.  Along with the basil, we also got the more traditional packets of Red Pepper, Olive Oil, and Spicy Herbs (oregano).  Meg decorated the pizza with the basil and we had dinner!  See below for the proof.  One thing to note, pizza in Japan is extremely expensive, likely due to the fact that I think they import most of the ingredients (sauce, cheese, veggies, etc).  This pizza was a large cheese pizza, about the size of a med/large US delivery pizza and it set us back about $30- definitely a special treat rather than a spur of the moment meal.