JAPAN, DAY FOUR
Yoga, markets and Japanese pizza.
I made the most of a free morning today and did a full yoga practice in my little Japanese ‘yoga studio’. I think my body is still all scrunched up and upset from 15 hours on a plane, so even after just a few sun salutations I felt amazing. I find this one of the most powerful things about yoga — just a few minutes of practice in the morning can really change how you feel for the rest of the day. It’s so simple.
The afternoon was filled with browsing the shops in the Nishiki market in downtown Kyoto (at Shijo). Shijo is the main shopping street with covered pavements. You can recharge your batteries in the random eateries nestled between the designer concept stores or stop and watch the lunchtime gamblers seek escapism in one of the pachinko slot emporiums — the automatic doors open when you pass by and the cool air-con pours out in the street along with sound of small coins crashing together.
The Nishiki market has endless interesting shops to explore and if like me, you’re missing the shopping gene, your gift and souvenir needs can be met in a couple of hours. Don’t waste too much time, there is a lot of eating to do.
After browsing we navigated our way to Avanti, one of the shopping malls in Kyoto station — it’s a rabbit warren full of shops, restaurants and people, a great solution in the wet season. Although searching for a particular restaurant in a group of five can end up feeling a an episode of Challenge Anika. We were hunting for an Okonomyaki restaurant called Chibo, it’s is a must! There are a few around but we came to this one nine years ago so it was nice to come back. After a round of Kirins we ordered a selection of Okonomyaki and Yakisoba, it’s a sharing situation. Okonomyaki is nicknamed ‘Japanese Pizza’ although it more closely resembles a ten egg omelette. Made on a hot plate, it’s a mixture of special flour, egg, finely chopped cabbage, Japanese mountain potato (for moisture) and whatever fillings you choose — my favourites are shrimp, octopus and vegetables. Once cooked, it’s topped with Japanese Mayonnaise and Okonomyaki sauce (a blend of Ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, oyster sauce and sugar).
For me, the pièce de résistance is that you sprinkle the whole thing with tuna flakes and seaweed powder, and then get stuck in.
In my opinion, this is street food fit for a king.
