When the rest of Japan (even Tokyo) is slow to react, monk Zenryu Kawakami, the deputy chief priest at the historic 400-year-old Shunkoin temple has been doing so for over five years. Perhaps this offers a reason as to why same-gender Japanese weddings and blessings can happen at one of Kyoto’s most sacred temples. Kyoto-ites tend to leave others alone and do not involve themselves in the matters of their neighbours. Kyoto is where introspection and anonymity can be perfectly lived out. Ryo’s father summed it up nicely, “we thought the streets were paved with gold elsewhere but forgot that Kyoto has been home to the Golden Pavilion for six hundred years.” People tell stories of how they have lived in Tokyo, or abroad, and decided that Kyoto was a better city for them. Everyone I have met who comes from the city or those, who like Ryo’s parents, have chosen to come here to live, does so for a calmer and quieter existence. After over 30 years in Seattle, Ryo’s parents returned to Kyoto for a much more tranquil, rule-abiding existence as retirees. Despite reaching the land of the free, they still instilled some strong Kyoto values in their children and Ryo remembers his childhood as far more ordered than that of his American friends. His parents had escaped Kyoto for Seattle because they just couldn’t conform. Highly recommend against it wasting your money here.Ryo, the person who shared these humourous culture-clash anecdotes is second-generation American. We got mismatching drink glasses for the same drink, one of the dishes was served on a plastic plate, and they couldn't even be bothered to provide chopstick rests. Even the plating was poorly executed.įinally there was no attention to detail. Unfortunately all of the dishes had little to no flavour, sashimi was chewy and fishy, matcha ice cream had bits of ice in it.
I'll ignore poor service if the food is good.
#KYOTO GAY MEN FASHION SHOP FULL#
At one point she ran away with a full dish without even asking if we were done. Our main waitress was rushing so much that she just pointed at the menu without explaining any of the dishes. We had 4(?) Different waiters throughout the 2 hour meal. The pacing of the meal was both slow and fast, the next course not coming for a while or two dishes coming at the same time. We arrived a few minutes before our reservation started and there was no one to greet us. The language barrier can be a little difficult if you don't speak Japanese but, that is no problem because they have a general understanding of English where you can say what you want and even have a conversation with the bartenders.Īll around an enjoyable experience and I would recommend to anybody visiting Kyoto.įor $150/person - everything was shockingly bad: especially the service and food. They have a wide variety of whiskeys and they can make any drink you want, you just need to ask. It ended up being my favorite and I ordered a few. They infuse the vodka with ginger and use that as the base for the drink. I started off with the Yukari-sour and the Old-fashioned, and ended up getting the Yuzu-Mosco Mule - which is a nice japanese twist on the original. You can call and they can attempt to hold a spot for 30 minutes because it is always full. Even though I had to wait about an hour to get a seat, it was well worth the wait. The bartenders and staff and was attentive and the atmosphere was very cozy and welcoming. First off, I would like to say that they allowed me to bring my own cigar to smoke, as long as I was willing to buy at least one drink and pay the 500 yen cover charge, which I was happy to do.