Kyoto Ramen Alley – Kyoto Station, Kyoto.
Kyoto is one of most culturally rich cities in the world with over 1600 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto shrines. But there is more to it than this: head down to Gion and you will find geishas appearing and disappearing into alleys; or you can spend the whole day exploring around Kyoto station which is a hub of department stores, endless eateries and a transport network that will lose even the most prepared travelers (such as myself). What immediately caught my attention when researching places to eat in Kyoto was a converging opinion amongst forums and blogs that a must visit place is Kyoto Ramen Alley above Kyoto station.
This place can be reached by going to 10th floor of Isetan then heading to the connecting passage which is at the side of the floor. The alley itself is composed of seven ramen shops: Hakata Ikkousha, Ginza Shouriki, Kyoto Takaraya, Osaka Kamigata Zanmaiya, Sumire, Kakiokaya and Yokohama Ichihachiya. With the intention of trying a bowl at each place for dinner, I was disappointed in myself that after the second ramen shop I was at my limit, in hindsight I should have ordered the small serving.
Blue Angel – East Sydney, Sydney
When I first heard about the Blue Angel I had casually kept it at the back of my mind because all I heard was about the lobsters that they serve. Little did I know that this restaurant would be one to source some of the finest Wagyu beef in Australia. A smiling cupid poised with his arrow welcomed us as we descended into the deep blue…
Hayashi – Miyajima Island, Japan.
A visit to Miyajima Island should ideally be done alongside, before or after your stay in Hiroshima as it a very short distance away; for our trip, we decided to spend two nights at a ryokan on the island, which we thoroughly enjoyed – the hospitality of a family run inn, amenities such as traditional dinners and sleeping on a futon in a tatami-matted room was a heart-felt experience. The most rewarding feature of staying overnight for me was having the opportunity to admire the magnificence of the torii gate with all the tourists gone and the feeling of being enveloped by the ethereal atmosphere at night.
During the day, the ometesando (main street) of the town has crowds of tourists exploring the plethora of shops selling their wares and ushers advertising their seasonal dishes of oyster to passersby. When I read that deer free roam the streets online, I soon found this was an understatement; the deer are everywhere and will be in the most inconspicuous locations (such as inside the actual stores themselves).