Ian Ropke writes: Mackerel or saba comes into season this month. In the Heian period (794-1185), mackerel were delivered to Kyoto from the Japan Sea via the saba kaido—a 75-kilometer route connecting Kyoto with the port of Obama. To get the fish here, fifteen kilogram baskets packed with about twenty kilograms of salted mackerel were carried on horseback and on human backs … [Read more...] about Saba Kaido – The Old Mackerel Highway
Miss Daisy’s English Tea Room
This looks nice, doesn't it? This is the rudest shop in Kyoto. … [Read more...] about Miss Daisy’s English Tea Room
Kiyamachi Bar Crawl
Update 2025: Back in 2009, accompanied by my old drinking buddy David Ewen, I set out to explore some of the bar culture in the Kiyamachi area armed with my copy of 京都穴BAR (a Japanese pocket guide to Kyoto's hole-in-the-wall bars). In one evening we visited eight bars, of which, sad to say, 16 years later, just three remain. My original reviews of those three bars are posted … [Read more...] about Kiyamachi Bar Crawl
Walking Kyoto – Hōnen-in
Ian Ropke writes: This summer take the narrow road south from the gate of Ginkaku-ji Temple to the elevated world of Hōnen-in Temple. Here you will find the sun shining on a large bamboo grove. Here you will find birds singing sweetly high above. Here you will experience long, silent moments. If one walks this same path every day, one will discover the fresh new … [Read more...] about Walking Kyoto – Hōnen-in
Frank Signage
Cycling down Yasaka Dori today I spotted this "ukiyo-e small museum"... ...and the sign pleased me. … [Read more...] about Frank Signage
