Shinkansen, Eki-Ben, and Kyoto Kaiseki --- Oh My!

After spending a couple days in Tokyo, my family and I went on a brief excursion to another famous Japanese city, Kyoto. Kyoto is renowned for it's rich history, beautiful architecture, ancient traditions, traditional foods, and of course --- Geishas. I have been to Kyoto several times, but never around New Years. I was eager to experience Kyoto during the holidays, since I had been told that it is absolutely stunning. 

Our journey began with a Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo Station to Kyoto Station. We arrived at Tokyo Station early since we knew it would be mobbed with travelers AND because we wanted to buy bento boxes. In Japan, bento boxes are a common and essential part of travel culture --- the two concepts are like a ying and yang of sorts and go hand in hand. In Japan, these bento boxes are lovingly referred to as "eki-ben" since eki means train station and ben is short for bento. At the risk of sounding pretentious, eki ben is a joy that cannot be explained, but must be experienced. My father and I were eager to have an eki-ben on our way to Kyoto, but deciding on what to taste was difficult.

Ready to ride the Shinkansen

Inside our train car

Once we were all settled in our seats, it was finally time. The moment dad and I were eagerly awaiting --- time to open up the eki-ben. The store that we went to probably had about 50 different bento boxes that you could choose from, which was actually quite overwhelming! It was overwhelming because of the shear variety, but also because of the astounding volume of people rushing to buy a bento box. Although I wanted to try everything, I settled for the "Tokyo Station 100th Anniversary" Bento box. It seemed to cover a bit of everything. I also bought a side bento of pressed mackerel sushi to share with my father. 

The lids of our eki-ben

The Tokyo Station 100th Anniversary eki-ben

My dad got a classic grilled salted salmon eki-ben

We picked up some stuffed grilled squids (they were filled with rice)

Pressed mackerel sushi

The ride to Kyoto was very pleasant. The Shinkansen moves VERY FAST, thus the name "bullet train." They also move quietly and smoothly. All in all, the journey took about 2 hours, which is really fast, considering the fact that the distance between Tokyo and Kyoto is 500 km (about 311 miles). We had beautiful weather, which made looking out the window fun, and the highlight was definitely seeing Mt. Fuji!

Mt. Fuji

Two hours later, we had arrived in Kyoto and were ready to explore. At the station, we left our luggage with a delivery service, which delivered our bags to our hotel. Then, we were free to explore and enjoy Kyoto.

The very large and modern Kyoto Station

My parents and I wondered the train station, as well as the adjacent department store, looking at what was on sale. We bought a few souvenirs for ourselves, but the best part (in my opinion) was tasting the different food samples.

Tasting a selection of pickles

We finally worked up an appetite and decided to indulge with some of Kyoto's famous kaiseki cooking. Kaiseki refers to traditional Japanese cooking and cuisine, and whilst you can find kaiseki throughout Japan, Kyoto is very famous for it. We dined at "Kitcho" which is very famous Japanese restaurant, renowned for it's kaiseki cuisine. I wasn't really sure what to order, so my father and I followed my mother's lead, ordering the main multi-course kaiseki bento. 

Housemade tofu

Delicate dashi broth served with mochi and a shrimp dumpling

Kaiseki bento box

Trio of desserts: strawberry pudding, green tea pudding, hoji-cha ice cream

This was an excellent way to kick off our trip to Kyoto. The kaiseki lunch was absolutely divine and hit the spot perfectly. The flavors of each dish were amazing, but also incredibly delicate. I am always amazed by just how difficult Japanese cooking is, but at the same time, the amount of soul that goes into each dish. Absolutely brilliant!

With full bellies, we were eager to venture forth, and began to explore Kyoto.