Our next stop after Hida-Takayama was Kanazawa. Why Kanazawa? Well, I've heard the city called "Little Kyoto" several times. Kenrokuen Garden is considered one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan, the seafood is supposed to be great, there's Higashi-Chaya, a famous Geisha District, and did I mention the seafood is supposed to be great?
Also, I'd heard that Kanazawa was booming since the Shinkansen extension to the city was completed in 2015. So I thought this would be a fun diversion. We left Takayama, transferred to the Shinkansen in Toyama, and made it to Kanazawa at around noon. I was surprised at how reasonable hotel prices were in Kanazawa, so I figured "what the heck"? And booked us a nice room at the Hotel Nikko. Of course we arrived too early to check in, but were able to drop off our bags at the front desk, and headed off to get some lunch.
I'd decided that a nice place to start would be Omi-cho Market.
If you've read this blog long enough; you know we just love places like this; whether in Laos, Tunisia, France, Vietnam, or where ever, we just love to explore.
And Omi-cho was no exception. You get to see what's in season, what folks are eating, and sometimes other interesting things. Like this film crew......
There are quite a few restaurant in the market area. We just picked one; seafood of course, at random. This one named Jimonotei.
The prices seemed very reasonable and there seemed to be a rather short wait. The customers were a mix of Japanese (both tourists and some folks who seemed to be locals/regulars) and some larger parties of Chinese.
We got seats at the counter rather quickly because it was just the Missus and myself.
Deciding to order was pretty simple; we went with one sashimi combo (1500¥ - about $14 at the time) and an additional sashimi plate (1000¥ - about $9.50). With one "little" addition.
Soon enough the sashimi combo arrived.
Pretty generous for about 15 bucks US. The Missus didn't care for the Chawan Mushi; I think it was the dashi-forward flavor. I enjoyed it. She did enjoy the miso soup, as I never got a shot at it.
The sashimi was solid if not spectacular and at this price point, a bargain. The Amaebi was sweet, the hirame had a nice chew to it, salmon was buttery, the maguro, while not the prime cuts, was passable. Best of all, everything was super fresh. After all, Omi-cho is called "Kanazawa's Kitchen" and has been around since the Edo Period.
As for the other sashimi; with the "special 100 Yen" upcharge?
Kanazawa' history with Gold Leaf goes back to the 16th century and the city now produces 99% of the gold leaf in Japan. The city attributes its mastery of gold leaf production to both craftsmanship handed down over generations as well as to the water in the area. We really weren't going to order gold leaf covered ice cream cones. But gold leaf covered sashimi; for less than a dollar upcharge? Count me in.
While it didn't add any additional flavor; it did give the dish a bit of "bling" don't you think? We couldn't help but laugh......
Jimonotei
Inside Omi-cho Market
After the nice lunch, we walked back to the Kanazawa Station Area. The Hotel Nikko is right across the street from the station. We checked in and it was nap time.
And tonight....well dinner awaited!
fun gold leaf addition!
Posted by: kat | Thursday, 26 October 2017 at 12:10 AM
It was fun Kat!
Posted by: Kirk | Thursday, 26 October 2017 at 07:02 AM
I bought some Baumkuchen with gold flakes sprinkled on as gifts when I visited Kanazawa. They were a hit with the family!
Posted by: Junichi | Thursday, 26 October 2017 at 09:56 AM
I actually bought some food grade gold flake Junichi. Still haven't used it though.
Posted by: Kirk | Thursday, 26 October 2017 at 12:52 PM