Volcanologists, Peg as tour guide

Volcanologists, Peg as tour guide

After the volcanology conference in southwestern Japan, I had a visit from 3 researchers who were sent my direction by daughter-in-law Liz.  They had a short stop in Kyoto between their conference and the old capital Nara.  We had a really nice several course lunch at a low table in a tatami mat room.  Featured was a warmed soft tofu dish served with a soy sauce-type sauce that is typical of Kyoto.

Then we went to the Kyoto food market – maybe more like Eastern Market in DC than a farmer’s market.  Lots of pickled things, strange seafood, dried fish, and other oddities.  One of the more strange items was a small octopus on a stick, with a note that the head had been stuffed with a quail egg.  I did not try it. 

They were also able to find a good assortment of souvenirs – hand painted fans with bamboo stands and chopsticks engraved with their names and those of their friends. They selected katakana – the writing system for foreign words – for the engraving.  And there is an awesome knife shop where they got a handmade fish knife.  It was sharpened right as they bought it  -- with the front 4 inches very sharp, then the back of the blade not so sharp – so that the back would be stronger for cutting the bones as needed. 

The flier from the knife shop says, “For over 4 centuries, the Aritsugu family has been creating Japan’s finest quality cutlery and cookware.  Since 1560, 18 generations of the Aritsugu family have continued to pass along the forging techniques preferred by the Imperial family.  Located on nishiki Market, known as ‘Kyoto’s Kitchen’, Aritsugu provides Japan’s leading chefs with hand-crafter knives and cooking utensils, especially those used in preparing traditional Kyoto cuisine.”