I posted several images of food from Japan in mid-March, when, despite all evidence to the contrary, our long awaited trip there began. It was curtailed all too soon, less than one week into the planned three. Our brief time there reminded me of just how important travel is to us, the excitement it creates, the possibilities it opens and the experiences it offers.
We managed some time in and around Kyoto – long enough, though, to fall in love with Japan. Guided visits to a variety of temples and gardens in and around the city, traveling on the bullet train, drinking in ‘standing bars’ in which the locals were ‘relaxing’ , shopping in the streets and food markets (usually filled with tourists), tea ceremonies, geisha hunting (which isn’t as bad as it sounds!) and a trip to Hiroshima…many traditional ‘tourist’ activities. However, what struck us just as much, were some very basic elements to Japanese life: the balance between order and chaos, law and anarchy, conformity and rebellion.
We saw no homeless on the streets. When pushed, our guide said that in most parts of Japan, they just don’t exist in the way that they do here; they live in their cars in designated areas.
People cross the road only on the green signal, never at any other time and only at the designated crossing points.
Queuing for the bus is strictly ordered, as were the queuers to the lines painted onto the pavement to make sure that you were in the correct queue.
Trains ran on time and each carriage was checked by onboard personnel before new passengers were admitted.
On one train journey I sat next to a young man who would not have looked out of place on stage with Siouxsie in her full punk pompdom, a look which jarred with the J- pop he was watching on his phone….
The novels of Murakami portray an anarchy that lies just under the surface of a quiet, respectful, ordered culture, rooted in the traditions of inclusive religion, ceremonial understanding of ‘place’ and a reverence of learning. This was our experience.
I cannot leave without referring to our day trip to Hiroshima, which, despite the Peace museum being closed, due to anti Covi-19 control measures in place, still possesses an aura and a power to teach us all of the past and remind us of a ‘better’ future. Out of great suffering and destruction has grown a vibrant and modern city which has embraced its past, ‘owned’ it almost and is determinedly forward looking, a sense not dissimilar to that you get when you visit places such as Berlin. The crane has become a symbol of peace and hope and one of the most moving parts of Hiroshima is the place where paper cranes, made by school children in Japan are displayed…
During these times when we are still all questioning even the most essential trip away from our homes, the urge to travel is huge, and, during a chilly day in lockdown England I am reminded of our love of travel abroad, our wish to see more of our own country but also that I should relish being lucky enough to enjoy being at home.
Eating: Those who follow my Instagram posts will have seen that in Japan we ate a wide range of tasty dishes, including: seared beef, seared mackerel, fried chicken, tofu and aubergine broth, macha tea ice cream, shrimp tempura….the list goes on. In homage to our trip, I revisited the Kotteri vegetable ramen from Tove Nilsson‘s book Ramen. I made it child #3 friendly by using garlic oil and then taking out her topping mushrooms before adding garlic to the rest. We had rice noodles as these are gluten free. I also upped the amount of spinach, sweetcorn and mushroom toppings, so that we had plenty for seconds!
Drinking: A bad (or good, depending on your point of view) few days this last week – is lockdown getting to us? With the above ramen, we drank some sake infused with yuzu, from some sake cups we bought in Kyoto. During the hotter weather earlier, we had an exquisite light rosé ( from ND John), as well as a lovely German red wine ( from Virgin wines).
Listening to: I managed not to ‘get into’ J or even K pop when out in Japan. Due to my reading (see below), I re-visited Bill Evans, which was relaxing on some of our longer journeys. Current favourites being: Walk on the wild side, I’ve got you under my skin, B Minor waltz and Peace Piece. We did have one night in a bar in Kyoto, where a young lad was plying acoustic covers – his renditions of Earth Song, Bohemian Rhapsody and Your Song will live long in the memory and fortunately no recordings were made!
Reading: Should actually be re-reading, of which I am a fan…. To be in Japan reading probably my favourite author was an absolute joy. Given the failure of my kindle (other devices are available…), I was old school with a proper book, so chose one of the lighter ones to take with me – Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami.
Cook.Eat.Blog.Repeat. 