Big shrines bring big luck

While in Matsue, I decided to pop over to Izumo Taisha to see their Shinto shrine, the second largest in all of Japan. The shrine had the usual large gate out front.

It also had a pretty cool sculpture of a guy (not sure if he's a monk), challenging an oncoming wave that has a large sphere perched perilously on top of it.

The highlight of this particular shrine are the enormous braids that welcome visitors into the main hall area. These braids are said to give good luck to anyone that can lodge a coin within them. I found myself lucky on the third try! (And if you think that's cheating, well, most people were trying at least five times before giving up...) I wait to see how my luck plays out.

At these shrines, there are also opportunities to pay a nominal fee to purchase specific prayers and protections from the deities. These weren't translated here, but elsewhere the two most popular appeared to be "happy marriage" and "safe driving". In addition, there were some neat prayer trees where visitors had tied prayers.

Unfortunately, my timing wasn't superb. Turns out the main, large shrine hall is undergoing a complete renovation and so was completely covered in warehouse scaffolding. I guess that's what my book meant when it said repairs are underway from 2008 to 2013!

Also, at the scale model museum, I saw a scale of a really neat looking staircase leading up to a shrine on stilts. In a painting of this, it was on some watery coast as well. Couldn't locate it in the real world, so I (and you) will have to content ourselves with this photo.

A great little dip

The onsen - definitely one of those how-did-I-not-know-about-this-sooner things in Japan. Literally, it means hot springs, and they are a dime a dozen in these parts. According to my book there are urban onsen, oceanside onsen, riverside onsen, onsen towns, clifftop onsen, hidden onsen, semitropical onsen, onsen with beach, onsen with sand bath, mountain onsen, do-it-yourself onsen, and onsen ski towns. Whew!

For my part, I was only able to bathe in two of these marvels. The first was an urban onsen in Kyoto - essentially a public bathhouse. It was segregated by gender, where you strip down completely, then wash up (onsen are for soaking, not cleaning), and then soak away. The Kyoto bath had many different kinds of pools. Inside, there was a cedar tub, electric tub, mud tub, hot hot tub. Outside, there was a cool tub and a warm tub. Each are fed with natural hot springs.

The second was at a small onsen town outside of Matsue, called Tamatsukuri Onsen. I got off at the little railway hub for this town, then walked for 15 minutes along the river. The walk itself got me in the mood, as their were sakura hanging down everywhere.

Then I got to my onsen. This one was basically in a spa hotel, which is how these onsen were setup (the accommodations were very posh and very Japanese). I paid my day fee of 800 yen and then went into the changing room. Emerging into the onsen, I found two large pools, one indoor and quite hot, the other outdoor and rock-lined, surrounded by a quiet little garden. What a setting! The next hour was pure delight.

These onsen almost merit their own trip to Japan, to explore all the different types on offer.

Soba, the buckwheat noodle that could

When I asked my friend the bilingual Japanese man for a restaurant recommendation for lunch the next day, he didn't hesitate: soba, he said. Well, then he hesitated: "Soba is a personal thing. Everyone has their own favorite soba place." Probably true, but not all that helpful. One of his comrades stepped in and offered up Yakumo-an, conveniently near all the sites. And it was a great recommendation.

First up was hot soba, with slices of duck and green onions. The temperature was perfect (hot but not scalding), the duck and duck fat delicious, and the whole combination delectable.

Second was cold soba. Apparently, the test of any soba place is the quality of its cold noodle - that's when you can really taste the flavor of the buckwheat. And Yakumo-an delivered. The identical bowls came with a side of garnishes (daikon, green onions, seaweed, and bonito flakes) and a pot of soy sauce. I tried both plain and the works and both were superb.

Best yet, during the whole lunch I got to stare at my bike looking so happy in a lovely little rock garden.

Going back in time to the samurai era

I did manage to see the sights when I was in Matsue. I even found the perfect way to transport myself to and fro. Meet my steed:

The castle was truly impressive. It appears to have five stories from the outside, but inside it is really six. Oh, and there are trapdoors within from which they can drop rocks on invaders. And apparently the wood is a special kind that is very light (easy to haul up ladders!) and fire resistant (hard to burn down!). Because it looks too much like a postcard, here's one with me in it so you know I was really there.

Inside were some neat relics from the time, including samurai helmets and regalia. Apparently the helmet was meant to reflect the personality of the wearer, so I was trying to figure out what this guy was like:

The top of the castle had a watch tower with excellent 360 degree views of the whole town. I took some snaps and then curled up in a corner with my book and ignored the other tourists, reading some and then looking at over the city. There were some very cool hawks circling about the castle that day.

The castle is surrounded by a great park which is then encircled by a moat. Perfect for bike-riding, especially because it wasn't too steep for my gearless horse. And, it gave me the chance to see the castle from a couple of angles.

Also, I stumbled upon a garden of camelias, and took note of this sign. Any camelia lovers out there?

After all of this cavorting with royalty, I decided to get a bit more down home, and visited a middle-ranking samurai's house. Ok, not so down home. It was a cool example of Japanese living, with lots of tatami floors and great sightlines throughout the house.

After such a day of exploration, my trusty wheels and I needed sustenance. To Kawa-kyo!

Iron Chef Matsue: Regional izakaya tasting menus

For my fourth place in Japan, I picked the San-in coast and, in particular, the town of Matsue. On the northern coast of western Honshu, but, really, in the south of Japan, it is known primarily for two things: (1) it has one of only 12 remaining castle keeps in all of Japan and (2) it abuts Lake Shinji-ko, and has crafted a regional cuisine based on the "seven delicacies" of the lake.

I bet you can guess which one sealed the deal to make me visit.

So, with two dinners there over successive nights, I decided to try out two recommended eateries that specialize in this cuisine. They ended up going head-to-head with only a few rules, so we'll play out the contest here. Who will be crowned Lord of Matsue cooking?

The rules:

-- Must use the seven delicacies, wherever possible and in season

-- Budget of 3000 yen for the meal, plus extra for sake

-- Cannot provide me any reprieve nor any Americanized food

And for those keeping track, here are the seven delicacies:

(1) isuzuki or hosho yaki - steam-baked and paper-wrapped bass

(2) shirauo - whitebait tempura or sashimi

(3) amasagi - sweet tempura or teriyaki

(4) shijimi - freshwater clams in miso soup

(5) moroge ebi - steamed shrimp

(6) koi - baked carp

(7) unagi - grilled freshwater eel

For the photos for each course, the top one is from reigning champion Yamaichi. The bottom one is from talented contender Kawa-kyo. Ok, without further ado, to the match!

Course 1

To start we have steamed and marinated clams from Yamaichi (note, these are not shijimi) and a tag team of roasted edamame and seaweed and eel carpaccio from Kawa-kyo. A strong start for both! The clams were to die for - I wish I knew what was in the sweet marinade. They were bold but not fishy and with a gorgeous orange color to the meat. The unagi was also a treat, with strong sesame notes; the roasted edamame, well, I could have eaten a full bowl of that. At the end of the day, though, the clams are what I'd go back for.

Winner: Yamaichi

Course 2

In the 2 hole we have an entry of mixed fried and stewed proteins from Yamaichi battling tempura-ed whole prawns / shrimps from Kawa-kyo. No contest here! The mixed fried items were, to a one, bland and with awful texture; the only saving grace of the dish was the delicious wasabi mustard. The prawns, however, had layered flavor, bizarre and interesting texture (the prawn whiskers tickle the throat...), and great crunch.

Winner: Kawa-kyo

Course 3

To put like with like, I'll go a bit out of order and match up the dueling sashimis here. Yamaichi presented a trio: horse mackerel, unknown whitefish, and conch / snails. Kawa-kyo countered with five: horse mackerel and conch / snails plus bonito, kawahagi with fish liver, and some of the special ingredient shirauo that came complete with their own dipping sauce. Easy call here, with the bounty taking home the prize. Each selection was lively, well flavored (whether plain or sauced) and they all balanced well together.

Winner: Kawa-kyo

Course 4

Continuing apace we have mixed tempura with scallops, shirauo, and a green vegetable from Yamaichi. From Kawa-kyo there were seven big shells. The tempura were a delight. Freshly fried, light, and with flavor of the ingredient inside. Plus, they had my favorite tempura accompanient: flavored salt, this one with matcha (green tea). The shells, well, I could write a novella about that experience but reliving it might make me die. These were essentially massive snails, with no implement for cutting them available to me. Also, I'm not sure if I was eating them properly, because well...so...shells are bottom feeders, right? And when they feed off the bottom, they are basically eating everyone's leftovers. Then they digest it themselves and, you get the idea: it was too much like (what I imagine to be) eating poo. But I powered through all seven, and it took a lot out of me. Kawa-kyo, big demerits on this one that even beautiful plating cannot fix.

Winner: Yamaichi

Course 5

The big fish course! I needed a normal protein after those shells... From Yamaichi there was a whole fried fish while Kawa-kyo brought forth special ingredient paper-wrapped bass. both were delicious and I would eat either again in a heartbeat. A particularly fun moment came when the Yamaichi waitress, determined to have me eat it properly, reached in and ripped the head off the fish, broke it into a couple of bits, and mimiced eating it. So! You eat the whole thing but the spine! Oh, ok. Fantastic, and with a salty, spicy sauce to boot. The bass was moere of a cross section filet, but also came with lemon and a dipping sauce. And, it included instructions and a back story!

All in then, ever so slight edge Kawa-kyo for use of special ingredient.

Winner: Kawa-kyo

Course 6

Into the homestretch we went. Yamaichi offered up shijimi miso soup - a direct hit on the special ingredient list. Kawa-kyo also aimed at our delicacy list with its own shijimi stew. For Yamaichi, the shijimi just paled in comparison to the lovely clams from course 1. Kawa-kyo had found a crafty sauce that imparted enough flavor to the clams to make them likeable.

Winner: Kawa-kyo

Course 7

As is tradition, both meals ended with rice and pickles. Yamaichi added some spinach stewed in miso sauce. Kawa-kyo added a basic miso soup, also adding seaweed to the rice. Both were a mixed bag here, and need some remedial pickling lessons. I love pickled things, and some of these made me gag. The light green pickles and the yellow daikon from Kawa-kyo were begging not to be eaten. The Yamaichi pair of pickles were just bland and limp. However! Judging was made easier when the spinach turned out to be transcendant. I think the waitress knew this, because she kept saying "Popeye" and pointing to them. Memorable, and I want that recipe!

Winner: Yamaichi

Ambiance

A quick note on the je ne sais quoi of each place. Yamaichi was tucked in a spot just over a bridge, with a cozy counter and two tables behind. I spent my dinner staring at a eight container steamer with lots of mixed goodies from course 2. Not a plus. But, my severe communication difficulties with the wait staff, even when I tried to just let them order for me, were fixed by a bilingual older Japanese man. He translated, and then the food started flowing. He also coined me "Mr. San Francisco" and got a few chuckles from everyone else in the place (I think I got some of the jokes...). Also, the cold sake from this place was tasty and made me toasty.

Kawa-kyo was going for more of the eclectic and cluttered look. It lost points for being on the main tourist thoroughfare and for having other English speakers inside (double boo). It recouped some due to the daring duo of mother and daughter who tended to the place and to the customers. I also got the chance to help the daughter with her visa application to go to Cambodia, which was new. Their hot sake was a tasty but a notch below the Yamaichi offering. Finally, they threw in a free sakura sake and some fruit at the end of the meal.

Ambiance winner: Tie!

Final verdict

So, it's come to this, the final decision. As this post was being written I knew it was close and honestly had no idea how it would come out. But we seem to be settling on a winner and it is:

KAWA-KYO!

Congratulations to both entrants and to my stomach. May I get to eat the fried fish, paper-wrapped fish, lovely spinach, delightful sashimi, magnificent clams, unagi carpaccio, and tempura-ed shirauo again sometime soon. Oh, and please keep nasty boiled proteins, including tofu, and ESPECIALLY icky icky shells away from my plate for the foreseeable future.