I went to Kurama Temple with my friends on a day trip. We entered from the back of Mt. Kurama and came out on the front side. It was quite tough, especially the steep mountain path on the back side! It is said that Minamoto no Yoshitsune could even perform the Eight Boat Leap here! But the weather was great and it was the best outing! On the way back, we stopped by Watanabe Kinome-ni Honpo! They had a lot of delicious samples, and my friends bought some right after tasting. I didn't plan on buying anything, but just watching them taste it made me want to try it too... Ahhhhhh, it was so good, it really hit the spot for my tired body. I ended up buying it! It was around 750 yen for the kinome-ni (simmered young leaves of the sansho pepper tree). When I ate it with rice at home, it was amazing. The tender simmered dish paired perfectly with the rice... it was insanely delicious. It was cooked well in soy sauce and other seasonings. It's a bit pricey but I think it's worth it! Thank you for the meal!

The specialty of Kurama, Kyoto, "Kurama's Fire Festival" is also known to Kyoto locals. The shop is located on the way up the hill before the main gate of Kurama Temple. Inside the shop, various Tengu masks welcome you. They use traditional methods to simmer ingredients in a large pot for hours. The main products used to be "Kinome-ni," "Kurama Shigure," "Jitsuyamasu," and "Hoyamasu," but now they have expanded their product line. "Kinome-ni" is finely chopped and cooked with sansho pepper seeds and leaves, kombu, and soy sauce. It has a distinct Kurama flavor. The "Kurama Shigure" is cooked with mountain vegetables, kombu, and bamboo shoots in a soy sauce and sansho pepper base. The shop also offers a set of four items called "Kiritsu 6th 4-point set," which includes the classic "Kinome-ni," "Kurama Shigure," "Jitsuyamasu," and "Hoyamasu." This set is considered a standard and is suitable for gifts. The shop was established in the early Meiji period and is well-known in Kyoto. It can be found in department stores and supermarkets in Kyoto and even in Tokyo. Although the shop is not popular on food review websites, it is a respected establishment among Kyoto locals.

I would like to introduce the products of "Watanabe Kinome-ni Honpo". The shop is located just a 2-3 minute walk from Kurama Station on the Eizan Electric Railway, very close to the main gate of Kurama Temple. The shop has a quaint and historical atmosphere. When I arrived, I saw that the curtains were down and thought they might be closed, but there was a spot on the right side without a curtain, so I entered from there. Inside the shop, a large Tengu mask greeted me, and there was a pleasant soy sauce aroma in the air. Various tsukemono (preserved vegetables) were lined up in large containers. I ordered the "Kiri No.3 2-piece set (Kinome-ni, Kurama Shigure, 945 yen)", and the owner kindly scooped out the tsukemono from the large container and packed them for me. They even allowed me to take photos inside the shop, so if you're interested, please take a look at the charming and historical interior. Kinome-ni is a simple tsukemono made by finely chopping sansho pepper seeds and leaves, kombu, and cooking them in soy sauce. It is a bit salty but has a strong aroma of sansho pepper. It goes really well with white rice, making it hard to stop eating. It's also a great accompaniment to sake. Kurama Shigure is a tsukemono made by cooking mountain vegetables like fuki, bamboo shoots, and kombu with sansho pepper in soy sauce. It's not as salty as Kinome-ni, but you can enjoy the different textures and flavors of fuki, bamboo shoots, and sansho pepper seeds. It also goes well with rice and sake. These traditional, richly flavored tsukemono are delicious and make you want to eat more rice and drink more sake. As a middle-aged man who needs to watch his salt intake, I find it hard to resist the charm of Kinome-ni.

At the Anma Mountain, the young apprentice Ushiwakamaru ate "kinome-ni" made from salted mountain pepper and akebi vine. It has been said that this dish evolved from the original "kinome-zuke." This establishment has been specializing in kinome-ni for over 130 years. The dish is wrapped in bamboo bark-like paper. Konbu is finely chopped and cooked together with mountain pepper seeds and leaves. It is rare to find simmered dishes with such finely chopped ingredients. Let's try it. It's so salty! The flavor of mountain pepper is nice, but the taste is very intense. Chopping the konbu finely allows the flavor to penetrate deeply, making it quite salty. It would be perfect for ochazuke. It cost 800 yen for 170 grams.

I have been a big fan of this place for a while, buying their products at Umeda Hankyu or during their Kyoto exhibition at Ikebukuro Seibu. However, recently I haven't been able to purchase their products in my area at all. My favorite is their signature dish, "Kinome-ni", which is a finely chopped kombu and kinome tsukudani. I prefer the spicy version of this tsukudani. So, when I had the chance to pass through Kurama, I finally visited their main store. I was moved to see a large container filled with Kinome-ni. I couldn't resist and ended up buying 1kg of it. I wonder how much rice I plan to eat with this. (Laughs) The staff at the store also laughed and said, "You must really love it." By the way, they also offer mail order by phone or fax. You can also purchase their products at Kyoto Isetan and inside Kyoto Station on the Shinkansen platform. If you visit Kurama Temple, be sure to get some Kinome-ni on your way back.

This is a kombu tsukudani with the refreshing flavor of tree buds and a tingling sensation of sansho pepper. Although the tree buds are not from Kurama, the kombu is cooked in a way that brings out the strong aroma of sansho pepper. This kind of tsukudani with unique accents goes well with rice. It was delicious. There are several other tsukudani shops in Kurama, but I'm glad I bought it from here, which has a good reputation.

As I got off at Kurama Station and walked, I was lured by a delicious soy sauce scent and entered a shop where there were many kinds of tsukemono. There are so many varieties of tsukemono lined up that I am really indecisive about which one to choose. Also, inside the shop, there are large Tengu decorations crowded around.

Located on the way from Kurama Station on the Eizan Electric Railway Kurama Line to the main gate of Kurama-dera, one of the famous specialties of Kurama in the mountains far from Kyoto city is "kinome-ni" (simmered young leaves of the sansho pepper tree). It is finely chopped and seasoned with ingredients such as Japanese pepper leaves and sansho pepper buds, served as a side dish for rice in the style of tsukemono (pickles). Traditionally wrapped in bamboo bark for sale, it is a different kind of rice accompaniment from pickles, with a strong flavor. In addition to kinome-ni, there is a variety of tsukemono-like items such as shiitake mushrooms and real sansho pepper, as well as refreshing options like shredded sansho pepper. Highly recommended as a souvenir for Kurama sightseeing.

First Meal 202111 (No.3180) At Mitsukoshi Nihonbashi Main Store, the annual "Rakushu Exhibition" is held around this time every year, with many famous Kyoto restaurants participating. Some new shops have also been added, making it perfect for gathering information on restaurants that you may not have time to visit in person when you travel to Kyoto. This shop, located in the temple town of Kurama Temple and established in 1887 (Meiji 20), is famous for its Kurama specialty "Konome-ni," which is made by stewing kombu with sansho berries and leaves in oil. This was my first visit, so I didn't know about the famous "Konome-ni" and mistakenly purchased the following item, thinking it was "Chirimen Sansho": Chirimen Tea Pickles 864 yen [Chirimen dried small fish stewed with whole sansho berries, finished with a sweet and savory delicate flavor]. However, the sweetness was quite strong and not to my liking at all... (>_<) Thank you for the meal.

(2018/09/29: Purchase) I went to the 25th Kyoto Traditional Event "Kyoto Old Shop Association" held at "Chiba Sogo"! The theme of "Old Shop Association" seemed to attract fewer customers than expected, probably because it featured traditional and somewhat expensive items like pickles and simmered dishes, which catered more to older customers. My mother was interested in the "Kurama Shigure" specialty of this shop, made with Kyo Sansho (Japanese pepper). It is a pickled dish with a strong and numbing flavor of Japanese pepper, perfect for those who enjoy spicy food. I also bought another pickled dish called "Kurama Shigure" which also had Japanese pepper in it, but with a milder flavor, making it a great side dish for rice or bento boxes. Both dishes were delicious, but the strong numbing sensation of the Japanese pepper in the first one was quite intense, making it a unique and tasty experience.

My mother bought me souvenirs when she went on a trip to Kyoto. She got them from a shop in Kurama, but I realized I haven't been to Kurama or Kibune yet. Despite visiting Kyoto often, there are still many places I haven't been to. The souvenirs I received were yuzukosho and karabuki. Karabuki is a type of fuki, and it has a perfect balance of sweetness and spiciness that enhances the flavor when added to rice porridge or tea. Yuzukosho, made with yuzu zest and dried fish, has a nice spicy flavor that pairs well with rice, but I personally enjoy it as a snack with sake. It's a great combination. I also saw yuzukosho pickles at a shop called Mairebi, so I would like to try them when I visit Kurama.

There was a special feature on canned food dishes in a certain cookbook. I thought it looked delicious to bake oil sardines in the oven, drizzle soy sauce over them, and top with pickled sansho pepper. However, it's quite difficult to find pickled sansho pepper. I found it a few years ago at The Garden in Ueno and Jiyugaoka. It seems to be available around April, but I haven't confirmed. It's a spicy pickled whole sansho pepper. First, mix it with white rice. The spiciness and numbing sensation create a addictive flavor. Be careful not to add too much. It's even better when mixed with hot rice and left for a while. It's also perfect for hot pot dishes. I tried it with pork and miso hot pot, and it turned into a flavorful sansho pepper hot pot. It's also delicious in egg porridge. It might even work well in mapo tofu.