The course menu only has three options, and the drink choices are limited, but I have wanted to come to this restaurant for many years! As a horse racing fan, I was moved when I saw young jockey Yutaka Take being taken by an owner on TV, so I wanted to taste the grilled fugu here. Honestly, I have eaten fugu a few times before, but it was just okay. Fugu sashimi is delicious, though. While enjoying fugu sashimi and drinking beer, I also had fugu fin sake! Is fugu sashimi really this delicious? Amazing. Next, I tried the grilled fugu that I had been wanting to eat the most. It had a unique taste and a crunchy texture, and I could feel the subtlety of the fugu. The ponzu sauce that came with it was also delicious. Eating it with the grilled fugu was truly a peak experience. Then, I had fugu tempura, which was undoubtedly the best tempura I have ever eaten. The only downside was that there were many bones, making it a bit difficult to eat. The fugu hot pot was served next! I enjoyed various parts of the fugu with vegetables. Both the hot pot and grilled fugu were prepared by the proprietress. And here comes the amazing part. Honestly, the broth was only made with kombu. Then, we mixed rice and eggs into the soup made from fugu and vegetables, creating a delicious porridge. I was surprised that fugu could produce such a flavorful broth! The broth soaked into the rice was incredibly tasty! Drinking the soup with fugu and vegetable broth from a small cup was also delightful. I was prepared for the relatively high price when I went. The bill came out to around 50,000 yen for two people. But it was definitely worth the price. I will come back again in a few years. On this Christmas day, I thought I would have a sad end to the year after missing out on betting on the Arima Kinen the next day. However, I made a good profit from the Hopeful Stakes and the Tokyo Daishoten, making it a great year-end trip.

I went to a long-established fugu (blowfish) restaurant founded in the Meiji era for a business dinner with a client. The restaurant is located a little up from Kiyamachi Bukkoji. The interior of the restaurant is very clean and refreshing, not the typical atmosphere of a traditional Kyoto establishment. The owner, who was selected as a "modern master craftsman," was a very pleasant person without any airs. We had the full course fugu meal, starting with thinly sliced fugu sashimi served with ponzu sauce. The sweetness and slight chewiness of the fugu were delightful. The shirako (milt) was quite creamy but had a firm texture. We enjoyed it slowly with some sake. The tempura was a bit difficult to eat as it was fried with the bones, but the flavor was rich, especially around the bones. The "uguisu," a rare part near the fin, had a muscular texture and a taste similar to tuna cheek meat. It was my first time trying it, and it was delicious. The grilled fugu, a dish that earned the owner the title of "modern master craftsman," was seared in front of us after being dipped in ponzu sauce. It had a unique texture, not too soft but easily falling apart in the mouth. The tetchiri, a hot pot dish made with fugu broth, was exquisite. We first tried just the broth in a teacup, and it was truly delicious. The owner prepared the finishing ochazuke using that broth in the kitchen, and it was served in a bowl. The taste was as refined as expected, even though it was a simple dish. By the end of the meal, I was completely full. It was a satisfying experience enjoying various fugu dishes with ample portions. It was a rare treat to have such delicious fugu, and I felt truly happy. This is the skill of a modern master craftsman. Thank you for the wonderful meal.

I was drawn to the charming atmosphere of the restaurant and decided to visit. I ordered a course of sake and blowfish. In addition to the course, I also had a side dish, and the sake was delicious and went well with the food. I enjoyed the rice porridge as well. Despite visiting without a reservation, the staff were very kind and accommodating.

The skill of the chef was shining. Everything was carefully prepared and exquisite. The sake paired perfectly with the dishes. I didn't take any photos. I had a very luxurious time.

I was invited to the reception at "Kyoto Rokunoya," and the fugu course created by modern craftsmen was a bit different from the fugu I had tasted before. The boiled fugu, tessa, fresh shirako, grilled fugu, fried fugu, tetchiri, and zosui were all exceptional. The boiled fugu had a significant elasticity, which I wasn't particularly fond of in terms of texture, but the taste was outstanding! The ginger served as an accent, spreading a refreshing flavor in the mouth, making even the aftertaste enjoyable. The tessa was thinly sliced compared to what I was used to, but the elegant ponzu sauce brought out the sweetness of the fugu. The fresh shirako was served in bite-sized pieces with ponzu sauce, offering a firm texture rather than being slimy, providing a difficult-to-describe rich sweetness that filled the mouth. The grilled fugu was cooked to perfection on a table grill by the landlady, using meat with skin rather than around the bones, resulting in an exquisite dish unlike anything I had tasted before. The fried fugu was made with a different coating than the usual fugu fry, so it was a completely different dish for me. Personally, I prefer the fugu fry coating, but this one also allowed the sweetness of the fugu to come through. At this point, I was quite full, but then the fugu chili arrived, surprising me. The fugu chili, made with kombu dashi, fresh vegetables, and exquisite fugu, was perfectly prepared, and the broth was so delicious that I couldn't wait for the finishing touch of the zosui. Lastly, the fugu zosui was served, with the pot that had been taken off the stove once now returning to the table with the addition of diced shirako. This fugu zosui, the happiest moment of the night, was, I believe, the most perfect dish I have ever had.

In summer, I crave conger eel, and in winter, I crave pufferfish. It's difficult to find the perfect timing to eat them during their peak season, and choosing the right restaurant can be a challenge. This winter, I finally tried Rokunoya, a well-known traditional restaurant that I had hesitated to visit due to its high prices. The tessa (thinly sliced raw pufferfish) was the best I've ever had. The texture was chewy and the flavor was rich. They also served grilled pufferfish, which was a pride of Rokunoya. The thick meat and skin were grilled by the hostess, and I couldn't stop eating. The fried pufferfish with bones was also delicious. The tetchiri (pufferfish hot pot) was amazing as well. Before turning it into porridge, they served the broth in a small cup, seasoned just right. I got to taste the true flavor of pufferfish broth. Unfortunately, they didn't have any pufferfish milt yet at the end of December this year. Hopefully, I'll be able to try it next year.

I was drawn to Rokunoya's conger eel hot pot and decided to visit. I had a relaxing time with my son in a calm restaurant. Based on memory, I will try to describe the experience. The first dish that came out was thinly sliced conger eel. Each small piece of conger eel was sliced so thinly and tasted with orange vinegar. Next was the eagerly awaited conger eel shabu-shabu. The thick conger eel, tofu, yuba, and watercress were served in the pot, and when cooked, the conger eel opened up and delighted the eyes. Surprisingly, it was my first time trying conger eel shabu-shabu, and it had a good amount of fat and was satisfying. As the alcohol started to kick in, a skewer of young ayu (sweetfish) was served. When eaten with tade vinegar, it had a slightly firm texture and was incredibly delicious. After refreshing with chilled melon agar jelly, a colorful tempura of large broad beans, cauliflower, Kyoto eggplant, and non-spicy chili peppers was served in the shape of a tied long pod. Lastly, the meal ended with Ojiya, enjoyed with the broth from the conger eel shabu-shabu. The broth was carefully made from crispy grilled conger eel bones, with a delicate and not overly sweet or salty taste. I was able to enjoy a luxurious time listening to stories about Kamogawa from the proprietress and staff, as well as stories about conger eel preparation, while gazing at the Kamogawa River during the meal that began at dusk. Although I have never lived in Kyoto, even just for this moment, I feel like I have experienced the essence of Kyoto. Rokunoya's conger eel dishes are excellent.

When it gets cold, I always crave fugu (blowfish). When I was in Kobe before, I used to enjoy delicious fugu every year, but since returning to Kyoto, I hadn't found a particularly outstanding restaurant. Finally, I found it. The finest fugu. The restaurant has an old-fashioned, unassuming appearance befitting its founding in the Meiji era, located around Kiyamachi-Takatsuji where high-end ryotei (traditional Japanese restaurants) are lined up. You wouldn't expect much from the exterior, but the taste is absolutely shocking. The sashimi is very elegant, with a perfect texture. The shirako (fugu milt) also has a refined flavor, with hardly any fishy taste. The grilled fugu is amazingly delicious. Grilling the fugu with a slightly strong seasoning brings out sweetness and delicate umami that spread in your mouth, an incredible deliciousness that seems out of this world. Truly impressive. The following tetchiri (fugu hot pot) and zosui (rice porridge) are generally good in taste. The broth of the zosui has a slightly unique flavor. The taste of the egg was slightly strong. This visit was for business entertainment, so it's not easy to visit at one's own expense due to the high price, but it's definitely top-notch fugu. I was very satisfied.