I was in Kyoto a few weeks ago, Osaka actually for a gem show, but I stayed one night in Kyoto after the show. I had decided to treat myself to a day long vacation after working the show for 4 days. It had been almost two years since I was in Kyoto last so I was looking to see what had changed. Cities are always changing in Japan so it's kind of fun to see the changes.
The first change I noticed were the amount of tourists. In the station the tourists equalled Japanese easily. It was surreal, but I guess since I am not Japanese and a Tokyoite I was a tourist too.
The other thing I noticed is everything was open and busy. When I was here last we were just coming out of COVID, but the damage was lingering.
Kyoto station Is 12 stories tall with an odd layout. The entrance/exit is a large, open space about 6 or 7 stories high. The 8th or 9th story has a viewing catwalk that offers nice views of the city.
After the catwalk I dropped off my bags at my hotel, APA, I need to write about APA hotels later, then I took an afternoon stroll along the Kyoto's beloved Kamo river.
It's always a pleasant place to take a stroll in the city. Some trees were just finishing dropping their blossoms too.
It was about 5pm at this time and I was ready for dinner. Now, a huge problem I have in Japan is there are so many restaurants it's really difficult to choose. Having eaten Mexican the night before I was feeling like being a bit adventurous. No chain shops, no ramen, something different. So I opened up Goolge Maps and typed in garlic. Surprisingly not many choices came up, however, a place just up the street from my hotel came up, Grill Stand. It had good reviews and steak! So off I went.
I stepped in and was surprised it was empty. It was still early and he had just opened for dinner so that explained things.
The owner/chef handed me the menu and tea. The menu was fairly small, about 8 dishes. I asked him for his recommendation and he said everything was good, so I was on my own. I went with the most expensive item, the garlic steak. Then I enjoyed a glass of shochu and before I knew it the owner was serving me. First up was this corn chowder.
It was lighter than an American chowder, but pleasant. I forgot to mention, everything this chef serves is homemade. You can watch him make everything right in front of you.
After about 15 minutes the main course was served.
I quickly dug in and was taken to heaven.
The steak wasn't wagyu, but it was Japanese beef and it sure tasted like wagyu. It was super soft and extremely flavorful. Add a little garlic and his homemade daikon ponzu and I was ecstatic, on a trip to the moon!
I very slowly enjoyed each piece. It was so delicious I really wanted to savor each bite.
As I was eating, ironically, the next 3 people who came in were all foreigners too. I guess they had googled "garlic" too as they were not locals and this restaurant was tucked away in a residential area.
If you are ever in Kyoto you should definitely give this place a try. https://grillstand.jp/
I finished up and went for a walk up by Shijo-dori and the Kamo river.
I took a seat by the river, as many other's had decided to do, and enjoyed a drink.
It was a great 24hours in Kyoto and I look forward to going back in August when I do the Kobe mineral show. I just hope it's not raining or ridiculously hot.
Until then, thanks for reading!
