Pretty Plates

Kaiseki at Seikoro Inn
A ryokan in Kyoto, Japan
October 8, 2014

Part 3

Breakfast and dinner were included in our accommodations. And the dinner wasn’t an ordinary one. We were served the kaiseki or five-course meal.

Enjoying our first kaiseki meal in a ryokan

Once again, I took pictures of everything and Saori, our nakai or personal butler, explained every dish she served. The food presentation took my breath away. Each plate was a work of art and even featured touches of the Fall season.

The First Course: a trio of appetizers

Appetizer 1: a small scoop of refreshing veggie salad topped with a single skinless grape

Appetizer 2: a small portion of chicken salad in a bowl and assorted sushi

Appetizer 3:  the hero dish of the appetizer trio -- a bowl of assorted sashimi

Alan ordered the local beer Asahi while I had premium sake with our dinner. I was so proud of Alan for trying everything we were served. And he masterfully used chopsticks too!

He was awesome in trying everything...with chopsticks!

Living it up Japanese style

The second course was a duet of soup and grilled fish.  There was a big piece of sponge-like tofu in the clear soup. I normally like tofu but I didn't particularly like this one. It's not the same tofu texture that I'm used to. 

The Second Course:  soup and grilled fish

But I enjoyed the broth. It was paired with a bite-size piece of grilled fish. The condiments came in a tiny pumpkin-shaped container. So cute!

The Third Course: a seafood ensemble

Third course dish:  Shrimp with veggies in broth

Third course dish: Another entree featuring local fish

Third course dish: A sampling of some more seafood

Then came the best part of the meal. The Fourth Course featured our favorite dish: tempura!

The Fourth Course and highlight of our meal: tempura with white rice and miso soup.

The Fifth Course: a refreshing dessert combo of honeydew and matcha pudding.

A small grape at the bottom of the matcha pudding bowl spiced up the overall dessert. It was a pleasant surprise to conclude the meal.

After dinner, Saori moved the table off to the side of the room. She then pulled the futons from the cabinet. With swift yet lady-like movements, she laid them out and neatly put the sheets on.

After dinner, Saori set up our futons

You know that the comforters are clean because they are covered with protectors.

Then we turned off this light and said nightey-night.

The next morning, Saori came back at our requested breakfast time. She cleared the floor of the futons and positioned the table back in the center of the room. Alan decided to stick to the Western breakfast while I asked for the traditional Japanese breakfast. Mine turned out to be a grand feast that included veggies, tofu, rice, grilled fish, and miso soup. Who knew?

I requested for the traditional Japanese breakfast. What a feast!

This story is a continuation of Inside the Ryokan (Part 1) and Take It All Off! (Part 2).

In my next blog post, I will be writing about our sightseeing tours in Kyoto. I can't wait to share the wonderful photos. Stay tuned!

Inside the Ryokan

Seikoro Inn
A ryokan in Kyoto
October 8, 2014

Part 1

Number one on my list of "Must Do's" while in Japan was to stay in a ryokan. I love Bed & Breakfasts so why not stay in a traditional Japanese inn? Little did I expect to learn so much about omotenashi, or the Japanese heartfelt hospitality.

The staff forming a reception line at the ryokan's entrance

Here's Alan pointing to Seikoro Inn from the narrow street.

This way to Seikoro Inn

When we first arrived in Seikoro Inn in Kyoto, two ladies came out of nowhere, whisked away our bags, and led us inside. We had to take off our shoes and put on a pair of slippers already laid out for us. There were several slippers to choose from, all lined up in a row at the entrance. I have no clue where they stashed our shoes for safekeeping.

Clean slippers at the welcoming entrance of Seikoro Inn

The cozy living room inside the ryokan.

Shot from another angle -- the homey living area at Seikoro Inn's lobby

Another relaxation area inside Seikoro Inn

A long glass display case held souvenirs and curios for sale.

Earlier in the day, we left our bags here and went back to the city to have lunch and to see the famous Fushimi Inari Shrine. Having returned from our sight-seeing trip, we were received with friendly smiles and then escorted to our assigned room down the hall. It was like coming home.

The door to our special accommodations

Past the main door was a small anteroom.  To the left was the private bathroom and adjoining toilet. To the right was the bedroom concealed by sliding doors or shoji. We had to leave our slippers in this anteroom before setting our bare feet onto the tatami floor of our sleeping area.

My reservation was for a standard non-smoking room of 6-8 tatami mats, the size equivalent to about 192 sq ft. (The tatami mat is the standard unit of measure for rooms in a ryokan and the average mat is around 3 ft by 6 ft.) This was definitely more spacious than the standard hotel accommodations in Japan.

Walking into our room, we found our luggage neatly put away next to the closet. In one corner, I noticed some amenities:  a humidifier, a night lamp, and a hot water thermos for tea. It wasn't until Alan found the remote control that I realized there was even a TV. It was discreetly veiled with yellow cloth.

A lovely sitting area for two was positioned right next to sliding doors that open up to a small yet beautiful zen garden.

Sitting area next to the sliding doors leading to a zen garden.

In the middle of the room was a low black lacquered table. There were two covered seats like chairs without legs. Each seat was complemented with a wooden arm rest propped on its left side.

Alan was thrilled to find the TV remote. The TV is covered with yellow cloth in the right corner.

We were followed by our private butler or nakai, a young lady named Saori. She was assigned to assist us during our entire stay.

This is Saori, our nakai in the ryokan.

The lovely Saori, our nakai, serving us tea.

She treated us to a welcome snack by pouring some green tea and serving dorayaki, a mini pancake with bean paste filling.

The welcome snack comprised of tea and dorayaki or mini pancake with bean paste filling.

Inside our charming room in our ryokan, Seikoro Inn

We still had plenty of time to rest before dinner service so Saori left us with some privacy. While Alan was enjoying the free wireless internet with his mobile phone, I continued my inspection of the room.

There was a different set of slippers to use inside the toilet. Our toilet was the Western kind with an electronic bidet.  Thankfully, this ryokan had a mixture of modern and traditional features.

A different set of slippers for the toilet.

Adjacent to the toilet was a curtained area that led to the private bathroom. Here I found a large sink with bath amenities and opposite that, a bench with his-and-hers yukata, or kimono robes.

Beyond this curtained entry is the private bathroom

Further inside, I found our bathroom with the typical bucket and stool next to the wooden bathtub and separate shower. Customarily, the Japanese use the bucket to wash themselves thoroughly while seated on a stool. Only after such cleansing do they soak in the tub for complete relaxation.

A wooden tub next to separate shower with wooden bucket and stool

My curious nature prompted me to tour the rest of this beautiful ryokan. I put on my yukata robe and ventured outside our room. I was particularly interested in the public bath. It wasn't difficult to find and when I learned that no one was in there, I hurried back to my room to get the camera. 

See my next posts explaining more about this communal bath and also our kaiseki or five-course dinner.

Learn more about ryokans here.

Minus The Cobwebs

I glanced around and said, "This place looks like some Grandma's big old house." 

"And it sure smells like it too," Sandy replied. 

The house is an authentic turn-of-the-century Victorian home complete with antiques and intriguing furnishings. It's pretty. But a little creepy.  It felt like any minute the Addams Family would show up.

The living room is decorated with a collection of antiques.

The dining room already set up for breakfast.

It didn't help that we arrived past 10 p.m. at Chateau Tivoli, this bed and breakfast in San Francisco.  It was so quiet and there was no one around to greet us.  Our welcome note stated that the innkeepers were available on site only until 8 p.m.  Our husbands were still out looking for a place to park. (Yeah, welcome to San Francisco!)

When our husbands finally arrived, there was much discussion about whether we should look for another hotel to stay.  I was so embarrassed since I was the one who found this online.  But I swear, it didn't look like this at all on the website! And I felt awful since it was our friends' first experience in a B&B. But after inspecting our rooms, my husband said, "It's really not bad at all. I wouldn't mind staying here another night."

I heaved a sigh of relief. I was so afraid he'd shake his head and say, "I can't believe you booked us in a place like this!" Instead, he grinned and told me, "This would make for a really good story!"

 

Our room had a four poster bed with white curtains hanging from its curtain rods.

The sitting area in our bedroom

Detail on our bedroom ceiling

Though the bathroom was only 2 steps away from our bed, I held off from my usual bathroom trip in the middle of the night.  I instructed my husband to hold me all night long.  I was determined to keep my eyes closed until the next morning.

Thankfully the rest of the night was uneventful.  No paranormal activity whatsoever. When we all met up with our friends Sandy and John the next day, we admitted that the accommodations were actually comfortable.  So we all agreed to stay one more night.

That evening, when we returned from our day trip to Napa, we scampered around like mischievous kids and took lots of photos.  Silly, silly!

Hubby in the living room area

That's me taking a seat by the window

Sandy and John goofing around

Elaborate detail on the hallway ceiling

Chateau Tivoli Bed and Breakfast

By the time we made it downstairs on our last day here, guests were already having their morning meal in the dining room.  I would have wanted to try what they served for champagne breakfast but the rest of my party wanted to go someplace else.

We had the chance to speak to the innkeeper when we were settling our bill.  He's a warm and animated fellow who told us that this house is 120 years old. Before leaving, we flipped through the pages of the guestbook. We found that this B&B has welcomed guests from as far away as Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom and all the past guests commented on how much they adore this place. 

Chateau Tivoli in San Francisco, California

The Otter Cove

The Old St. Angela Inn
Pacific Grove, CA
September 2 - 3, 2012

Who doesn't love Monterey and Pacific Grove? This is why hubby and I keep coming back here. Of course, the ever-reliable TripAdvisor led me to this adorable Bed and Breakfast.  I immediately fell for its charm just by browsing their website.  And I loved it even more once I got there.

We were appointed the Otter Cove Room which has its own entrance from the garden.

Our French country cottage-inspired bedroom is just darling. It is sprinkled with antique furnishings and the bed fittingly accented with a cute teddy bear. It's quite comfortable, well-kept, and very clean.

My favorite feature of this cozy room is the bay window overlooking the garden.

Somehow I convinced hubby to pose by the window seat for this picture.  He was distracted and couldn't be peeled away from his cell phone. I doubt he even remembers this moment.  Men!

The garden courtyard, though petite, provides areas for quiet time and relaxation: a bistro set by the mini waterfall or the small seating around the fire pit.

There is something so peaceful about this place.  After reading more about its history, I learned that it was originally a country home in 1910 and was later converted into a convent in 1920.

Breakfast here is another pleasurable experience. At The Old St. Angela Inn, a breakfast buffet is served in a solarium that also overlooks the garden and patio. I love being washed in natural morning sunlight and I always enjoy a big breakfast so this is perfect for me.  A gracious lady warmly greeted us and said, "This morning we have egg strata with roasted bell peppers and artichokes." Did I already say that they also served scrumptious apricot muffins? I didn't leave a single crumb on my plate. Mom would have been proud of me.

Another big plus about this place is its prime location.  It is literally a block away from the water.   

In no time, you can take a leisurely stroll along the shoreline to soak up the beauty of Monterey Bay. Or chum around with the "locals."