Kyoto, a landlocked city far away from the sea, never developed a culture of eating raw fish.
This is why sushi culture is much better developed in the Tokyo area.
However, this handicap led to a new opportunity of developing fish dishes that are tasty and can be preserved.
The solution was to use whitebaits (chirimen), which are small fish that dry quickly, and cook them along with sansho that grow natively in the Kyoto area.
The combination was named chirimen-sansho or ojako.
My favourite way to eat chirimen-sansho is to simply have it with white rice.
The subtle taste of soy-sauce, in which the little fish are cooked, as well as the gentle spiciness of the sansho berries, blends in harmoniously with the plain but warm white rice.
If you’d like to try chirimen-sansho first, head to the Yayoi café in eastern Kyoto.
There, you can try fusion dishes like “Ojako pasta” (and also take some ideas home).
Alternatively, you can stick closer to tradition and go for the “Ojako and rice” option.
There are various other options including desserts.
The store’s décor is also charming.
The furniture is imported from Northern Europe.
The wooden theme underlying Scandinavian furniture matches Japanese tastes very well, resulting in beautiful Twenty-first Century fusion.
More information on the Kyoto store:
Access: Kyoto-Tsukudani shop, Yayoi, is about two-minute walk toward south from Yasaka Shrine.
Address: 481 Gion Shimogawara Kiyoicho, Higashiyama-Ku, Kyoto 605-0821
http://www.yayoi-ojako.co.jp/english/
The store’s décor is also charming.
The furniture is imported from Northern Europe.
The wooden theme underlying Scandinavian furniture matches Japanese tastes very well, resulting in beautiful Twenty-first Century fusion.
More information on the Kyoto store:
Access: Kyoto-Tsukudani shop, Yayoi, is about two-minute walk toward south from Yasaka Shrine.
Address: 481 Gion Shimogawara Kiyoicho, Higashiyama-Ku, Kyoto 605-0821
http://www.yayoi-ojako.co.jp/english/
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