Tag: Food Tour

Land of the Rising Sun Day #5. “Hakone Heaven”

by reissmd, posted in Hakone, Japan, Tokyo

Before I tell you about today let me catch you up on last night. We had a very enjoyable food tour (Arigato Travel) with a local guide from the city of Ottawa. In what part of Japan is that located you might ask, the part that is in Canada. Our guide Hanna, was not Japanese but she was very nice and quite knowledgeable about the local cuisine and culture. It was nice getting the insights from a native English speaking person who has lived here for 6 years.

This was a good food tour but not our favorite (Lance and Tasting Round Town in Memphis remains our favorite by far). We visited 5 establishments (that seems the usual number for most food tours and we have been on a lot). At the first stop we had appetizers. See below.

Front row (L to R) Pork and Lotus Root, Back Row Pickled Ginger and Rice Cake Mochi.

The mochi was okay but the others were not to my liking. I had a draft beer (yes, I had a beer) and it was very good. We then moved on to another restaurant for the main course. This place was much better. We had a number of small dishes. See below.

The potato salad was my favorite but the cucumbers (in the back), and the chicken with Japanese tartar-like sauce (not shown) were also very good. The main dish is in the picture below.
Can you guess what it is?

At the next restaurant we enjoyed some udon noodles followed by a stop for some sake at a different location. I would describe the sake as “Yuck”.

I didn’t realize sake was clear but I guess it makes sense since it is made from fermented rice.

We finished the tour with a dessert of a waffle in the shape of a fish filled with custard. It was delicious.

This morning we arranged for our luggage to be shipped to Kyoto and took some clothes in our backpacks to wear for the two nights we will spend in Hakone. Our experience with trains paid off today as we walked to Tokyo Station and found our train very quickly. This was one of the so-called bullet trains and that is a very appropriate description. These babies move and if you are sitting in a window seat when you pass a train going the opposite direction it is quite the thrill. The trains have a reputation of running very efficiently and today was no exception. We left on time and reached every stop on schedule. It took us 33 minutes to go about 50 miles from Tokyo to our destination, Odawara (stopping twice to board new passengers and let some off). At the Odawara station we were greeted by our driver who was waiting for us when we arrived in the lobby (a major improvement from our experience at the Tokyo Haneda Airport). The drive from the station to our hotel took about 50 minutes. The driver was great and we didn’t die, both good outcomes. We didn’t get to see much of Hakone on the ride but what we did see was very beautiful. Upon arrival at the Ten-Yu hotel we were informed that we couldn’t check in for 3 hours. In retrospect it would have been nice to spend more time in Tokyo instead of hanging out at the hotel waiting to check into our room.

Making the wait a little more pleasant was Patrice’s discovery of these lovely machines with a sign saying “Ask the front desk for a free token”.

Seventeen Ice: Each machine has 17 choices of ice cream.

Luckily we were able to go to our room a bit earlier than the expected time of 3:00. We were checked in by a delightful young man named Ken who after having us sign some forms escorted us to our room. He told us that our luggage was already there. We pointed out that our luggage was right next to us which prompted him to give us a very endearing laugh of slight embarrassment. Ken then brought us to the room and proceeded to explain all the amenities. See below.

Here is the entryway. Please remove your shoes and only wear sandals, socks or your bare feet in the room.
Room view: Notice the tatami mats that traditionally were made of rice straw and meant for sleeping. As you can see we opted for a room with a bed. The mats are the reason for the “No Shoes” rule.
PJs in Large, Medium, and Small. Hmmm, three sets of pajamas, are they supplying a guest?
Robes and socks that can be worn in the public baths and elsewhere in the hotel including the restaurant.
Private bath on your balcony if you are too shy to use the public bath.

Patrice and I opted for the public baths called “Onsen”. We got prepared but neither of us was clear if we wore the socks to the bath, or sandals, or both. The women’s Onsen is on the same floor as our room so I suggested that Patrice go into the bath and ask the correct protocol. Before Patrice was able to enter the spa we met a hotel employee named, Hideki. Unfortunately he didn’t speak English but he seemed to understand our question. He explained everything we needed to know at about a 1,000 words per minute but I can’t give you an exact count since it was all in Japanese. Hideki followed us to our room but never stopped talking (seemingly not even to breathe). When we opened the room door he pointed to the sandals and then escorted us back to the women’s Onsen. Lots of arigatos (thank yous) and bowing followed and we parted ways. Patrice went inside the Onsen and I got on the elevator. Upon reaching the lobby I made a right turn and waiting for me outside the Men’s Onsen was Hideki. He restarted his Japanese instructions and explained where I should put my sandals. Then he showed me the lockers for my belongings, where to get a towel, and where to enter the spa. This entire time he spoke continuously in Japanese and the weird thing was that I understood everything he was telling me. I got into the water and it was indeed very hot (40 degrees Celsius according to the thermometer) and so very relaxing. I also experienced the outside spa and dipped my toes into the cold tub.

Patrice and I are now back in the room telling each other about our experiences which were very similar. Neither one of us want to move. Yesterday we spent the day taking a train to another town and walking for hours. Then returned to Tokyo and took a walking food tour. Today we took a short train ride, a rather long car ride and then a spa experience beyond belief. No question which we prefer. We already informed our children we won’t be leaving this hotel until we have spent all their inheritance.

Dinner is approaching. I need to rest up.

Europe 2022 day #16. “Can I Please Sit for a Minute?” Vienna, Austria 10/22/2022

by reissmd, posted in Vienna, Austria

Today was our first full day in Vienna. Breakfast at the hotel is included so Erica and I went down to have a light meal. Patrice waited in the room, the reason for that will soon become apparent. When we arrived at the dining room we were greeted by Helmut who said “Let me introduce you to the buffet”. How could we turn down such a wonderful offer? The delights were plentiful including an old friend from yesterday.

Yes, the Sacher Torte was available.

Since I panned the Sacher Torte yesterday I felt that I had to give it another opportunity to impress me and it did much better today. Possibly yesterday’s was just from a bad batch because I enjoyed it much more today. But I had to keep myself under control because today we had planned one of our favorite activities……… yes, a FOOD TOUR!

Patrice and I have gone on food tours in New Orleans, Boston, London, Memphis, Denver, and other cities. Well, today we signed up for a Vienna food tour at the recommendation of Gwen from Exeter International and we were not disappointed. Tomas led us around the city and we had a great time. We learned a lot about Vienna, other regions of Austria, and of course food. We had 6 stops and all were lots of fun and tasty. My personal favorite was the sausage stand.

My favorite part is that you can see Erica’s reflection in the glass

Our excellent Food Tour Guide, Tomas, returned us safely to our hotel where we were able to take a short rest before heading out on a city tour.

Our afternoon tour of the city was led by Peter. At first glance, you might have some concerns because Peter is just a tad younger than me. As it turned out he had the stamina of a 20-year-old. I don’t think he sat down once and the only time he stopped was when I started complaining about my back hurting. He gave us a brief review of his personal history. Peter started out as a lawyer but quickly realized he didn’t like it. He was an owner of an art gallery and after about 20 years decided to sell it and become a financial advisor. Unfortunately, his timing wasn’t good because this was in 2008 when the global economy was very sluggish. So then he decided to be a tour guide telling us that as an attorney and financial advisor no one believed what he said but as a tour guide everyone believes everything he says. He also told us how tourists will ask where they can find the kangaroos confusing Austria with Australia.

Tourists looking for kangaroos in Vienna can go here.

After hearing this I knew immediately that we had the right person as our guide.

Our first stop was right around the corner at Wilhelm Jungmann & Neffe (Wilhelm Jungmann & Nephew), a men’s clothing store that has been in business since 1836. Peter said the store sells tailor-made suits that sell for about $5,000. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time for me to get measured for a suit so we will go back tomorrow afternoon.

Window at Wilhelm Jungmann & Neffe with a reflection of the cathedral

We next visited St. Stephen’s Cathedral which is truly a beautiful sight. I explained that although I am intrigued by the elegance and history of the cathedral, not being Catholic, makes the place a little less important to me. Peter shared that he is Catholic but has only been in church twice. Once when he was Baptized and the next when he got married. This just further affirmed that he is my kind of guy.

We also saw some residential buildings that were built in the 1800s. It is so amazing to think that these structures have been around so long. We ended the tour at the royal crypt. When I first heard we were going there I was very displeased. But not wanting to be a party pooper I just went along without voicing my objections. I am so glad we went. The coffins were ornate but even more interesting were Peter’s stories about the history of the various kings and other royalty buried there.

How is this for a simple tombstone?

Peter delivered us to our hotel for a brief rest then it was off to dinner to be followed by a Mozart concert. As hard as this is to believe, the line for the Sacher Torte was even longer today.

Sorry, I can’t explain this.

Gute Nacht