kaiseki – Susan Spann, Adventure, Mystery, and Mountains

A Traditional Kaiseki Meal in the Heart of Kyoto’s “Floating World”

Susan Spann Blog, Food May 16, 2022May 15, 2022food, Golden Week, Japan, kaiseki, Kyoto, Tousuiro

During the Golden Week holidays, I took a three-day trip to Kyoto, during which I booked a meal at Tousuiro, reputed to be one of the best restaurants in Kyoto. The experience proved to be every bit as spectacular as promised.

Vegetarian Kaiseki in Kinosaki Onsen

Susan Spann Blog August 23, 2021August 22, 2021kaiseki, kaiseki meal, kaiseki ryori, Kinosaki Onsen, Nishimuraya Honkan, Sanpo, Sanpou, traditional kaiseki, vegetarian kaiseki, what is in a kaiseki meal, what is kaiseki

Last month, I celebrated my birthday with a trip to Kinosaki Onsen in Hyogo Prefecture. Kinosaki Onsen is one of Japan’s most famous onsen towns; it sits near the Sea of Japan, about three hours by train southwest of Kyoto. Kinosaki Onsen has two major draws: the town’s seven volcanic hot spring baths (which have various properties, based on the springs that feed them) and the food, which I’d heard was some of the best in Japan. The town is most famous for snow crab and Tajima (Kobe) beef, but when I heard that Nishimuraya Honkan (the traditional Japanese inn