11/5 - 11/6 - Ryokan Meals

A ryokan is a traditional Japanese accommodation where you sleep on a tatami floor and also get your meals provided.  Taketoritei Maruyama had two huge meals in store for us.  I didn't quite realize how extensive the meals would be.

We partook in our evening meal shortly after our private onsen session.  We stepped into the special dining area.  Every group or couple had their own private dining room.  We were in room number 4 as far as I could tell from the Kanji character.  There was already some items on the table including our menu.  I was absolutely floored.  We had a 12 course meal in store for us.  I know N had mentioned that the meal was included and that it was fancy, but I was still caught off guard.  Already set on the table were two small drinks of strawberry wine perched on miniature carts.  There were also two plates of sashimi with 3 tiny pieces each.

We also had our choice of drinks.  I had seen a bottle of a local beverage out in the lobby and I was curious how it would taste.  It was called Arima Teppo Cider Water.  It didn't look alchoholic, but I was curious.  It turned out to taste exactly the same as Ramu Bottle pop.  If you've ever had Ramu Pop, it tastes like sugar water.  Both Ramu and the Cider Water were neat to try for the bottle, but it tasted syrupy and sugary.


N did the sensible thing and ordered an alcholic drink.  Many of the alcohol served was of the fruity variety.  There was a lot of choice, but N eventually settled on Peach Sake.

Our courses came one at a time.  There was the rice rolled in bean curd, the crab dumpling soup, and the beef pie.  All of them were really good, except the beef pie reminded me of a sausage roll.  I don't think this particular fusion dish worked, but everything else was good.

 

Then the our server in her exquisite kimono brought out a giant green plastic steamer shaped like a hollowed out stick of bamboo.  Inside was a steamed food dish, which I believe was fish.  However, by this time, my fatigue was truly setting in and I could barely enjoy the meal after this point.  I was so tired that I was no longer hungry.  I just wanted to sleep.  However, I managed to trek on and snap more shots of this 12-course meal.

  

We were ending the meal with smaller dishes including red miso soup, rice, and a small pickled dish.  The final dish was the raspberry mousse served in a pretty dessert bowl.  The dinner was as much for our eyes as it was for our stomachs.

 

The next morning, we also had breakfast in the same room.  This time, instead of the dishes coming out one at a time, most of it was already spread out on the table for us.  I was also feeling fully rested after sleeping through the night.  At least 6 or 7 little individual dishes were already out on the table.  However, there was no menu this morning to figure out what we were eating.  So you're guess is as good as mine.  I can safely say, though, that this is the most decadent breakfast that I have ever had.

There was also another steamer on the table today.  It was also a bamboo looking like container, but the steam hadn't started yet.  The server gestured to us that we would have to pull the string to get the steamer going.  What a neat little contraption.  I wonder what they do to get instant steam boiling.  I was tempted to play with the steamer, but thought better of it.

Overall, both meals were truly luxurious and decadent.  It's not the kind of meal that I would typically have.  N suspects that these two meals would have cost at least CAD$200 if we were to have the meals out in some fancy Japanese restaurant.  Of course, our stay included these meals and the cost packaged into the grand total.  But what a meal and what an experience.