Ryokan in Atami 2

In the morning,she placed the English(Japanese) newspaper at the crack of the sliding door.
Next,she brought the morning tea first to arouse us and then served the lovely breakfast.

                                                        Ume-boshi(pickled plums) , boiled kelp and green tea.

                                                                     At times she prepares the meals at this small space.          

                                                                          Yukata(summer Kimono).

                                           After she holds all the Futon, they are stored in this closet.                           

                    The ceiling of the entrance has beautiful patterns made of reeds.                                          

                                                                                   
                                 Our suite had a private traditional bathtub made of Hinoki,Japanese ceda
                                                

                                     This is a power stone which was bought from Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture.

                                                                        
                               
                           This huge stone was bought from Kurama,the scared mountain village in Kyoto.
                           It has a famous legend of training to be a strong samurai (warrior) over 800 years ago.

                                             This stone called 'Water Stone' or 'Blue stone' had been placed in the
                                            deep sea in Ehime prefecture,Shikoku.You can see natural  imprints by the 
                                             the waves for thousands years .

                                                                        

Onsen(Hot Springs ) in Atami

This Ryokan has 27 suites and 4 of them have private open-air hot springs .
The public bath for women has a Cedar Bathtub .
I soaked shoulder-deep many times and really enjoyed myself!
You can see crystals of sulfur around the faucet from the fountainhead.

                                                                  The public open-air spa for women

                                                                                   The dressing room
                                                                                              

                                                                                             
      

                                                                         There are 2 kinds of  bathtubs.
                                                                          

                                                                           Cedar Bathtub
                                                   

                                                         
                                                             The History of this Cedar  Bathtub         

                                               The hunging straw rope and  white paper show that this place is sacred.

                                                                         

                                                             The public open-air spa for men

                                                                    

                                                The first arrow shows the private open-air spa that we need to 
                                             book but unfortunately I had no chance to go !
                                                           
                                                                                            

                                                                                  
                                                                                   
                                                              

                                                                             

                                               

Kaiseki(full-course)Dinner in Atami 2

7.[Shii-zakana=chef's recommendation]

                                            Sward fish, asparagus,yam potato,smelt, sprout of Tara(tree name),green pepper,sudachi(Japanese lemon),Japanese leek,rock salt ,graded white radish with 7 kinds of spice and special soup for tempura

                                              8.  [Tome-zakana=last meal for refreshment]
                                                   2 kinds of shelfish (Hokki,Aoyagi), 2kinds of wild edible plant(Urui,Kogomi) with pickled plum dressing

                                                     9.  [Shokuji=(simple )meal]
                                    Steamed Mixed Sushi wrapped with a skin of the bamboo
                                                                                      
Sakura-ebi(Seasonal pink shrimps),green peas,egg,flakes of boiled fish,ginger ,lotus root,dried mushroom,Kanpyo(dried gourd shaving),grilled conger,a leaf of Japanese pepper ,
                                    Miso soup,pickles (carrot,cucumber,radish)

                                               

                                                               10.   [mizu gashi=fruit ]
                                                papaya,strawberry,lemon
                                              [  Japanese -style confectionery]
                                                       Sakura-mochi(a leaf of Sakura,sweet boiled red beans)
                                          

At the entrance, she was preparing every meal that was cooked in the kitchen at the  main building to serve it at appropriate timing,temperature ,either hot or cold.She was  working very hard but always smiling  and at times she soothed  our granddaughter ! It's amazing!! This is real Japanese traditional hospitality.I am proud of it as a Japanese.

The menu on  March 27th , 2012

                                               

Kaiseki(full-course) Dinner in Atami 1

Normally Ryokan serves Kaiseki-ryori(food).
Traditionally  Kaiseki -ryori is the meal served prior to the a tea ceremony.
It was evolved from vegetarian meals for the Buddhist monks as Kaiseki literally means a warmed stone which was put on a bosom of Kimono to divert from hunger and cold .
The ingredients are fresh ,seasonal,and carefully prepared without adornment.
As a kind of Japanese haute cuisine ,Kaiseki-ryori is usually very expensive.
The chef of this ryokan is still in   his forties  but very skillful so we enjoyed all the food .

                                                          special unprocessed  lacal sake  cold

1.[Sakizuke=relish]with a round ball

mashroom ,paste of Yomogi leaves, flowers of wasabi,Wasabi, salmon roe, Shira-uo(white fish)with sauce of Japanese pepper leaves and Miso

a broad bean ,chicory,bamboo shoot,edible bracken ,Hotaru-cuttle fish ,prawn 

2.[Zensai=hors d'oeuvre]with square plates (to express this season like a picture)

One branch of Sakura,Kisu(fish), Nori-seeweed,Wakame-seaweed with  herring roe,cuttlefish ,long potatoes ,shreded  Japanese lemon skin

3.[Suimono=soup]Zuwai-crab,raw green laver,skin of blowfish, carrot, mashroom, pickled plum

4.[Tsukuri=sliced raw fish]local Shira-uo (white fish), scallops,tuna, Botan-prawn

flowers and leaves  of perilla, cucumber, wasabi

5.[Yaki mono=Grill] Salmon, steamed spiral shell

boiled and grilled white raddish, red pepper, fried burdock, a pickeled stem of ginger

6.[Nimono=food boiled and seasoned]meatball of Japanese beef, pine seeds,lily root ,bamboo shoot ,Brussels sprout,local mushrooms

rape blossoms,Sakura-fu(a breadlike food made of wheat which is protein) with Mizore(sleet)soup made from grated turnip

The traditional Japanese style hotel (Ryokan ）in Atami 1

Ryokan is a  Japanese hotel with the interior designed in the traditional Japanese style.The rates usually include supper and breakfast.

This Ryokan  we stayed over  last week  with our guests from London is one of the most classic and famous hotels in Atami. The land on which this hotel stands on is around 10,000 square meters .
 Actually Atami is one of the largest hot-spring resorts in Japan. The city has more than five hundred hotels and inns.It takes only 50 minutes trip by Kodama bullet train from JR Tokyo station.

Originally in ryokan , most rooms are  tatami rooms and customers have meals and  sleep in their  tatami rooms.Unfortunately nowadays there are few  classic hotels ,each room has a  woman
servant wearing Kimono who  takes care of them personally . She serves the meals and in the evening she places  their futon which is either a thick quilt or a matress stuffed with cotton or down on tatami.

The villas have various shapes and sizes with betutiful gardens .When we stayed there , I was feeling like being at my parents' house and relaxed  with her hospitality .All rooms are suites that has 1 dining room, 1 bed room ,(1 sitting room) and a  wooden bath room . Moreover we can use private open-air bath (onsen) for one hour after we book.
We really  enjoyed a good  hot spring  and  most of all, the lovely  Japanese food .

Kotatsu (Japanese traditional heater)

Kotatsu is a  Japanese traditional heater with a quit in the cold season.
There is an electric heater below the table so when we sit down there
, it can warm our legs.
We seldom use air conditioner in winter ,so  this is very economical.
After the explosion of the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, I heard that the Japanese
 prefer to use Kotatsu to save electricity .

The calendar is showing that it's the spring season now  but, still I feel cold so I can not
put away the quit and the plug.

Octopus Balls (Tako-Yaki)

Takoyaki are grilled octopus balls (dumplings). Ingredients include
batter,boiled  octopus 、 greenonions and marinated  ginger . Sold at
street stands, Takoyaki are grilled on an iron plate with many holes on it.
It is  served with shaved dried bonito ,  flakes of green laver  and a
thick sauce.
In Singapore I saw some shops used cheese, boiled corns ..instead of
octopus as they  are too expensive there.I also tried to use boiled
prawns and cuttle fish.But they could  not reach the standard
Outside of Takoyaki must be crispy , once you bite it, hot and creamy
 batter is oozing  out and it will  melt in your mouth.  Then, you can enjoy the
chewy  texture of the octopus.
As for Takoyaki being crispy, juicy , chewy  is vital.

The television  program  proved that  good ones can float in the water as they have
bubble when they are grilled. If there are no bubbles, batter becomes
hard and heavy and  not creamy so they will sink.
The holes of the iron plate  are semi- spherical  in shape  but perfectly round by quickly  using 2 awls .These two  points are the special  techniques of the making of Takoyaki.

I prefer Takoyaki in Kansai (Osaka Kyoto area) as it as in Kanto(Tokyo
Yokohama area) as Kakoyaki shops in Kanto spray oil   after they are
almost cooked to make them crispy . So I feel oilier than Osaka's
which are the  original  . At times  my tongue gets burnt !!

                                                                                  with mayonnaise