advice for Osaka & Kyoto please

Regional Dining Discussions Asia Pacific
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Hi hungry onions,

Here’s a challenge:

Partner & I are going to Osaka & Kyoto soon, & looking for recommendations for:

  1. best take-out options, including bento boxes, individual delicious items, snacks, ice cream, &c
  2. outdoor dining (although I hear it’s not a common thing)
  3. restaurants that have private/individual dining rooms, that are not too expensive (max 15000 yen per person, preferably more like around 12000)

Dietary preferences: partner is mostly vegetarian, I eat poultry & seafood but no mammals.

We have already been pointed generally toward some department store food basements in Kyoto (Isetan, Takashimaya, Daimaru).

Also, in general, where do you look these days for food recommendations when traveling, in Japan or elsewhere?

Thanks in advance!

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I don’t have great answers for you because I’m not overly familiar with the area and my food interests differ, but here are a few thoughts.

  • In Kyoto you might as well try Shojin Ryori (vegetarian Buddhist Cuisine). With over 1600 temples, this will be an easy task.
  • Osaka has more places to eat than you could visit in a decade of eating out every day and Osakans are serious food lovers, so bad places tend to die out pretty quickly.

For restaurant reviews, I usually suggest Gurunavi but it doesn’t allow for filtering very much, so in this case I suggest Tripadvisor which allows filtering by certain foods or categories like vegetarian.

I’ll list a few choice places below, but I haven’t spent much time to vet them for your conditional restrictions so they may not apply.

(I even snuck in a Snoopy goods store because, hey, why not?)

KYOTO
Baizando
• 283 Tatsumicho, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, 605-0862
• Yuba & Cheese

Hisaya
• 283 Tatsumicho, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, 605-0862
• soft serve - matcha or roasted chestnut

Ganso Yatsuhashi Nishio Tametada
• 232 Kiyomizu, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, 605-0862
• cinnamon sembei

Maikoto
• 3 Chome-317 Kiyomizu, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, 605-0862
• cookies and soft serve

Fujinami (3 locations, really)
• 463番地28 Shimokawaracho, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, 605-0825
• dango

Ousu no Sato
• 349-10 Masuyacho Higashiyama Ward Kyoto
• umeboshi

Kamanza
• 363-12 Masuyacho, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, 605-0826
• namafu dengaku (wheat gluten)

Kikizake Dokoro 336
• 572-3 Shiraitocho, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto 605-0865
• beer and sake

OSAKA
Kawakatsuya [https://goo.gl/maps/8dwMHDmzAQyowVAd6]

Sengyo Kimura [https://goo.gl/maps/Nvq8n93j92BQ4HFGA]

Yataimura Nishiki [https://goo.gl/maps/kLd2Y4kRxGSz5NaBA]

Hanayori Kiyoe [https://goo.gl/maps/DwPCu6jzcqFxyXqGA]

Torisei [https://goo.gl/maps/FN24j2YT1FDoxoat7]

Watahan [https://goo.gl/maps/GpZGV3KKmxaKHzYw8]

Tako to high-ball [https://goo.gl/maps/i8JxtHbtLRgiQ4kf9]

Nishiki Uoriki [https://goo.gl/maps/kPxaX91ADuqmxyLw9]

Konna monja [https://goo.gl/maps/uRa1dNGwouYngTR96]

Nishiki Gyoza [https://goo.gl/maps/CVD1s5gWMD5zv22d9]

Nishiki Hirano [https://goo.gl/maps/Dqxi4PQZ375YtGfB9]

KYOTO TAKOPAN [https://goo.gl/maps/YQcWyFh6qM3m4Xz18]

Shinagawa-Tei [https://goo.gl/maps/zyA61CFokdizod5v9]

Snoopy chaya Nishiki [https://goo.gl/maps/BcodEPV8JQnfJLqs9]

Nishiki Daimaru [https://goo.gl/maps/4Fmpu6xbyh82qGWn8]

Miki Keiran [https://goo.gl/maps/4yE3SrbLvWNgHUWu6]

Kyo no Onikudokoro Hiro [https://goo.gl/maps/bgwUAmAcd54B88nu8]

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Wow thank you so very much! :yum:

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reporting back, we had a great trip & ate deliciously despite our various restrictions!

In Kyoto, we ate extensively from the food basements at Kyoto station Isetan, Takashimaya & Daimaru on Shijo. I particularly liked this box:

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By far the best takeout however was from Kashiwai/Seasons: gorgeous sushi, customized to our dietary preferences:

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We also shopped at the Kyoto Coop & at a couple of little grocery stores near where we were staying. I got microwave chawanmushi, which was surprisingly good:

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Strawberries were also in season & very good. I ended up having them for breakfast almost every day.

That’s the first installment, more later…

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This was before food forums were big, but my first trip to Japan I just ate whatever looked good. I only hit Tokyo and Kyoto on my first trip, and added Osaka in later trips. Generally, I had great success in just trying anything that looked good. And yes, - discovering the food halls in the basements of big department stores was like finding Candy Land. Seriously good food and at reasonable prices. A lot of the stalls prepared absolutely beautiful bento boxes. I hit bakeries, onigiri places, dessert places (for their fluffy cheesecake and “purin” (aka flan)), takeout sushi and maki rolls, and of course discovering my egg salad sandwiches.

If you really want a particular type of food, it’s good to get a recommendation and make a visit. I would just also add that it’s just as fun discovering your way through the all tasty food options you’ll have.

@Jackalope - everyone should have time for a Snoopy goodies run! Same 1st trip and discovered a Snoopytown right across from Meiji Jingu shrine in Tokyo. Not sure if that’s still there, but that was a must visit.

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While Hello Kitty rules Japan (don’t tell the Emperor), Snoopy holds sway over a large segment of the populace. I haven’t been yet, but the Snoopy Museum opened in Tokyo in recent years.

(Love the user name BTW)

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Agreed: Isetan and Takashimaya food halls sure make it easy for visitors to enjoy the time available without regrets.

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