Christmas morning arrived and we enjoyed handing out family Christmas cards.
Gift time was fun as we opened many packages with keepsakes from our trip.
Our breakfast menu was pancakes and maple syrup, not very Japanese but a family favourite.
We had fun making the Mazda car key rings. More construction took place as we had entered the land Nano blocks. James and Jason began making a Shinkansen from the Nano Gauge series.
Jennifer and Kathy started making the cute Hokkaido Dog.
Whilst we were having so much fun we almost forgot we were in Kyoto and decided we should fix that and go out and explore.
Our introduction to the Kyoto culture began at The Myseum of Kyoto. This city played a major role in the development of Japanese life.
We entered through the annex to the museum which was the former bank of Japan, a very impressive building.
Inside,we walked along a street of shops and restaurants that were based on the traditional Kyoto townhouse design of the late Edo Period. We found a video of Chef making pasta by hand, rolling, folding and flouring dough and cutting precisely into tiny 1mm strips.
An English tour guide told us about four periods of history from the 8th to the 20th century- Heian, Kamkura, Muromachi and Edo.
At this museum we saw a display on the famous Gion festival. These traditions have been passed down and celebrated since the 8th Century.
Time for some more Christmas spirit. We walked around central Kyoto found a Christmas tree light display.
Coincidentally we stumbled across a Chef making Udon Noodles, this time with a modern approach, using a rolling and cutting machine. We watched through the window and then went inside to see menu.
Jennifer ordered Kamaage udon (which was noodles that you ate with a dipping sauce] and we ordered Torotama udon (udon noodles with a dipping sauce, grated yam and hot spring egg). There were lots of nice accompaniments that we ordered including Inari (bead curd rice ball), calamari tempura, sweet potato tempura and vegetable kakiage. Everything was delicious.
At home we enjoyed a supper of momiji manju cakes.
🎄Happy Christmas to our family and friends.🎄