NISHIYAMA RYOKAN

The day before yesterday it was very hot. During the day I can just walk with a shirt and jeans. But yesterday and today, it's back to winter and needs winter jacket and muffler to go outside... According to the weather forecast, the golden week (the long holiday in Japan) will be very unstable weather :( Well, at least tempretures finally become "2digits" in the morning... http://www.accuweather.com/world-index-forecast.asp?partner=accuweather&traveler=0&locCode=ASIJPJA022KYOTO&metric=1 Hope Spring comes soon!! >

Because the weather is not stable in Kyoto this Spring, Sakura is still blooming in many places. Usually when Sakura bloom, the weather gets warmer then the flowers end, but this spring the weather gets hot in one day then get back to winter in next day... Perhaps its something to do with global warming. But thanks to that, we can still enjoy the flowers! (However its little bit cold to enjoy the picnic under the tree...)

On 1st of April, we held Tea Tasting in our Ryokan. Usually we do Tea Ceremony (Green Tea) in our Lobby, but this time it's little different. This time we focused on Teas drinked in Japanese daily life. These are also classified as Green Tea but slightly different from whats used in Tea Ceremony. Also there are many kinds of Tea in this category and guests who joined us were enjoying different taste and fragrances of Teas.

Just recently, the Sakura tree planted in Church opposite of our Ryokan are started to bloom. According to forecast next week will be the good week to see Sakura in Kyoto. The life of Sakura flowers are not that long, but that's why the flower looks so beautiful. Now is the time to come to Kyoto! Our rooms are getting full very quickly. We look forward to all of the guests coming to NISHIYAMA RYOKAN.

We now have Kaiseki meal for vegetarian guests as well. There were many request before but we could not serve Vegetarian Kaiseki since we thought the quality of it will be poor. Now our chef come up with brand-new menu for vegetarian Kaiseki. All foods are now specially made for vegetarian. We hope our vegetarian guests will enjoy the traditional Japanese Kaiseki too. There are menus like: - Sesame Tofu - Soy Milk Skin - Soy Milk vegetable hotpot - Tofu Steak - Vegetable Tenpura - Green Tea Soba Noodle Roll *Please NOTE Fish Broth are very important for Japanese traditional meals. We can not make Kaiseki without this. If you can not eat Fish, we can not serve Vegetarian Kaiseki. There are some Vegetarian Restaurants available around our Ryokan. Please ask us at the front desk for restaurants.

Like there are many different kinds of Western Tea and Chinese Tea, there are many different kinds for Japanese Tea too. We will be holding Japanese Tea tasting in our lobby. Japanese teas are famous for containing many healthy components. Please enjoy many kinds of Japanese tea　and relax. For reservations, please ask us at the reception before 18:00pm on the day. *PLEASE NOTE: The charge has changed to 800 YEN. ＊Charge 800 YEN 　 ＊Date April 1st Thursday.　　　　 ＊Time 　　19:00～20:00 　 ＊Place NISHIYAMA RYOKAN Lobby

I went to Uji last weekend for short trip. Uji is the city placed in about 30mins from central Kyoto. Uji also has long history, and many historical monuments in the city. There are river called Uji-gawa and the big Uji-bashi are famous. This Uji-bashi is one of the oldest bridge in Japan. However, Uji-rivers flow were very strong and when there were heavy rain, the brige drifted away every time. The bridge has been reconstructed everytime it is drifted in. Current bridge is built in 1996. It keeps the traditional wodden bridge look, but built with latest technology and the one of the important road in Uji city. Ujigami shrine is probably the oldest shrine in Japan. The roof is layered by Japanese cypress peel. Uji originally meant "The road of Rabbit" So there are many things inspired by rabbit are placed in Uji city. To get to Uji, take JR line from Kyoto Station. One way 230 YEN. Perhaps it is a nice day trip from Kyoto city? -----------------------------------------------...