“We went to the countryside”!

Our good friend Tokutaro-san took us to his grandmother, who lives in the countryside of the Kyoto prefecture. He took us by car through the most beautiful areas of Kyoto. First we went to Miyama-cho. This is a lovely village surrounded by misty mountains and water. The area is famous for its thatched roof houses, which all bear a different family crest. The shape of the roof is unique in Japan, and it is this way because of the heavy snow in winter. If the roofs would be flat, the houses would collapse. When we visited the village, there was actually still a thick pack of snow on some of the roofs (even though in Kyoto it has been aournd 15 degrees lately!).

After Miyama-cho, we drove further to the west and stopped by a lovely soba-place. The restaurant was hidden in a small village between the mountains, a place you would never discover without a car and someone telling you about it (Tokutaro’s brother recommended this place). The soba was absolutely delicious!!

The road continued alongside the beautiful Yura river, which has a very deep green/blue color because of the minerals in the ground. We had a brief stop at the Ono Dam, an incredible sight to see especially since there was more water because of the rain.

The dam was really impressive!

The Kyoto countryside: Beware of bears!!

It was raining a lot, causing these beautiful mists in the mountains:

Finally, around 3 pm we arrived at the traditional house of Tokutaro’s grandmother. His aunt and uncle also live there and they showed us around the beautiful houses they own.

The Tokutaro family has a famous piano player: Aisa Ijiri. This piano belongs to her mother, and in this beautiful space she can give mini-concerts for the family!

Playing Guilty Gear on the kotatsu (heated table).

Afterwards we had a very delicious dinner with all kinds of local ingredients like mountain herbs and even a soup with fresh wild boar, hunted by a friend of the family!

We went home late that night, and had a fantastic experience. The rural area of Kyoto is so beautiful, the atmosphere is unique and meeting Tokutaro’s nice family was amazing!!!