Tag Archives: Japan

Hotel Anteroom, Kyoto

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Japan is one of the most expensive destinations to travel to, even with a good exchange rate. The accommodation options in the historic city of Kyoto vary from exclusive traditional ryokans to cheap, trendy hostels. Hotel Anteroom is a brilliant option for those desiring the privacy and comfort of a hotel at low cost.

The functional building was built 28 years ago and is found just south of Kyoto’s main station. It was once used as student housing before being transformed in 2011 into the chic design-focused hotel it is today. With 61 rooms, 49 of which are single bedrooms, this hotel is perfect for solo business and leisure travellers.

anteroom kyoto

The rooms are intelligently designed to make the best use of minimal space, with bespoke furniture and artwork by local artists (all for sale) adding some colour and character. On the beds, handmade Japanese nightwear is offered for guests to wear, and in the bathrooms Provençal toiletries by Provinskia are complimentary. The beds are simply dressed but are comfortable and the surroundings feel homely.

Design, culture and art are clearly of paramount importance to the Anteroom team. On the ground floor the hotel showcases Japanese art in regular exhibitions, free for all to enjoy, whether you are staying at the hotel or not. When I stayed they were showing the work of Nobukazu Takemura, a popular Japanese musician and artist. Also on the ground floor is a casual bar for drinking and working, and a small boutique selling a few design-conscious items.

Travellers will be pleased to discover free laundry facilities on the ground floor and a wholesome £6 breakfast option with juice, coffee and pitta wraps. The hotel offer free bike hire for up to two hours, perfect for exploring the nearby sights such as the famed shrine Fushimi Inari Taisha.

Rooms at Hotel Anteroom start at just ¥6000 (£36) which is even cheaper than some hostels. Those requiring a more luxurious space can opt for one of the stylish twin terrace rooms.

The company have recently opened Bunka Hostel in Tokyo, the perfect place to stay to enjoy Japan’s vibrant capital.

More information and book a room at Hotel Anteroom here.

Motif, Four Seasons Tokyo at Marunouchi

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Motif, the new restaurant at Four Seasons Marunouchi, offers guests a menu of luxurious classic French dishes with a Japanese twist. The cuisine is a collaboration between head chef Hiroyuki Asano and culinary advisor chef Hiroshi Nakamichi.

There are three dining spaces to suit casual and formal occasions, at any time of day. The entire venue was designed by renowned architect Andre Fu, and features more than 200 pieces of custom made furniture, lighting and screens. I enjoyed dinner in ‘The Social Salon’; a comfortable but sophisticated room to spend the evening.  Guests can choose from a range of decadent tasting menus or opt for the seasonal a la carte specialities.

To start we chose a couple of the lighter dishes. The recommended Seasonal Vegetables with Truffles was a fresh and simple appetiser cooked in a buttery sauce and topped with just-shaved black truffles. It was soft and subtle on the palate, as is the case with a lot of food in Japan. I chose the green salad with soy dressing, which was refreshing with a hint of bitterness.

After a healthy start we decided on rather more indulgent main courses. I couldn’t refuse the meat dish of the day, wild boar from nearby city Nara. The tender meat was cooked to perfection, sitting in a puddle of rich shiny red wine reduction jus (a display of immaculate French cooking skill). The meat was paired with unique Asian flavours, blackened radish and Japanese mushroom. Our waiter also insisted on us ordering the chef’s signature; Skate wing fillet Meuniere in a Grenoble style, which arrived at the table in a pan, still sizzling in a burnt butter sauce. The fish fillet fell off the soft bone easily, and was absolutely delicious with the creamy nutty sauce.

Dessert was the ultimate marriage of French style and Japanese flavour. The chocolate fondant was as good as any I have tried in Europe, a blissfully gooey centre encased in a soft dense cake. This was paired with green tea ice cream and soy sauce flavoured rice crackers. Though I like drinking green tea I found the ice-cream, powder and foam too intense, overpowering the chocolate a little too much. For a lighter pudding go for the Pear gelee with sherbert and rhubarb jam, a palate cleansing jelly.

After sampling so much Japanese food in Tokyo I was pleased to dine at Motif and I relished the rich French recipes. The produce in Japan is so superior to many other countries and this was particularly evident in the meat and fish we enjoyed at the Four Seasons Tokyo.

More information and book a table at Motif here.

Shoryu, Soho

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A modest little chain, Shoryu is another place joining the ramen trend. The layout inside is very casual, think Wagamama-style benches with seasoning and sauces on the tables. They promise to serve “authentic Hakata tonkotsu ramen with a passion” and I think they succeed.

I went for a long overdue dinner with one of my oldest friends at the Soho branch. Coincidentally, she also happens to be a big Japanese food fan and had recently spent time in Japan experiencing the culture and cuisine there. Her enthusiasm for various traditional recipes that she spotted on the menu fuelled my interest too.

We chose an assortment opting for some familiar favourites like Gyoza Pork Dumplings and crispy deep-fried Chicken Kara Age. We exhibited more daring with our main course choices ordering two different ramen noodle dishes.

All the food at Shoryu is fresh and full of flavour, there’s no need for extra seasoning as they get it just right. My Hokkaido Curry Ramen was a recipe of rich curry-soy pork broth with crispy karage chicken, nitnamago, nori, menma, naruto fish cake and spring onion. Obviously I don’t know what most of these ingredients are, so I had to take the waiter’s word that it was worth trying. It was an intense broth with numerous ingredients and numerous different tastes, delicious but still quite a foreign concept for my palate. A giant bowl, it was impossible to finish, but I was impressed by the nearby Japanese couple who seemed to easily slurp up every last bit of theirs.

It is also worth mentioning the Hirata Bun, a highly authentic speciality at Shoryu, it is basically the Japanese equivalent of a burger so unsurprisingly I loved it.

My friend insisted on ordering the bizarre sounding Matcha Mochi – a dessert made with rice flour, sugar, fresh cream, milk, white chocolate and green tea powder. I hated it, but she promised it was just as good as the variety she had tasted in Japan. I went for the more normal sounding cheesecake which was tasty but nothing special.

Shoryu is a lovely Japanese café-style restaurant, it is a great introduction to Japanese food and a front runner in the ramen trend.

More information here.

http://www.shoryuramen.com/