I went to Fushimi, Kyoto for a sake brewery tour during the consecutive holidays in May.
First, get off at Chushojima Station on the Keihan Line, walk about 5 minutes, and you will find Chokenji Temple before the Fushimi Jyuseki-shu.(tourist ship)
We will pay our respects here. This shrine enshrines Benzaiten, one of the seven gods of fortune that bring good fortune, wisdom, and treasures, and is believed by people to be one of the seven gods of fortune.
Cross the bridge to the Gekkeikan Okura Memorial Museum.
Pay the admission fee of 600 yen. You will receive one boar cup and three coins.
We will look around at the history of Gekkeikan and finally, we will have a tasting. (This is the fun part)
You can choose 3 coins and 3 types from 10 items.
I prefer dry, so I selected and tasted three types of junmai ginjo dry.
They are mellow and delicious.
There is a store next door where you can purchase the sake you tasted.
I decided to buy some on my way home since there were still some places I wanted to visit.
Next, we went to the Kizakura Brewery.
We went to Kappa Country to see the history of Kizakura and then to the Kizakura restaurant.
For lunch, I had the salmon and dashimaki tamago set meal, and for sake (this is the important part), I chose freshly brewed sake…and for a side dish, I chose tako wasabi.
The octopus is tender and the wasabi is not too spicy and goes very well with sake.
This restaurant also focuses on making beer.
Continue through Ryoma Street to Teradaya.
This is where Ryoma Sakamoto used to stay in Kyoto.
I had mistakenly thought that he was murdered here. The place where he was murdered is Omiya.
Admission here is 400 yen for adults.
On the way back, the place where the Gekkeikan headquarters used to be is now a cafe, where we will have tea.
There were no seats available, but there were not many waiters and we had to wait quite a long time.
When I was about to leave, I was called to the restaurant, had a cup of coffee, and quickly left.
I went to the reception to take the Jujisekibune(tourist ship), but was told that there was a two-hour wait.
The weather was beautiful and it was a good day for sightseeing.
After returning home, I realized that there was one more liquor store I wanted to visit, but I had completely forgotten about it.
I woke up feeling a little hungover after having had a deep drink the day before.
I took a quick shower to refresh myself and made breakfast.
On the menu: scrambled eggs with two eggs and sausage fried with salt and pepper. After a light meal, I get ready for the bike. I looked for a clip to attach to the bike to shoot a video, but I couldn’t find one, so I gave up. I just bought one, but I can’t find a joint to connect it.
And just like that, off we go! 🏍.
After passing through a busy traffic area and finally entering a mountain road, we feel a pleasant breeze and a bit chilly.
As we were winding our way along the mountain road from Takatsuki City, Osaka to Settsukyo Gorge, listening to the sound of the river stream and driving slowly, a wagon car was coming up behind us at a high speed.
It was right behind me, so I gave way to it on the side of the road. After running for a while, the wagon car ahead of us slowly drove ahead and tried to make us go.
I decided to follow them slowly, thinking that if I went ahead, they would try to catch up with me from behind again.
Fortunately, I was on a road where I could turn left, so I made a left turn without putting on my blinker until the very last minute and got away with it. I was surprised that there are still people who do this kind of thing in spite of all the news stories about it.
I escaped from the strange car and drove through the countryside. The wind was pleasant and we could feel it only in this season.
We entered Kameoka City, Kyoto, and headed toward Sasayama, Hyogo.
From here, there are few traffic lights and it is a pleasant road with only one road to go.
This road is called “Dekansho Kaido,” or “decansho road,” and is surrounded by countryside.
In the fall, farmers sell their famous black beans directly on the roadside, and I buy black beans here every year.
The beans are larger and slightly darker than regular edamame.
They are sold with the beans still on the branch, so you can take them home fresh.
We continued on our way and arrived at the Mizuhonosato Roadside Station.
Mizuho no Sato sells fresh vegetables and black bean bread, and I always buy the black bean bread to take home. I always buy the black bean bread to take home with me.
At Mizuho-no-Sato, I ordered shimeji mushroom tempura soba (buckwheat noodles) at the restaurant. Here, you have to buy a meal ticket before ordering.
The shimeji mushrooms are large and the tempura koromo are crispy and very tasty.
The soba is also delicious and the soup stock is a bit thick.
Outside, takoyaki are also sold at a food stall.
You may eat too much, but you should buy takoyaki too.
The octopus is a normal size with mayonnaise on it.
After a short rest, we headed home.
On the way back, we were careful not to be overtaken.
On the way back, we encountered a line of cars driving a little slowly. I was wondering what was going on when I saw a car being held by an undercover police car in front of me.
I am not sure why they are doing this, but I do not understand why they are doing it.
If it is to prevent accidents from happening, wouldn’t people stop speeding if there was a police car or a policeman standing on the road? Whenever I see this scene, I feel that the police just want to catch people. That’s why people who get caught can’t be honest and feel like they’re losing money. It is unreasonable, isn’t it?
This is just my personal opinion!
On the way back home, we were careful not to drive too fast as we made our way back through the winding mountain roads.
We filled up on gas on the way back and made it home safely.