Classical Japan

After a restful night in the capsule hotel, I went next door to have a look at Hie Temple.  It was a short walk over and I was surprised by how clean everything was.  It really was all just so... clean.  This went beyond the lack of clutter and garbage on the streets as well.  Up at the temple itself, the best way to describe the style of everything was also "clean".  There was polished concrete everywhere and the temple itself (it looked like a recreation) was built flawlessly.

It was all lovely to look at, and I felt like this was a good place to be as a tourist to soak in some traditional style Japanese architecture.  It reminded me a bit of Nan Lian gardens, which made sense given the close connection between traditional Japanese style and the Tang dynasty in China.  I walked around a bit and admired the gardens and the manicured little plants before deciding it was time to go.

I went back to the capsule hotel to grab my things before I went to the airbnb I had booked.  The place was on the other side of the city, and so I caught the subway over.  The trains and the stations were a bit older than I expected, but still all immaculately maintained.  There was still a strong "90s" feel to everything though and it was clear that a lot of the infrastructure probably needed a bit of an upgrade.  When I arrived at the airbnb, the host kindly showed me up to my room.  I asked him whether there was anywhere nearby where I could get lunch.  He looked down in contemplation for a moment and then exclaimed yes!  There was a local restaurant that had just featured on a TV show recently and it was just around the corner.  He took me down and then said his goodbyes.  I wasn't expecting too much from this simple little neighbourhood restaurant, but what I got was one of the tastiest chicken dishes I have ever had.  When I was seated, a kind looking man came and gave me an English menu.  I chose the dish which everyone around me had.  After a short wait, a tray was brought to me with a simply, but carefully arranged meal.  The bowl was filled with rice, egg and grilled chicken.  The egg and chicken was separately cooked, does that mean it's not an Oyakodon?  Or does it mean that it's just a different type of Oyakodon?  Whatever the actual name, it was delicious.  The eggs were smooth and intensely eggy in flavour.  The chicken has been grilled to the boundary between being just charred and still being only just cooked.  The balance of the smokey flavour with the sweet and juicy chicken was ideal.

As I left the restaurant, still amazed by what I had eaten, the old man (who I'm assuming was the owner) came over quickly to me and asked me in his broken English if I enjoyed my meal.  He wasn't being just polite, he clearly wanted to know what I thought.  I tried to explain back in a combination of terrible Japanese and English just how much I enjoyed the meal and how delicious I thought it was.  The man smiled broadly and gave me a deep bow, clearly pleased that I was pleased.  It was all very impressive.  This was just a neighbourhood restaurant, but the level of care and attention to detail was something I would never have expected.  To this man, getting his dish right for his customers was so important.  It was something sorely lacking from the local places I had been in Hong Kong.