Ichisun : Feels like Going Home

30th May 2011, 2nd June 2011. Written by Xin Li.
Kyoto, Japan.
Returning to Ichisun for dinner brings back fond memories of my first trip to Kyoto. The faces have changed this time round but some familiar faces remained, Di Rui, a student from China studying in Kyoto is still working there.

The chef has been replaced with a new face. A stout and rather stern looking man named Manzo Kishimoto has taken his place. Beneath that tiger-like appearance is actually a friendly and generous personality with a good sense of humor.

Manzo-san is the man behind the Manzo Hearts group which owns 3 restaurants around Kyoto Station. Always up for a chat with the traveler from afar or his fellow locals, the chef is open-minded and approachable. No wonder, Ichisun was frequented by both foreigners and locals alike.

In fact, even our local photographer, Russel Wong was known to visit this cozy little izakaya style restaurant several times, two photographs of Guilin (taken by him) can be found on the board of Ichisun.

One of the signature dishes of Ichisun is their Hot Stone Grill where pieces of meat were served on a heated stone and topped with butter and chopped spring onion. You decide the doneness by cooking it for as long as you want on the hot stone.

I had the duck version, the duck slices were lightly seasoned with salt and pepper and when cooked till the right doneness, it was very tender with a pleasant smoky fragrance.

Manzo-san was generous to offer me complimentary soup, salad, and sweet and delectable scoop of goma ice cream

And even ume-shu!
Arigato gozaimasu Manzo-san!

On my last day in Kyoto, I visited Ichisun once again for their tempura that I missed so much after my first trip to Kyoto. It was as good as I remembered it, light and the interior was succulent and juicy for the ebi tempura and yasai tempura respectively. Both meals cost 1000 Yen and 1250 Yen respectively.

In general the food might not be the best in Kyoto, but it is satisfying and the casual atmosphere is one of the reasons why I love to visit Ichisun again and again.

For sightseeing tip, Manzo-san strongly recommends visiting Hiei-san where you can see Lake Biwa on top of the mountain.

To sum up my experience at Ichisun, I will like to visit this homely izakaya should I visit Kyoto again in the future. Manzo-san and Dirui has mention that if any of you do visit Kyoto and run in some difficulties such as language issues, try to contact them or drop by and they will see if they can help.

Ichisun
220 Daikoku-cho, Shichijo-dori, Horikawa-Higashiru, Shimogyu-ku,

Kyoto 600-8223 Japan
Tel/Fax: 075-352-7005