“Floor” along the Kamo River? Symbols of a Kyoto Summer

• 日本語
• English

During my first summer in Kyoto after moving here, I was surprised by a certain conversation going on. “Have the yuka begun yet?” “I don’t know, but I want to eat on the yuka!” The word yuka, which means floor, confused me. The floor has “started”? “Eat” on the floor? I had no clue what people were talking about.

Yuka actually refers to noryoyuka (which means something like “deck for enjoying the cool evening”), and the restaurants and tea houses along Kamo River build terraces and seating either above the river or where it is in view as places to serve customers food. (The northern area of Kyoto calls these Kawadoko.) Not only can you enjoy the cooling setting right above the river, but you can also hear the waters babble while taking in the essence of the river, and your meal experience is thus transformed into an extraordinary one.

Actually, these yuka have been around since the time of the famous daimyo Toyotomi Hideyoshi. After the Warring States period, Hideyoshi ordered the reconstruction of the Sanjo and Gojo bridges, and Kamo River became alive with street shows and peddling. Wealthy merchants set up viewing seats, and tea houses sprang up, leading to the noryoyuka of today. In the Showa era, the use of yuka was temporarily prohibited due to typhoons and World War II, but the yuka were revived in the years following the war and are known today in Kyoto as a symbol of summer.

This time, among the numerous different restaurants, I chose a place where I could truly experience Kyoto culture—a tofu restaurant. It’s called Tosuiro, and it’s located in Oike-Kiyamachi. Right alongside the Kamo River, this shop is famous for its great atmosphere. Even just heading down the narrow path to the restaurant makes it seems as if the place were a secret building, quickening your heartbeat. Paper lanterns mark the shop entrance, and when you pass under the curtain hung in the doorway, the lively mistress comes to greet you.

When you visit in winter, you can experience warm tofu that looks like its floating in bath tubs. However, since it’s summer, the main dish was oboroyu tofu which is chilled in crushed ice. (Plus seconds are free!) They even provide special chopsticks used for eating the tofu. At first glance they look so thin that they could snap, but they grab the soft tofu perfectly and are a great match, making your dinner experience a graceful one. Another five different seasonal dishes are served, and the course is topped off with a chirimen-shigure ochazuke and coconut and soy milk sherbet.

The idea is to eat the cold things while they’re still cold, and the hot things while they’re still hot. The chilled tofu tastes richly of soybeans, and the hot tempura batter is crisp and has the perfect texture on both tongue and teeth.

This Japanese cuisine is meant to be savored with your eyes, nose, and tongue. Even if you eat to satisfaction, the light tofu won’t weigh you down. Enjoying tofu cuisine on yuka as the night breeze blew through the air, it was a day where I could feel the gradual arrival of autumn. 。

*Left: the restaurant as seen from the noryoyuka. Right: the noryoyuka as seen from the restaurant.