Kyoto Machiya Restaurant Guide: Affordable Dining in Traditional Townhouse Spaces

by Judith Clancy, Ben Simmons (Photographer)

Overview

Enjoy delicious Japanese food in some of Kyoto's most tucked-away and spectacular townhouses.

Machiya, or townhouses, are traditional wooden dwellings in Kyoto that evoke the elegance and culture of Japan's old capital with their architectural details, beautiful gardens, and intimate rooms. Many have been converted into restaurants to create unforgettable dining experiences.

Enjoying healthy food in a historic, traditional Kyoto environment is a rare pleasure. Here are some 130 restaurant listings (food, decor, hours, addresses, prices, maps, and index) and a photographic guide to machiya architecture, culture, and aesthetics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611720013
Publisher:	Stone Bridge Press
Publication date:	09/18/2012
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Judith Clancy has lived in Kyoto since 1970. She has written about the many traditions of Kyoto, including music, tea ceremony, and ikebana, and has acted as guide and interpreter for various groups and workshops. She is author of Exploring Kyoto: On Foot in the Ancient Capital.

Ben Simmons grew up in Columbus, Georgia, and completed a Masters program in Fine Arts at the University of Florida. Simmons is a longtime resident of Japan, and a correspondent for SIPA Press, a leading agency headquartered in Paris. His photographs appear worldwide in numerous books and magazines, and have been exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Museum of Taiwan, and the United Nations. His work is in the collections of the Library of Congress and the King of Thailand.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Food and the Machiya Experience

The Evolution of the City
Architecture and Characteristics of Machiya Construction
The Beauty of Wood

Restaurant Listings (approx 135) with description of food and setting, hours, prices, contact info

Index by Category

Editorial Reviews

"A great collection of affordable restaurants in Kyoto machiya (traditional townhouses).... Judith's descriptions of the restaurants are great, the maps are very useful and her general introduction to machiya would make a good primer for anyone unfamiliar with these charming buildings."
—Inside Kyoto blog

"Opens our eyes to the beauty of details.... In these days of digital tablet guides, it's heartwarming to find publishers still dedicated to producing books that have texture and spatial depth, the warmth that only paper, with its shadows and grain, can transmit."
—Japan Times

"Judith Clancy has done a great job of making her expertise available to the visitor to Kyoto with this travel guide, in a small edition to fit easily into a bag or backpack."
—Vegetable Japan blog

"Planning a trip to Kyoto anytime soon? Then you must acquire a copy of the Kyoto Machiya Restaurant Guide for some must visit dining. Not a chance of visiting Kyoto in your lifetime? Get it anyway! The first half of this book written by resident of 42 years Judith Clancy provides a fascinating history of Kyoto’s traditional townhouse properties now retrofitted to local dining destinations."
—Gastro Traveling blog

From the Publisher