I could only get one day off, so I had to be at work in the morning and got up early. After last night’s feast there was a hearty breakfast waiting too, so I couldn’t just rush off because I was busy. Breakfast isn’t served in the room but in the dining hall on the first floor. Still, since I’d come all the way to an onsen, I took one more bath early in the morning before heading to the dining hall.
These were set out on the table.
Seasonings: soy sauce, plus black vinegar with honey, and so on.
The basic spread
It looks like quite a lot, but there’s nothing heavy on it.
Ika
Fresh squid.
Side dishes
They’re modest, but not a single one falls short on flavor.
Morning rice porridge
When it comes to breakfast at an onsen ryokan, rice porridge is the classic ^_^
Homemade health juice
Hmm… the taste was a bit iffy, but after drinking and partying all night, I figured I should look after my health in the morning.
Flounder
The fat had cooked off nicely. It’s not a luxury ingredient, but it went really well with the porridge.
It came in a two-tier vessel, and I remember it being egg…
The top part holds the sauce, which you pour over it.
Oboro tofu
They had you heat up the tofu yourself. Tofu freshly made right in front of you tasted wonderfully clean and nutty. Maybe because of that, I’ve been hooked on tofu ever since.
Miso soup
Miso soup with shijimi clams is a must on the Japanese breakfast table. Besides that, okra, natto and the like are common in traditional Japanese home cooking.
A glass of black vinegar for my health…
So first thing in the morning I ended up drinking both juice and vinegar for my health ^_^ Not that it made me twice as healthy, but I was very satisfied. Clenching my fist, I vowed, a little tearfully, that next time I’d definitely come back with a girlfriend, and returned to reality.