Kyosaimi Nomura Karasuma Head Shop

If you are looking for a casual Japanese morning meal in Kyoto, there is a perfect place for you. Opened in June 2015, the restaurant serves Kyoto-style obanzai (side dishes) and offers a daily breakfast breakfast with a choice of six different obanzai from a menu of more than 10 different types for the very reasonable price of 850 yen, tax included. You can choose from more than 10 kinds of obanzai every day for 850 yen, a very reasonable price.

This time, I visited the restaurant on a Sunday morning to try the obanzai set. I arrived at the restaurant around 7:45 a.m., which was too late for the opening time…

You can bring your children, but going alone is probably the best way to go… This is what the Kyosaimi Nomura Karasuma Head Shop is like…

When I arrived at Kyosaimi Nomura Head Shop, there was already a line of nearly 10 people waiting in line at the storefront. I was a bit surprised to see such a large crowd on a Sunday morning. It was a good thing that I had plenty of time this time because it was a holiday, but if this is the case on weekdays as well, there is a possibility that I might miss my work or lecture if I mess up. So, if you are a weekday morning person, be especially careful not to be late.

On this day, I was shown into the restaurant after a 10-minute wait from this state. The interior of the restaurant is very simply decorated, and according to the information in the food log, the total number of seats is 36, including 10 at the counter. The restaurant space is not large, so it is hard to bring in large luggage, but the restaurant is designed with consideration for tourists with children in mind, as there are serving dishes for small children in the restaurant. In such a situation, the counter seats at the back of the restaurant offer a view of the Kyoto-like tsuboniwa garden while you enjoy your meal, so perhaps the best place to recommend is to a lone customer like me.

If you want a Kyoto-style Japanese breakfast at a reasonable price… I tried “Obanzai Set”, a special morning menu at Kyosaimi Nomura Karasuma Head Shop.

Let me introduce the “Obanzai Set” (priced 850 yen including tax), the Japanese breakfast menu I ordered at the Karasuma main branch of Kyo-Na-Ajinomura.

First, enter the restaurant and purchase a meal ticket from the ticket machine on the right side of the entrance (note: the ticket machine refers to this obanzai set as “6 small bowls set”). The rice included in this obanzai set is selectable between white rice and cereal rice. For an additional charge, you can also choose one of four variations of rice to your liking, such as the restaurant’s famous yuba rice bowl or an alcoholic beverage instead of rice.

After the meal ticket is issued, next select six different types of obanzai small bowls of your choice from the showcase in front of the entrance. The left and right showcases are divided into hot and cold obanzai, and the obanzai menu for this day was…

【Hot Obanzai Menu】

• Mackerel Teriyaki
• Daikon radish with 10 slices
• Koya-tofu with yuba starchy sauce
• Garlic sprouts and shiitake mushrooms
• Chinese green with butter

【Cold Obanzai menu】

• Macaroni salad
• Spinach with tuna
• Self-hooking gobo (burdock root)
• Komatsuna with peanuts
• Oikomura and hijiki salad
• Unohana (sea urchin flower)

There are 11 kinds in total. After you have selected 6 kinds, the waiter will put them on a tray and take you to your seat. Once you are seated, rice and miso soup will be brought to your seat a little later, completing the obanzai set! And that completes the obanzai set.

Now, the six types of obanzai I chose this time are, from the right in the foreground to the left in the background… 1.

• Slightly sour “Tataki Gobou” (burdock root)
• “Macaroni salad” that looks like a tomato flavor, but when you eat it, it has a buttery taste.
• 3Light “Spinach with tuna” with just a hint of tuna flavor
• “Koya-tofu with yuba bean curd starchy sauce” filled with sweet soup stock
• Standard obanzai! “Unohana” with natural and gentle sweetness
• “Teriyaki mackerel”, the only source of animal protein and rich in DHA

Each of the small bowls is small, but when six of them are gathered together, the volume as a side dish is sufficient. I think there is enough obanzai for an adult male to eat about three bowls of rice, so you can recharge your energy and head to work or college!

Oh, yes, this obanzai set not only offers free refills of rice, but also allows you to switch from white rice to cereal rice in the middle of the meal…

With a set like this, it’s easy to see why the obanzai set at the Kyosaimi Nomura Karasuma main store is so popular as a cost-effective Japanese breakfast. Except for the time it takes to wait in line at the store, your meal is served as soon as you enter the restaurant, so if everything goes smoothly, you may be able to leave the restaurant in about the same amount of time as at a beef bowl restaurant.

On the other hand, if I were to mention some disappointments, I would say that the rice and cereal rice were too sticky and the miso soup tasted like instant noodles… But if you can tolerate those things, I think you can use this obanzai set for everyday use.

Other menu items at Kyosaimi Nomura Karasuma Head Shop (prices include tax)

•  Miyabi Gozen 1800 yen (limited quantity)
• Set for a small drink 1000 yen

There is also a Nishiki branch nearby where you can make reservations in advance… Access to the Kyosaimi Nomura Karasuma Head Shop is a 4-minute walk from the nearest station, Karasuma Station on the Hankyu Kyoto Line (Shijo Station on the Kyoto Municipal Subway Karasuma Line).

In addition to the Karasuma main store introduced here, Ajino no Mura also operates a Nishiki store near Nishiki Market. Although the Nishiki branch opens an hour later at 8:00 a.m., it has some attractions that the Karasuma main branch does not have, such as the ability to make reservations in advance and the ability to order Miyabi Gozen, which is a limited menu item at the Karasuma main branch, as a regular menu item. Until 11:00 in the morning, they also have a Nishiki restaurant limited menu using ingredients from Nishiki Market. If this article has made you curious about Kyosaimi Nomura, why don’t you try either of the stores?

Now, here are the details of the stores. Check here for store data…

P.S. If you are looking for delicious Japanese food in Kyoto, please stop by this article…

P.P.S. If you are looking for a hotel quality Japanese breakfast, how about this place just around the corner?