The Kyoto neighborhood of Gion is small but complicated. Wedged between the hills of Higashiyama and the Kamo River, it contains some of Japan¡¯s most picturesque and well-trodden streets, but there¡¯s also a warren of back-alleys and lanes with bright lights and seedy goings-on.
Ogawa, located down one of these Gion capillaries, is small but uncomplicated: The counter-only restaurant seats six, and the chef Yosuke Ogawa serves wholehearted food in a a light-hearted setting. I have a feeling that when you scratch the formal surface of Kyoto¡¯s traditional chefs, they¡¯re sociable behind the serious manner ¡ª depending on their audience.
On a recent visit for lunch during one of the first humid days of summer, the temperature inside the restaurant felt hotter than outside ¡ª being seated within reach of the grill didn¡¯t help. However, the prix fixe lunch (I opted for the ?5,000 menu), opened with a deliciously refreshing riff on a salad: a fruity tomato, stripped of its skin, in a gelatinous vinegar-infused broth studded with junsai (an edible pond weed that grows in a natural gel sac) from Hiroshima. This may sound like a mouthful, but it was literally only a mouthful, with the leaves and stems of the junsai adding a minty quality.
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