![[Kyoto] Okutan 奧丹](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/RIMG4288.jpg)
Okutan 奧丹
Add: 3-340 Kiyomizu, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto / 京都市東山区清水3-340
Tel: 075-525-2051
Hours: 10:30am-5pm (Closed on Thursdays)
Website: webkyoto.com/okutan/
Price: Yudofu set meal ¥3,150; traditional tofu meal ¥4,200
Kyoto is to tofu what Naples is to pizza. It goes without saying that when in Kyoto, you have to have a tofu meal. This is not what you can get as prepackaged squares from supermarkets, we are talking about delicate handcrafted tofu, produced every morning in small shops by artisans who have been making tofu for decades. Okutan, one of the oldest and most authentic tofu restaurants in Kyoto, is a perfect place to have a tofu meal. Founded about 350 years ago as a vegetarian restaurant serving Buddhist monks, Okutan serves just two things: a tofu set meal (yudofu) and a traditional tofu set meal.
Okutan is located near the crossover of sannen-zaka (三年坂) and ninen-zaka (二年坂). If you visit Kiyomizu-dera (清水寺) early in the morning, which you should as the famed temple gets crowded later in the day, Okutan would be an ideal place for lunch. Come early at 11:00am to avoid the wait.
After putting our shoes away at the entrance, we were led through the garden into a spacious tatami room. The huge windows lets in plenty of natural light and takes in the garden in plain view. Hot tea was promptly served, a godsend for us after a whole morning out in the cold Kyoto December air.
