A trip to Iso Gardens

Mmmm tastes like pancakes. Well, sort of.

Met a guy over family style dinner at the guesthouse named Yoshihisa, who wanted to take the German and I to the Iso Gardens. I wasn't too sure what that was about but sure why not... The German declined, it was too early for him... Well, yes if you sleep till 2 pm every day, then leaving at 11 am is early I suppose.

The Iso Gardens were more of a complex really. There are huge, stone lion lanterns, bamboo groves and meandering streams with koi. All with a view of Sakurajima in the background. The area was important back in the day for the import of technology from Britain. A couple of museums house local art and historical artifacts from the previous lords of the residence. Lots of old machinery that enginerds like to try and understand.

The gardens were beautiful but the highlight of the afternoon was eating Janbo Mochi at a local place down the road. If you have ever eating mochi, you know the gooey consistency I'm talking about. If you take a pancake and make it more "gooey", stick a couple of hashi in, and grill it until you get that browned and slightly burnt grill flavor, you've got Janbo Mochi! The sauce was a subtle blend of soy sauce, sugar, and flour that, oddly enough, reminded me of maple syrup.