Kyoto: Order by machine

I started wandering towards the Toji Temple which is west of Kyoto Station. The cold and disappointing meal bought at Tokyo station prior to riding the Shinkansen to Kyoto is something I would like to forget about. After strolling around the shrines and temples near Toji Temple (I was too cheap to pay to see Toji, so I just looked at the other ones surrounding it that were free), it was already time for dinner.

I began backtracking and returned to the one restaurant that caught my eye. I caught a glimpse of the automated ordering machines, and had wanted to try one, but also assumed that somehow ordering food with a machine, resulted in poor food quality.

Nothing else really stood out to me, or looked to be in my price range, so I returned to the machine order place. I probably looked like a fool not being able to choose my meal for about a minute.

First, you must insert your cash. As your balance increases, the meals that meet the balance will have their indicator light up on the respective button. I preceded to order what I believed was a bowl of noodles. The tiny picture above each button didn’t help, and of course I couldn’t read the Japanese accompanying each picture.

After you choose your meal, the machine spits out a ticket, and you can go sit down at a seat. Promptly, a waitress will come, and give you a cup of water, and then she will go take your order to the kitchen.

When my meal arrived, it turned out to be katsudon (fried pork cutlets on rice) and miso soup.

The quality of the food was excellent, and it was one of the more standout items on the list so far. The tonkatsu is topped off with a fried egg and there is a great mixture to the egg yolk and pork grease, that gives the rice some added flavor. Each customer also gets a bottomless bowl of rice. There is a giant container of rice where anyone can go and refill their bowl. This gives your meal a good value, even though it’s already one of the cheaper meals you can find. I only paid 630¥ for mine.

The restaurant had a very sleek and modern look. And there was an awesome selection of jazz flavored music playing. Most of them with some relaxing piano tunes to them. It was perfect for trying to get settled down, after the frantic pace of the day which involved going to the Tsukiji fish market in Ginza at 6:30am, then rushing over to Tokyo station to catch the Shikansen all while hauling around my massive backpack, that was literally crushing my shoulders.

I have found the quality of service in Japan to be stellar at all times. Staff will try their hardest to help you order even when you don’t know a word of Japanese. And with the machine taking out any interaction with the staff in this case, I think it is a testament to the mindset of efficiency that I have seen echoed in pretty much all aspects of the culture in Japan.

If you get a chance in Kyoto, you should check out this place!