After you're done jostling amongst the other tourists in Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, head through Arashiyama Park towards the Katsura River and you'll find this humble-looking riverside restaurant called Kameyamaya.

For just 1,500 yen, you can get their Nishin (i.e herring) Teishoku; an absolutely amazing set meal with a lots of interesting little side dishes curated to complement a good slab of grilled herring.

Everything was well-chosen and put-together and eating around the set was such a joy, discovering and combining different tastes and textures together in oft surprising ways.

The herring itself was firm, tasty and without any fishy taste. Its bones were also so soft that they were completely edible (at least I hope they were cos I ate everything😬😂). I'm normally not a fish kind of guy, usually opting for the meat option when available, but this herring was something else. Nishin also happens to be a famous dish in Kyoto.

Ended the meal with another famous Kyoto dish that is often eaten in the summer: Kuzukiri. These are transparent, jelly-like noodles made from arrow-root starch. Very similar to Konjac. This place served them in a chilled, fruit-cocktail like concoction, making it a light, refreshing dessert to end the meal before getting back out there into that unrelenting summer sun.

*this place is cash-only so do make sure to bring enough cash along