A combination of train delays and the restaurant I had intended to eat at closing earlier than advertised meant that I had to find a replacement on the hoof. Fortunately, I was in the Isetan department store in Kyoto Station. The top two floors are given over to restaurants: the 10th floor to mostly ramen shops, and the 11th floor a range of cuisines at more exclusive eateries. I settled on washoku (traditional Japanese) at Aoi-jaya.
Many restaurants in Japan tend toward a narrow specialization: curry, ramen, soba, wagyū, sushi, tempura, kushikatsu — the list goes on, but common to all are chefs who take to their role with a priest-like devotion to one cause. Aoi-jaya does and doesn't fit this bill.
The menu is predominantly washoku: staple Japanese dishes that are unlikely to surprise or cause you to flag down a passing waitress to decipher. My lunch consisted of sashimi, tempura, takigomi-gohan (seasoned rice), soba and tsukemono (pickled vegetables). The specialty dish is seiro bushi, a bamboo-steamer dish. Thus Aoi-jaya converges: It's a one-size-fits-all washoku restaurant with a specialty dish. So far, so very Japanese.