Started drinking from 4:00 PM, and ended with a bento from Shimogamo Saryo (Rokkaku). The simmered dishes were delicious, especially the green beans. The flavors were rich and juicy. Even though it's a bento, they did a great job. The mackerel was also delicious. Ah, Kyoto cuisine is all about strong flavors like kombu, bonito, mirin, sake, soy sauce, sugar, and salt. Light flavors are just for appearances.

I visited the store in September 2022. It is located on the 2nd floor of the Isetan basement. I bought a Kyoto-style lunch box for 1500 yen and a Nishikyo grilled dish for 750 yen. The lunch box from Shimogamo Charyo is elegant and delicious. It looks wonderful. It was a lunch box that symbolizes the arrival of early autumn. When I ate it at home, it was elegant and delicious. I highly recommend it.

Vegetable Kyoto Bento (1188 yen) I got on the Shinkansen. When going down from Tokyo, it's always the JR Tokai Fukagawa Meshika Shumai Bento, but I've never bought a bento when departing from Kyoto. In the underground floor of Isetan, there are well-established bento shops, with some bentos costing over 5400 yen, which is equivalent to the Green Car fare, but I am not that wealthy. However, since I'm already at the Isetan underground floor, I won't give up and leave just because of the prices. Not looking for something extravagant, and not needing a large portion, I came across Shimogamo Charyo. Shimogamo Charyo is a renowned traditional restaurant in Kyoto. Their bento looks elegant and sophisticated. The Vegetable Small Box, a small two-tier bento, costs just over 1000 yen, so I decided to get it. The bottom tier contains rice cooked with dashi, topped with shimeji mushrooms and pickles. The top tier includes dashimaki tamago, kinpira, and simmered Kyoto vegetables, creating a luxurious composition. Each dish is carefully prepared. The taste is quite ordinary. When I saw it again on the Shinkansen, I was surprised by how small it was, but it turned out to be just enough to satisfy my hunger. Thank you.

Recently, due to a decrease in entertainment expenses, the unit price of bento boxes used for meetings has been increasing. Thanks to this, I have been enjoying more opportunities to have bento boxes from Shimogamo Charyo, which I am delighted about. This time, I had the "At Home Ryotei Yamami Gozen" for 2,700 yen. Even though it's a bento box, the rice is delicious, probably because they use high-quality ingredients. Each ingredient is truly delicious. The Nishikyo-yaki is very elegant, and the various side dishes are uncompromising in quality. Truly, the prestigious reputation speaks for itself. Thank you for the feast.

I bought a bento box at the Kyoto Isetan basement for dinner at the hotel. There are many famous restaurants in Kyoto, so it was hard to choose. Shimogamo Charyo is a long-established Kyoto cuisine restaurant founded in 1856, almost 160 years ago. The Oyasa Kyoto Kobako bento box (1,188 yen) is a beautifully colored bento box. It includes dashimaki tamago (rolled omelette), simmered soybeans, koyadofu (freeze-dried tofu), and sweet potato with lemon flavor, among other side dishes. The dishes are all elegantly seasoned and very delicious. The bamboo shoot rice is spring-like and delightful. I was very satisfied with being able to enjoy traditional Kyoto cuisine easily.

I visited in March 2021. The location is in the basement of Kyoto Isetan department store. I came to buy a cherry blossom viewing bento box this year as well. I purchased a 2-tier bento box for 2700 yen this year. In addition, I also bought side dishes for 626 yen. I ate them at home right away. The taste was elegant and tasted like a high-class restaurant. The presentation was beautiful, with seasonal items like bamboo shoot rice included, and it was delicious. I highly recommend it.

I stayed at a hotel near JR Kyoto Station and bought a bento box from Isetan to enjoy in my hotel room. I got the "Ouchi Ryotei Juuni Emaki" for 1500 yen (discounted price in the evening) which had 12 different dishes packed together, perfect for enjoying with some drinks. I also got the crab vinegar dish for 900 yen, which had a lot of crab and was a great deal.

I arrived at Kyoto Station around 7pm to prepare for work the next day. I decided to buy a bento box from this shop as my dinner, hoping to find a good one in the department store basement. The bento box had a beautiful packaging featuring autumn leaves, which raised my expectations. When I opened it, I was surprised by how beautiful it looked. Each dish had a gentle flavor with a focus on Kyoto-style dashi. The dashimaki tamago, ganmo, gyu shigure, and duck were particularly delicious. Even though the rice was cold, I could still smell the scent of shimeji mushrooms. It was a bento box of high quality. It was nice to be able to easily enjoy such a meal. Thank you for the meal.

Next to Kyoto Station, there is a restaurant called Shimogamo Charyo in the basement of Isetan. It's amazing how convenient things have become nowadays - you can buy Shimogamo Charyo's bento boxes around Kyoto Station. This may come as a surprise based on my own values, but it's a sign of the times. This time, I didn't have their main bento box. Instead, I tried their Chirimen Sansho - dried baby sardines with Japanese pepper. It's not particularly famous for this dish, as Chirimen Sansho can be found in many places. However, their version is unique with its white color and elegant presentation. The Japanese pepper flavor is strong and the dish is very delicious. Chirimen Sansho may not be cheap, but since it's not meant to be eaten in large quantities, having a small portion is satisfying. It goes really well with rice and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It was a comforting and delicious meal.

I visited in April 2020. The place is located in the department store basement of Kyoto Isetan. The cherry blossom viewing bento boxes at Kyoto Isetan are usually sold out by the afternoon every year, as people going to see cherry blossoms buy them in the morning. However, this year, there were still plenty of options available in the evening. And most of them were on sale. I purchased the luxurious cherry blossom viewing bento box from Shimogamo Charyo for 1400 yen excluding tax. It looked beautiful and delicious. I had it for dinner at home right away. It was a very elegant Kyoto cherry blossom viewing bento box. The price was reasonable, and I highly recommend it. The entire store was closed for a while, but it reopened on May 25th.

A shop located on the 2nd basement floor of "JR Kyoto Isetan", directly connected to JR Kyoto Station. It is a takeout business established by a traditional Japanese restaurant founded in 1856. The shop has a large presence in the center of the basement with a display case showcasing a variety of traditional Japanese dishes and bento boxes. One unique item is the "nyuumen" set, which includes noodles, toppings, and broth. It features high-quality ingredients like tofu skin, scallops, and ginkgo nuts. This shop offers an easy way to enjoy the flavors of a traditional Japanese restaurant.

Before boarding the Shinkansen, I picked up a bento box at the Kyoto Isetan department store basement. I got the Kibune Bento, which was discounted by 300 yen in the evening. The total payment was 1188 yen for this bento box without rice. It has 340kcal, which is great for those who are conscious of calories. It was nice to have a variety of small dishes in a classy presentation. The yuba with sweet bean paste and wasabi on top was delicious.

The person mentioned that every time they come to Kyoto, they always eat the vegetable Kyoto bento here. So, I was planning to buy this bento as a must-have souvenir at the end of my Kyoto trip. It's a little walk from Kyoto Station Isetan and the Shinkansen, but there are many shops in the basement of the department store, so you can stop by while buying for the whole family. When I went there, it seemed to be on sale, so I bought the vegetable Kyoto bento without hesitation. I ate it as soon as I got on the Shinkansen. The slim container is two-tiered, filled with plenty of side dishes. The appearance is beautiful. The rice is mixed with mushrooms, carrots, and a little bit of fried food. It's chewy and sweet as you chew. As for the side dishes, everything is delicious! I usually don't like kimpira or koya tofu, but I really enjoyed them here. The kimpira has a strong flavor without being overwhelming, and the texture is good. The koya tofu oozes juice when you chew on it. The ganmo is the same. Even though so much juice seeps out, it doesn't drip when placed sideways, which is amazing. The carrots, green beans, and shiitake mushrooms are also the same, as if they were just soaked in broth... The wheat gluten was also chewy. The simmered beans were delicious, and the sweet potatoes were as sweet as dessert. The lotus root and watercress have a good crunch, with a refreshing citrus scent. The lotus root on top was impressively tangy with vinegar. It was incredibly delicious. The egg was fluffy, lightly seasoned but with a gentle sweetness. Being able to eat Kyoto cuisine in a bento box at this price, with just the right amount for women, and getting plenty of vegetables, is highly recommended.

First visit in October 2019 (No.1502) Established in 1856 (Ansei 3), Shimogamo Charyo is undoubtedly a restaurant where you can enjoy delicious cuisine. However, in Kyoto, many young and talented chefs are opening wonderful restaurants, making it difficult to choose where to dine as I can't visit Kyoto frequently. The powdered soy sauce from a traditional soy sauce shop in Kagawa established in 1753 is used as a key ingredient in this product, which has been on sale since 2015. By condensing the umami of liquid soy sauce into powder form and blending it with yuzu and red pepper, a refined Japanese aroma is achieved. It can be sprinkled on rice, fried eggs, sautéed vegetables, used as a dip for tempura or fried foods, and even sprinkled on vanilla ice cream for a unique flavor. I tried it on rice and found it to be delicious, so I would consider purchasing it again if given the chance. As for the cuisine at Shimogamo Charyo, they have a branch in Ginza as well, so I hope to visit there in the future. Thank you for the meal.

Located in Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto City, on Karasuma Street, just south of Shijo Street, is the "Shimogamo Saryo JR Kyoto Isetan Basement 2nd Floor" restaurant. I had been wanting to visit this bento shop after reading reviews on Tabelog. On the third day of my solo trip to Kyoto, "Eating and Drinking to My Heart's Content in Kyoto," I decided to purchase my dinner here. I arrived around 4 pm, but it was quite crowded. The JR Kyoto Isetan Basement 2nd Floor is a floor that sells groceries, fresh food, and bento boxes, so there is no eating space available. Shimogamo Saryo is a long-established restaurant founded in 1856. It's great that they offer their traditional cuisine in a casual bento box format. You can even make reservations in advance for their bento boxes. This time, I purchased the "Gyu Shigure Bento" for 1,620 yen. I enjoyed it for dinner on the Shinkansen train ride back, accompanied by a can of beer. The "Gyu Shigure Bento" consists of beef and simmered beef shigure with onions and shirataki noodles. The seasoning is well done, and it tastes delicious even when cold. The tamagoyaki (rolled omelette) served on the side is made with a refined dashi broth and is also very tasty. I highly recommend this to those who enjoy dishes from long-established restaurants.

(2018.08/Revisited) Shimogamo Charyo JR Kyoto Isetan B2F Store, Kyoto City Shimogyo Ward, inside JR Kyoto Isetan. *Added photos* *Short review* *Inventory clearance review* I am always grateful for the deli section in department stores throughout the year. The deli section at JR Kyoto Isetan. It's a tradition to buy various items before heading home and making an easy dinner. My favorite is the boiled yuba, which I continue to buy for years. It's a perfect accompaniment to the easy dinner. Yuba Manju - 432 yen Yuba wrapped manju. It looks like a dragon's head. Looking at the ingredients list, it includes yuba, yam, carrot, conger eel, thread-sail filefish, shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, and more. It has a gentle flavor with dashi. It was perfect to enjoy it with warm sake. (o^^o) ↑ This part is a direct copy and paste from a previous review. Bon appétit!