Discovering the town of Kibune is one of the best parts of summer in Kyoto. A bump-and-rumble train ride into the mountains north of Kyoto on the nostalgic little Eizan train leaves you on a mountain road that winds along a stream for about 2 km (1.2 mi) to Kibune. This road is lined with restaurants that place dining platforms across the stream in summer. Sagenta is the last of these restaurants, at the very top of the slope, and it serves kaiseki lunches year-round, as well as one-pot nabe (stew) dishes in fall and winter. A popular summertime specialty is nagashi-somen, or chilled noodles that flow down a bamboo spout from the kitchen to a boat-shape trough; you catch the noodles from the trough as they float past, dip them in a sauce, and eat them with mushrooms, seasonal green vegetables, and shrimp. To get there take the Eizan Electric Railway on the Kurama Line from Demachiyanagi Station to Kibuneguchi Station, and then walk up the hill for 30 minutes or arrange to have the restaurant shuttle bus pick you up.
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