All of our Japan itinerary, hotel and travel information can be downloaded
here.
Day 8
After a basic but reasonable breakfast, we were on the road
again, (or the rails) to make the two-and-a-bit hour journey for would be our
final destination of Kyoto.
At least
that was the plan.
The snow, however had
other ideas.
Our ‘Thunderbird’ train had
been cancelled due to the harsh weather, it was almost impossible to see due to
the snow at times, and we, along with many other commuters we were kinda stuck
in a busy station.
Our only option was
to take the train back to Nagano and from there go to Nagoya and then on to Kyoto.
If we had to pinpoint the least fun day of
the trip, this would have certainly been it, especially considering a main pull
of the stop in Kanazawa was the break up the trip with a simple onward journey
to Kyoto.
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| Sorry lads, we're full |
As there were many others in the same situation, we could
only get the non-reserved standing options where we were huddled together with
skiiers and snowboarders and regular commuters for the two hours or so to
Nagano, followed by the three and a half hours to Nagoya.
We were finally able to get a seat for the
last hour-long stretch from Nagoya to Kyoto.
A whole day standing on cramped trains was nothing to be excited about,
yet our spirits picked up as we bought a few cans of Asahi from the shop and
our carriage to Kyoto was packed full of lively businessmen who were laughing
and joking, creating a warm vibe.
We had decided to splurge a little bit for our final three
nights in Japan (which would also fall across Valentines day/ our thirteen
anniversary), and our excitement was justified as we checked into the lovely
hotel, Noku Kyoto.
It was the only
4-star hotel we stayed in during the trip.
After our frustrating day, we didn’t want to go far for dinner and we
needn’t have too with many good dining options on our doorstep.
We opted to fill our faces with sushi and
found the well-reviewed ‘Kikyo Sushi’ restaurant was within ten minute walking
distance so there we headed!
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| I want to fly back to Japan just for the food |
This appears to be a friendly, family run restaurant with
the youngest being able to speak a good amount of English which really helps!
The dishes are prepared behind the counter, and the sushi is presented to you
by the chef on the wooden board just in front of the counter.
We
also opted for some sake tasting and really got to experience the range of
flavours available, which I find you never really get to full witness the
contrast if you’re not comparing them side by side.
There was a local sake too which was a nice
way to compliment it.
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| Amazing tempura vegetables and prawns |
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| Sake from around Japan |
Highlights had to be the tuna and salmon nigari, the prawn
and vegetable tempura as well as the prized ‘otoro’ or fatty tuna.
I think we could have easily gone back to eat
here every night and even though we weren’t watching the pennies, the bill was
very reasonable.
Whilst I appreciate
we’re travelling in a foreign country, having English speaking staff really
helps to make the situation comfortable and for you to really understand what’s
available.
Day 9
Today we visited Arashiyama (meaning storm mountain) with
the main pull factor being the scenic bamboo forest there. From Kyoto Station we took the JR Sagano Line
to Saga-Arashiyama Station – the journey is only 15-20 minutes and the JR pass
can be used. It is quite a simple walk
from there to get to the bamboo forest.
Unless you go early, it’s going to be busy. Whilst there are quite a few tourists around
snapping pictures, everyone seemed quite relaxed and peaceful and it is a very
relaxing walk through the paths that take you amongst the bamboo groves. The approach from the station is also quite
well catered to tourists with some places to buy snacks and souvenirs dotted
along the route. Some of these places
sold unique gifts that we hadn’t seen in other parts of Japan, so it might be
worth factoring in some shopping time if you liked.
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| Bamboo forest in Arashiyama |
There were also the human powered rickshaw service taking
people around the town, fortunately they didn’t seem to be wheeling people
through the bamboo forest or at least while we were there!
Apparently the word ‘rickshaw’ actually
originates from the Japanese word “jinrikisha”, which means “human-powered
vehicle”.
Near the bamboo grove is Ōkōchi Sansō, which is the former
residence of Japanese silent screen legend, Ōkōchi Denjirō. Whilst you have to pay 1000 yen to enter,
there is a really nice route around the villa's beautiful gardens and excellent
views of Kyoto from the top. You also get a free cup of matcha, green tea, and
a snack in the tea room of the grounds.
There is also a small museum on the grounds dedicated to the former owner.
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| Shrine at Ōkōchi Sansō |
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| Ōkōchi Denjirō |
In the afternoon we visited the highly photogenic Fushimi Inari-Taisha
Shrine.
Originally the shrine was dedicated
to the god of rice and sake as early as the 8th century.
The shrine also features many examples of fox
statues, the reason being that the fox is seen as the messenger of the god of
grain foods called ‘inari’ and therefore the stone foxes are often known by this
name. If you see keys in the mouths of the foxes, these are replicas of keys to
granaries in the hope that they stay well stocked!
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| The iconic Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine |
The shrine was also very busy but the grounds are quite
extensive so it never felt too crowded, although it was hard to find a moment
to take a picture without other tourists in the background!
The hundreds of bright orange torii (gates)
are like nothing I’d ever seen before.
There are routes all around the hillside with small shrines with miniature
torii, it looked like it may have been possible to purchase your own! You could
spend as much or little time as you liked here, taking in the beautiful city
scenery and roaming through pathways under the vibrant torii. If you’re on a
budget this is also a great option as it is free to enter.
Japan seems to have an affinity for Italian food, and as we
live in China we don’t have too many options when it comes to international
cuisine.
Therefore that evening we
visited another restaurant close to our hotel called Trattoria Casa Verde.
Run by a solo Japanese front of house/ chef/
wine waiter, the food was excellent and the fact it took a little time to come
out wasn’t a bad thing as it gave Kate and I time to reminisce about our full
and interesting day.
We had a margarita and a mushroom and ham
pizza.
Both were great and we washed it
down with a carafe of the house red.
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| Yummy Japtalian food |
Day 10
Alas, it was our last full day in Kyoto and Japan. We enjoyed the Japanese style breakfast in
the hotel (a lot lighter than the western) and decided to take the short trip
to the nearby Kyoto Imperial Palace, just a stone’s throw from our hotel Koku
Kyoto. Formerly the ruling palace of the
Emperor of Japan, the grounds are large and contain many halls and structures,
but predominantly consists of nice and spacious open territory.
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| Kyoto Imperial Palace |
There is a small shrine in the
Oike-niwa (garden and pond area) which seemed to be occupied by a
cat.
Intelligently so as this area
specifically doesn’t allow dogs.
This guy seemed right at home and rolled over
for us to dutifully rub his belly.
There
were also mallards and herons perching nearby which the fluffy fella had been
stalking when we came by.
Some locals
would drop a few coins in a collection box and ring the bell for good fortune.
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| Happy temple cat |
Early evening we booked ourselves in to watch a show at ‘Ran
Theatre Kyoto’.
Billed as ‘a fun filled
night with traditional music and local sake and beer.’ It wasn’t very busy
although we were watching the earlier of two showings.
The hosts was attentive and kind and the
performance both fun and educational! They introduced the instruments one by one
and gave a brief description in Japanese and English prior to each
performance.
There were also
performances as a band as well as the offer to try.
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| Ran Theatre Kyoto |
Kate and I obviously put our hands up and it was great fun
to play the Japanese drum and the rest of the band joined in!
It was obviously aimed at tourists, but with
my interest in music I found it very engaging and the performers were very
sweet & smiley.
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| Stars of the show |
We had decided to treat ourselves as it was both Valentine’s
day and the 13
th year anniversary since our first date, so we opted
for a Japanese steak house called ‘Pound’!
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| Pound Steakhouse in Kyoto |
The cuts of beef are visible from the outside window and the menu shows
the prices and weights of meat and which part of the cow they are from.
Of course, you could spend as much as you
like as there were also specials of the finest Kobe beef costing well over 100
pounds!
However, we went for two cheaper
cuts of moderately fatty ‘shoulder clod’ and ‘chuckeye roll’ cooked rare.
Even thought they weren’t the most
soughtafter cuts, the meat wasn’t too lean and was cooked perfectly.
The house mushroom and garlic sauces as well
as the sides we ordered we also superb.
We left feeling very, very full.
Luckily it wasn’t far to walk back to the hotel!
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| We finished both huge steaks at Pound Kyoto |
The following day we took the train to Osaka (Kansai)
airport from Kyoto station.
We had time
as our flight wasn’t leaving until 2pm.
We had loved every minute of Japan (aside from perhaps the day standing
on the busy train!) including the people, who are accommodating &
courteous, the scenery, the food and the general atmosphere.
10 days was enough for this trip, but I’m
sure we will try to head back one day.
Ultimately, we found it wasn’t as expensive as everyone had said and can
easily done on a mid-range budget and even a low budget at a stretch.
If you want to travel around whilst really
enjoying the dining and experiences Japan has to offer, you have to pay a
little bit more.
However, the majority
of natural beauty on offer is either free or very cheap and the seven-eleven
options aren’t too shabby either.
Either
way, I hope you enjoy what you make of your Japan trip as much as we did.
