Hey there,
It’s been some time since my first blog post introducing myself and I’ve finally got time to write about my Japan trip this year. I’ve been to many places – not shy to say – but Japan was definitely one of the best. Let’s get started!
My trip days were a little over a week. It was a family trip with my two sisters, brother in law, my nephew and my mum. It’s probably a little strange as we decided to skip Tokyo and went straight to Kyoto and Osaka for our first trip to Japan. But you know, we could always leave Tokyo for next time.
Just over 2 days of our trip was in Kyoto and then the rest was in Osaka. We lived in this newly renovated Japanese B&B and it was amazing. Everything in Kyoto – well from what I’ve seen – is old on the outside but futuristic in the inside. Their electrical and technology is pretty wow and it makes you think why Australia lacks in this area when we are so newly developed. Anyways that’s not the point, the point is most places we visited were the must go attractions.
Day 1: Fushimi Inari Shrine & Kiyomizu-dera & Higashiyama
First day we visited the Fushimi Inari Shrine. There were thousands of orange Torii gates evenly distributed along the way up the Inari Mountain. If I’ve read the information correctly, most of these gates are carved with the names of those who’ve made a donation as their wishes were fulfilled. If you’ve ever watched ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’ then you would have seen these beautiful orange gates. It was barely possible to take a photo without people’s head in the way though. But if you do have a little more time – which we didn’t and was too tired because we carried a 1 year old baby with us – you could go up a little further and they’ll be less people. That’s cause most people are like us, too tired to make it all the way up so most people make their way back down about half way.
Along the way down to the station there were food market stalls with a variety of Japanese food. I tried their famous eel (Unagi) sushi and it was the best Unagi I’ve ever had. I can still remember the taste in my mouth! It was soooo delicious but a little pricey! The eel was sooo fresh though! The restaurant was called Nezameya and the chef grills the eel outside of the shop so people who walk by will be able to see and smell the amazing freshly cooked eel. Just a note though that every person who enters the store will need to buy a dish. We also tried the Inari which is a type of sushi with rice wrapped inside deep fried tofu pockets. I am pretty sure we’ve got these in most of our sushi places in Australia but definitely tastes finer in Kyoto. There were also many other foods available like grilled beef and teppanyaki noodles that we tried and they were great too!
After food time we made our way to Kiyomizu-dera, a buddhist temple on Mount Otowa. Unfortunately the famous balcony on Kiyomizu-dera was under construction at that time so we didn’t get the chance to view the spectacular Kyoto views from there. However, walking along the trail around and in the temple, we still managed to see some amazing views. If you’d like to dress up in kimonos, I would probably recommend most doing it at the temple. There are so many photogenic places there and you could also make your way to the street of Higashiyama for a photo with the traditional street and historic neighbourhoods. Definitely more worth it for the money this way.
After the visit to the temple we strolled our way along the narrow streets of Higashiyama District. The streets lined with wooden buildings and traditional stores. We also had rice crackers which was a great option for an afternoon snack. I had a soy cracker marinated with 7 spices (these represent 7 different powders that make up a flavour). The cracker was a bit spicy but it was so good as well. Higashiyama is a great place to navigate around in the afternoon with great shops to spend some money on. It can be a little crowded as the streets are pretty narrow and most of them contain stairs. If you do have a baby like us, probably best to bring a carry strap instead of strollers.
After the nice walk through the Higashiyama streets, we made our way into the city and the station. On the way, we passed Hanamikoji street to see if we were lucky enough to spots some Geishas. Unfortunately, it was still too early in the afternoon so we didn’t manage to see any ‘real’ Geishas.
Day 2: Kinkaku-ji Temple & off to Osaka
We were off to Osaka the following day, but before that we made sure to visit the Golden Pavillion, Kinkaku-ji Temple first before we left beautiful Kyoto. The zen temple is built overlooking a large pond surrounded by magnificent Japanese garden. If the weather was nice, you could see a clear reflection of the beautiful gold temple in the Mirror Pond. We were able to see the reflection but the weather was a little too gloomy for a nice perfect photo. Walking through the garden, we each tossed a coin at the statue for luck. Both my sisters managed to toss the coin into the bowl which gave them a good luck and hope for the whole year. I also bought a prayer candle, lit it and left a wish in the prayer table. I believe it’s not about the wish coming true, but it’s the hope that will help people get through the tough times! Just being inspiring there – don’t give up everyone!
We ended our Kyoto trip and made our way to Osaka in the afternoon. I really liked Kyoto, because it’s so interesting to see traditional architecture that forms the cityscape. There’s so many stories and histories involved and it’s amazing how it’s still contained in their city.
I think that’s enough said for the day! I’ll be writing my Osaka trip after this one. Please forgive my awful grammar and hope you’ve enjoyed my little Kyoto adventure.
Thanks and see you soon!
KC