Tag: japan

Day 2: Fushimi Inari & Gion, KYOTO

How did we pack this much sight-seeing into one day?

Fushimi

We woke up around 6:30am to get ready. Luckily we got free breakfast at our inn: matcha buns from a local bakery and hokkaido milk cartons. We caught a 7am bus and then stashed our luggage at Kyoto station for the day again. Then we hopped on the JR Nara line to the Inari station. It was great that this station actually opens up straight to Fushimi-Inari Taisha.

Fushimi-Inari Taisha

By the time we got to Fushimi-Inari, it was probably a little after 8am and there were plenty of tourists. Later on in the day, the tourist density was exponentially higher so going earlier is probably a smart idea. The main shrine which is at the base of the trail was pretty cool. We walked around and looked at all the smaller shrines like the one where students go to pray for academic success and hang up strings of 1000 paper cranes–dang. We also were able to pay 200 yen and get a paper fortune to tie up at the shrine, which was on our list of to-try’s!

After looking at the souvenirs and luck charms, we made our way to the Fushimi-Inari trail and that hike was amazing. In general, we avoided taking too many pictures toward the beginning of the hike because stopping meant holding up the long line of other tourists behind us. There were plenty of natural stopping points along the way. And of course we took our obligatory wushu pose photos once we were well past the half-way point and the amount of people going by tapered off.

To get our wushu pose pictures, we picked a couple of spots along the way and just waited for a while until there were gaps in passing tourists. It did take a while but the breaks from hiking were well-appreciated.

Approximately halfway, there’s a nice area that overlooks Kyoto and also has a couple of teahouses/restaurants. On our way down from the summit, we decided to eat at this overlook area and that was an AMAZING decision. We ordered two udon set meals and that let us sit in this area with clear views of Kyoto. The overall look and feel of the dining area was absolutely gorgeous and a little magical. The breeze was beautiful and the scenery just made the food taste even better after a long hike. The inari sushi was our favorite and whatever udon I got had some really tasty fried tofu in it!

Udon set meal

Continuing on the way down, we got a really cute magnet, and then I scored a cute drawstring bag from a gacha machine at one of the souvenir shops at the main shrine. I also shouldn’t forget the odd lady who went down the trail going diagonally back and forth–my best guess is that it was for her knees?

Once we left the shrine area, explored the streets around Fushimi-Inari Taisha. It was a lot of fun just walking around and looking at all the knickknacks related to Inari.

Gion

Eventually, we headed back to Kyoto station and chilled for a hot second before mustering up the strength and willpower to hop on a bus to Gion.

Maruyama Park

As soon as we got to our bus stop, I noticed a Pablo and so we got sidetracked. We grabbed our desserts and walked to the nearby park to sit down and relax. Dude, I really liked the cheese tart and the hojicha drink. This was a much needed break from all the walking.

The park was green and gorgeous but I think our favorite part was just people-watching and seeing so many people dressed up in kimonos or yukatas running around taking pictures. Some of the girls chose really weird spots or poses to take pictures of but hey, I’m no expert. Spotted an older couple that took turns using the other as a chair-back haha. We just spent a couple of hours walking and sitting in the different areas, doing some serious bird- and people-watching. When we crossed a small bridge, there was an old dude who was the pigeon-whisperer–we didn’t see any food in his hands and the pigeons would just fly to his hands as soon as he held them up.

Yasaka Shrine

Maruyama park was right next to Yasaka Shrine so we did a quick walkthrough and admired the lighting as we headed to Hanami-koji street.

Hanami-koji street

I basically hoped to catch a maiko or geisha walking around but no luck. But definitely a lot of girls in kimonos walking around taking pictures so the people-watching continued.

Overall, it felt like there wasn’t too much to see besides admiring the architecture and expensive prices for food or desserts. It seems like this is a place we should’ve gone to at night but we didn’t have enough time in Kyoto for that.

Temples in Gion area

Didn’t do too much here but look at the buildings and guess if the people wearing kimonos were part of Chinese tourist groups or not. Wish we had been there a bit earlier so we could’ve seen more of the temples inside.

Kyoto Station

Finally, we headed back to Kyoto station as super tired and cranky people trying to find decent food. Probably what made the situation worse by this time was that the pocket wifi, my phone, AND the power bank were all dead. There is some major anxiety symptoms when not connected to the internet and that’s just crazy.

We found our way to the food hall in the basement and that was a cool find. We talked to a guy who had been living in Japan longer than he lived in the US now. And then we got this steak bowel at Gottie’s and gyoza. It was pretty good but probably a poor choice after having Steak Otsuka just the day prior, haha.

And then we got on the last shinkansen to Tokyo and passed out for three hours before making our way to our hotel in Ueno. Never have I been so grateful to have a private bathroom before!

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Day 1: Arashiyama & Kyoto Station, KYOTO

I took a desperately-needed shower in the morning at our hotel and then we hopped on the bullet train to make our way to Kyoto. At Kyoto station, stashed our luggage in a big coin locker and then headed to Arashiyama.

Arashiyama

We first got to Steak Otsuka around 8:55am and were able to put our name down on the list. I think we were maybe 7th or 8th to write our names down. After that we grabbed some breakfast from 7eleven headed out to the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove.

Arashiyama Bamboo grove

The bamboo grove does have at least two sections and if you’re coming from the Saga-Arashiyama JR station, the first bit you walk through is not nearly as dense or cool-looking as the second portion. So don’t spend too much time taking pictures in the first part. Overall, walking through this bamboo grove was mostly quick and easy. Even at 9am, there were plenty of tourists so if you want pictures without too many others, go extra early. I really enjoyed taking pictures here and it was something cool to do while waiting for Steak Otsuka to open.

Kameyama Park

Once we reached the end of the bamboo groves, we took a break to eat the salmon onigiri and egg salad sandwich from 7eleven for breakfast. Then
we decided to just wander around the nearby neighborhoods and ended up walking through Kameyama park. There were so many signs about not making eye contact with monkeys in the park, haha. We kept following the trails and eventually ended up

We kept on following the trails and eventually ended up at an overlook that had an amazing view of Katsura River. The overlook also came with an older gentleman who yelled out “OYYY” into the valley and got back a prompt reply from elsewhere–that was so much fun.

Steak Otsuka

At some point, we made our way back to Steak Otsuka a little before 11am but didn’t quite make the first seating despite being pretty early on the sign-in sheet. It wasn’t too long before we got called to be seated and we were directed towards the counters. We both got the Murasawa steak and it wasn’t meat–it was just meat-flavored butter.

I definitely think it’s important for people who go here to realize that the A5 wagyu is so marbled with fat that it’s not going to be like normal steak. If you want meat, try a different cut or grade! But if you want this “fairy-rare, phantom beef”, get the Murasawa and prepare for like half the meat to melt and disappear in your mouth. I really enjoyed it but I’m a big fan of butter, fat, and oil. I still can’t really wrap my head around the fact that there are like only 80 of these specific cows that get shipped each year?

We actually started heading back after eating because of food coma symptoms but at the JR station, we stopped by the 7eleven and saw some weird souvenirs that inspired us to go back and explore more. More specifically, I saw these charms and magnets with a white human-like figure on all fours that looked so ugly but cute at the same time. Once I googled who he was, I was ready to leave the station and find the bridge that he was a mascot of.

Togetsu-kyo Bridge

Surprise highlight of the day was definitely this bridge and finding out who the mascot it. You should google it and marvel at the brilliance of the mascot design. I ended up needing to buy at least one souvenir of Wataru, the bridge mascot.



Once we crossed the bridge, we got to an area with shops and restaurants. That’s where we then bought a Wataru flashlight (the light comes out of his butt) and a music box.

Kyoto Station

After we finished exploring Arashiyama, we headed back to Kyoto Station to do a bit of exploring before we headed to our hotel/inn.

Nakamura Tokichi

We tried to go to Nakamura Tokichi but the cafe had a 90min wait time but no wait for the little gift shop…. so we ended up buying the little pints of hojicha and matcha ice cream as well as one of the matcha cakes. We took them up to the Sky Garden and devoured the food while keeping watch on the some birds that were eyeing us.

We both preferred the hojicha flavor but the match was intense and good too. The cake was a good addition just to break up the spoonfuls of ice cream.

Sky Garden

Getting to the sky garden, we finally realized there was a whole department store in this station. In addition, the steps have lights and they do light shows on the steps! We didn’t catch the whole thing but they basically use the lights like pixels and are able to make big complex images like moving trains or the Japanese flags. Definitely realized that to see it well, you have to be at the very bottom.

Kyoto style small inn Iru

It took some help from the tourist info office, but we figured out what bus to take to get to our inn and headed there for the night. The room seemed very traditional with futon beds, tatami mats, and paper-thin sliding doors. There were maybe 8 or 9 rooms total! And shared toilets, showers, and sink again. It was also pretty dang cold at night but somehow the futons were enough to keep us warm. We ate a ramen restaurant right next to the inn per recommendation by the innkeeper–it was a bit salty for me but we were very hungry at that point. Also tried some pudding from Lawson because, seriously, Japan’s convenience stores are on point.

Tomorrow, we go to Fushimi-Inari!

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Day 0: Traveling to Japan

Long airplane rides require good preparation

We took Alaska airlines to LAX from BWI, which sucked to drive for an hour that early in the morning. We did get to see an awesome sunrise on the drive up at least. The six-hour flight to LAX was a little rough with little sleep. And then we were stuck on the plane circling around because the gate was occupied by a late flight–apparently the whole electronic boarding system went down, causing delays. So our long layover disappeared and we couldn’t make a pit stop to LA for Din Tai Fung :[. Instead we got Umami burger at LAX.

Caught the sunrise as we parked at BWI

We then took Singapore airlines and that was a pretty bomb flight despite the lack of sleep and severely confusing my body with the time zone changes. Got to re-watch Spiderverse, which was still amazing the second time around, and also got to watch Kung Fu League and Glass. Kung Fu League was ridiculous. Glass was a legit good movie even thought I didn’t see Split. Overall, the service on Singapore Airlines was great. Surprised by the dinner and lunch meals, and loved how often the flight attendants came by with snacks and drinks. But the air just seriously dehydrated my mucous membranes. I will definitely be wearing some of those masks on the way back.

Landed in Japan around 7pm local time! Although we felt like complete zombies after being on planes for so long. Had to activate the JR Rail Pass, get our Narita Express tickets to Shinagawa Station in Tokyo as well as bullet train tickets to Nagoya (because the lines didn’t go to all the way to Kyoto that late), and get the pocket wifi. We then took a pooping break and I decided buy something from the vending machine with one of our Suica cards!! Whatever this Jelly drink is, it was soooo good. You shake it to break up the jelly inside it and then drink it! It was finished before we got of the Narita Express.

We got to Shinagawa station and was able to find the track for our Hikari shinkansen to Nagoya pretty quickly (we only had like 16 minutes to transfer). Once we were on the bullet train, I passed out pretty hard. Once we got to Nagoya, our hotel was pretty close by. We stayed at Choukou Hotel which was a badly needed night on a bed after almost 22 hours on planes with a 5 hours layover–basically we hadn’t slept on a bed in over 24 hours.
The receptionist didn’t speak too much English but did speak Chinese so we managed to check-in. The room itself was everything we need for somewhere we were only going to be sleeping at for six hours. The bed was massive so that was a plus! Otherwise, shared toilets and showers on each floor plus a communal sink.

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