A weekend in Kyoto
Kyoto, one of my favorite experiences in Japan. We really enjoyed the atmosphere, the city, and the weather in Kyoto. It was finally less humid and a bit cooler than in Tokyo. But let´s start at the beginning:
Kyoto from above, seen from the Arashiyama Monkey Park.
Arriving in Kyoto
The night before, we stayed at an Onsen in the mountain town of Gero and took the quite relaxing and slow train in the morning towards Gifu and then further towards Kyoto. With the Japan-Rail pass that was quite easy as you could take any train you want, which really helps if you have no plan when you will start in the morning. About that, you will read some more in a different post coming up soon.
We arrived around midday to early afternoon, luckily we could use our PASMO card from Tokyo also in Kyoto, so we took the subway north from the station to our hotel. Which was as expected not ready for check-in yet. We stayed at the Sotetsu Fresa Inn, it´s quite nicely located in the middle of Kyoto close to one of the best shopping streets, Shijo-dori Street, and Giro, a traditional type district with nice traditional-style houses and cool small shops and restaurants.
Sotetsu Fresa Inn
We booked a large double room for 3 nights. The room was really spacious, in comparison with the tiny room in Tokyo. The hotel itself looked freshly renovated, as the lobby is on the first floor you have to enter the building through a side door and take one of the elevators up. For all the more sporty people, there is no staircase up from the main entrance to the lobby, as far as we saw. You could book an additional breakfast, which we decided not to do, as we always went for an early lunch around 12 am and a nice dinner. Therefore, most of the time skipped breakfast.
One of the great things was, that the hotel supplied you with a new water bottle per guest every day, as well as the opportunity to refill your own bottle at the lobby for free.
The provided pajamas are more for the smaller type of people, I´m 1.95 m (6.4 feet) and got the larges version of it. It looked ridiculous, far to small even that it said extra large.
Besides the large room one of the main reasons why we took this hotel, was that it offered a coin laundry (which is quite was quite hard to find besides in hostels or large expensive hotels in Japan).
For the 3 nights we paid 200€, a bit expensive, but divided by two and for 3 nights we found it fair.
Paper lanterns in front a temple in Kyoto.
As we couldn’t check-in yet, we just roamed around the city. I left my camera behind to just enjoy the city and the people. We made our way along some side roads towards the Kamogawa River. On the way we found an interesting western style looking coffee roastery, it smelled incredible, but I actually only like the smell not the taste of the coffee. On the west side of the river, you can walk along a small road with a lot of cafes and restaurants next to a second smaller stream. We wanted to eat there, but with a short look on the menu, it was clear: all restaurants were far out of our price range. I think it’s a great spot to have dinner or lunch, as it overlooks the river, but be prepared and bring a bit more money. The river itself also has some nice walking ways along with it and as the river is a couple of meters lower than the surrounding area, you get away from the busy streets and can enjoy some quiet strolls along the water.
Evenings at the Kamogawa River.
I can really recommend going explore without any idea where you go, there are for sure some spots you definitely have to visit in Kyoto (some we didn´t visit as well as we only stayed 2 full days). We wandered around Gion, outside the main tourist areas, though some living areas with interesting private houses. In the end, we found the main spots around the Kennin-Ji temple and the Yasaka Shrine. As well as the “shopping mall” at Shijo-Dori Street, with the small shops and interesting arcades (it is ridiculously loud inside). Where my friend actually found a new pair of shoes for a good (cheaper than German) prize.
Great dinner place, if you have the money.
Day 1: Arashiyama and Gion
We got up around half past 7, sounds early but for us, it´s no problem. We are both not the guys for long sleep-ins, most of the time, so it always depends on each one. Especially, how committed you are in visiting the sides first without anyone. We straight headed out towards the main station and then towards Arashiyama with the train. On the way, we got some drinks from the nice vending machines and a small snack from a bakery. If you think at 8 am you are alone on the train towards Arashyama? WRONG!! The train was packed, completely full. Want to be alone at the tourist hot spots? You have to be there around sunrise, which in summer is around 5.30 am. For us, it wasn´t worth it, but we thought it would still be a bit emptier around 8 am.
One of the must-sees, the Arashiyama Bamboo forest.
Arashiyama is one of the main tourist spots. There are the really famous bamboo forest (left), the Monkey forest and the riverside of the Katsuragawa River.
From the Saga-Arashiyama station (the station most trains stop) you can either take another train for one station towards Arashiyama-Torokko, which is directly next to the bamboo forest. We just walked the 400m along the tracks towards the beginning of the forest. On the way, there are a couple of small cafes and some bike and kimono rentals.
The forest itself is much smaller than I expected, you can walk through it in like 10 min, there are some crossings which extend the walking time. Nevertheless, the main part, where all the nice pictures come from (including mine) are from a like 100m stretch. You can also hire a ricksha and let yourself driven through the area, including the forest with a special (really really short) Tarth only for rickshas. One of the thinks really raising the picture opportunities a lot, are the people walking around in kimonos. Actually quite a lot of Japanese people do it as well, which makes a great scene.
After we passed through the forest we walked through the nearby park towards the river banks. The bank really invites you to stay and relax. On the side of the park, there is a small shaded walk along the river and some cafes along the way, as well as a museum. For everybody with a bit more money, there are also a couple of really expensive and absolute luxury looking hotels like the Suiran.
We relaxed a bit in the shadow of one of the bigger trees next to the river and watched all the tourists in the small paddle boats on the river. I must say, every couple seems to want to do that and take pictures, which results in a slightly crowded river, also most of them look quite helpless
We went up the mountain towards the monkey forest to see some Japanese monkeys. After the zoo in Tokyo, we were not sure what to expect. You have to pay around 4.5€ to get in. After you walk/climb put the quite steep slope, you reach a small open area from where you can overlook the city. We were quite surprised when we realized that the monkeys roam free and the people are the ones “locked away”. There are a lot of guards walking around guarding the monkeys. You are not allowed closer than 2 m to the monkey and that rule gets enforced real strict, which I find really nice.
“Cute” baby monkey.
We can really recommend this spot, it’s a bit touristy but ok, as most people don’t want to move put the steep hill. Nevertheless, prepare for a possible longer stay then wanted. At one point we moved into an area which was a dead end, on the way back we were stopped and had to wait until a monkey moved away. It was sitting on the way and as they are the kings of the hill we had to wait until he decided to move and let us past.
They are everywhere.
We went to a small Ramen shop on the river banks for lunch. As we tried to learn a bit of Japanese, the Lonely Planet guidebook helps a lot there with the basic phrases. We tried “Thanks for the delicious meal” which is: oy-shi-kat-ta. The elderly woman serving us was visible, not prepared for that. She bowed so deep, we were worried she never comes up again.
Afterward, we went to a small temple at the end of the river walkway. It´s a nice short walk along the river in the shade of the mountain along with some interesting places. There is a small riverside “snack shop” cooling their drinks with the water coming from a nearby waterfall.
The temple itself is next to a second luxury resort, which looked fantastic as it is located alone at the end of the walkway directly on the river. As expected the temple was way up on a hill again, so up we go again.
The temple itself is located in a lush green forest. Where the nature captured large parts of it back, in the way that everything is overgrown with moos as seen in the slides above. The temple has a small pavilion overlooking the trees and the valley of the river. Inside the pavilion, different papers are laying all over the floor and tables. You can sit down and read some of the older Buddhist stories, rules, and living guidelines. No worries nobody checks on you, we just shortly locked at a couple and enjoyed the views. The rest of the temple is just a small beautiful garden. I think one single monk lives in the shed next to the pavilion. The temple is small, but also very little frequented. Therefore, you can be lucky and enjoy the view alone.
After we got back down we went back to the main tourist area of Arashiyama, we crossed the river and went towards Tenryu-Ji temple, which is part of a larger temple area directly next to the Arashiyama bamboo forest. It is possible to enter the temple for an admission fee or to enter the garden for a slightly lower fee. We were more interested in the landscape and gardens, as most of the time, we could not read any Japanese.
Japanese stone garden inside the Tenryu-Ji temple in Arashiyama
The fascination of stone gardens somehow didn’t get me. They look nice, but I´m not the type of person looking at it for hours and thinking about life or so. What I find remarkable is how much work and time these people put into it. Inside the garden, a lot of people were walking in kimonos making a great opportunity for pictures with a “traditional” background. Further, even that it was still summer many of the trees around the main pond looked like it was autumn already.
At night, we went back towards Gion and enjoyed the busy night streets of this traditional-style district. First, we visited the Yasaka shrine, which has a lot of illuminated paper lanterns and looks real dreamy or anime style like at night. That, everybody has to experience themselves.
Between the Yasaka shrine and the Kennin-Ji temple is a small area of traditional-styled houses. There are quite some expensive shops and restaurants in them, like the steak house in the below picture or a Leica shop with a small gallery ( I always wanted to own a Leica even that they are far too expensive and a bit inefficient to use).
In Gion, a lot of shops have small red paper lanterns infant of their stores.
Day 2: The plan with the Golden Temple and the Torii Gates
Waiting for its breakfast.
Early start today, to be one of the first at the Golden temple, Kinkaku temple, and avoid the masses. When we arrived, we walked 3 km from one of the next metro stations, we realized that it opens at 9 am. So no plan actually failed us again. We wanted to avoid the crowds and actually avoided the workers as well. So we walked another 2 km towards the Ryoan-Ji temple. The temple is famous for its stone garden. As I said, I´m not really convinced about the fascination of these gardens, but my uncle really recommended it. So we went there and were a bit disappointed, for us, it looked quite similar to the one from yesterday. When I remember correctly it was advertised with one of the oldest still groomed stone gardens in Japan. The rest of the grounds with the pond and the gardens convinced us much more. There, one of my favorite pictures of the trip was taken. The One of the grey heroine stalking its prey in the pond, from a branch of the old tree.
If you are looking for an empty garden to stroll around and enjoy nature, this temple is an absolute recommendation of mine.
Afterward, we had to walk the 2 km back to the golden temple. We arrived 5 min after 9 am, but the temple grounds already were flooded with tourists. You have a million people walking on the 2 tracks along the pond shore and trying to take the best picture. As 9 am is not really morning anymore in summer, the light was already not as perfect for pictures as it is in the early mornings.
Anyway, we tried to take some nice pictures, as it is hard for us to come back on a better day. Sometimes you have to work with the facts you find at the location. We spend like 1 hour walking around the grounds enjoying the view and taking a couple of pictures. I also forgot to charge my camera batteries and we were not planning on going back to the hotel during the day. Therefore, I had to be very careful to not run out of battery, as we wanted to see and photograph a couple of more spots around Kyoto.
On the day we visited, the main building of the complex, not the golden one, was closed. So we only could walk around the grounds. They have a more or less a set route you follow from the entrance to a dedicated exit. The exit has some souvenir shops and a cafe for snacks. I actually wanted to take part in a traditional tea ceremony, but like most places where I saw them, were either full or bloody expensive I still have that on my list for my next Japan tour.
Shine in the sun.
As we were too stupid to find the right bus without the internet, we walked all the way back to the train station to catch the train towards Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, the Torii gate shrine. It took us around 1.5 hours to get to the station. The good part was, it’s all downhill and a lot of vending machines are available.
Around lunch, it was nearly impossible to put your feet on the ground at the shrine, and even more impossible to take pictures. After just 20 min fighting our way through the crowds, we decided to turn back and try some street food from the stalls next to the entrance.
Some grilled lobster meat, as a lunch snack.
I tried some grilled chicken sticks, which didn´t really convince me (the reason might be, that part of the chicken was still raw) and some fried noodles with seafood and cabbage. My friend tried the grilled lobster meat and loved it.
Crossing at Inari station.
We left the crowded temple grounds behind and decided to visit the crowded streets of Gion again. When you leave the Yasaka shrine to the south you find narrow laneways with classic style houses and shops. Along these laneways, you can find some pagodas and more temples.
The area is great for an afternoon stroll, there are antic shops, tea houses and traditional manufacturies of porcelain and woodwork. A Starbucks in a weird traditional style house also can be found there, for all the people who don´t like tea or sake.
My friend found and brought some, quite expensive, handmade chopsticks as a souvenir. He uses them at home as well and they look and feel great, but I´m not a big fan of chopsticks. The main reason: I´m a total idiot with them. IN the 12 days we spent in Japan, I think there was only one time where I successfully eat my food without an accident.
The shops really invite you for an afternoon stroll through them, especially when you can try in most of them the things they make, like tea, sake, cake and so on. As the sun slowly sets, the crowds get smaller and the laneways get flooded in beautiful golden light.
Day 3: Leaving Kyoto and the morning killer Journey
Departure day, today we leave for Hiroshima. Nevertheless, we still wanted to see the Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine. We got up at 5.30 am took our bags and headed towards the main train station. There we locked our main bags and took a train towards the shrine. The lockers are really expensive in Japan, we paid around 7€ per locker to store our luggage.
The best part was, that my friend didn´t bring a backpack but a small carry on luggage, as it was too big to fit inside the locker with his main luggage and 7€ per locker was too expensive to pay a second one, he has to carry it all the way. Worst part: most of the temple is accessible by stairs.
He managed it much better then I expected, but I think on the next tour he will bring a backpack.
Best part: At around 6-6.30 am there is no one besides you on most of the ways. So if you can get yourself up at sunrise, it is totally worth it.
You can walk up from the lower area up the hill through thousands of torii gates. At one point, maybe a quarter of the way up, you will find a small graveyard/shrines (I´m not completely sure what it is), with a lot of cute kittens. At drawn the forest is still dark, which makes for a moody and really relaxing atmosphere, perfect after 2 days of crowds at the tourist spots in Kyoto.
For me, Kyoto was an absolute highlight on the Japan trip, but I wish we stayed longer to see a couple more places like the imperial palace. I will definitely return in the not so distant future. Maybe in the winter next time, to combine it with some snowboarding.
