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Published: October 4th 2012
We arrived in Kyoto by the famous Bullet train from Tokyo in under 2 and a half hours, amazing since it is over 450 km away, but the Bullet train doesn't get its name from nowhere and goes at a speedy 250km per hour on average.
Kyoto is supposed to be the place to go to see what the real Japan is all about and we couldn’t wait to explore colourful shrines, ancient temples and everything else you associate with the Land of the Rising Sun. Amazingly it has over 17 Unesco World Heritage sites, around 1,600 Buddhist temples, and plenty of scenic gardens and grounds, including the following which we were aiming to see;
- Endless Shrine Gates at Fushimi-Inari Taisha; thousands of vermillion Shinto shrine gates (Torii)
- The Daibutsu (Cosmic Big Buddha built in 746) at Todai-ji (Nara); this is Nara’s star attraction and holds some of the finest wooden statues in the World
- Todai-ji (the temple itself), which houses the big Buddha, is the largest wooden building in the World
- Kinkaku-ji; Kyoto’s famed Golden Pavilion is one of Japan’s best known sites
- Ginkaku-ji; the temples’ name
translates as Silver Pavilion, and walkways lead through the gardens which include raked cones of white sand, tall pines and a pond in front of the temple
- Bamboo Grove Forest at Arashiyama; seemingly infinite stalks of bamboo.
- Nijo-jo Castle; built in 1603, this castle is one of the only original castles left in Japan
When we first arrived into Kyoto around 5.30pm and left the station, it was pouring with rain and really windy, caused by a Typhoon which was just hitting Tokyo (seems we left there just in time), so our rain coats came out and we started the 10 minute walk to our hostel for the next 2 nights, Capsule Ryokan, which we fell in love with as soon as we arrived.
The first night we were staying in a ‘capsule’ – small individual cabins which are common in Japan but unique to us – which we were shown to by the friendly staff and liked straight away. There were 8 capsules in a room (we had one each) stacked two high, and they each had a small mattress inside with a pillow, a blind to pull down
for privacy, a small TV, a fan and a power socket inside and a little light – really cosy! Original capsules are really small, quite claustrophobic and typically used by Japanese businessmen, but we picked a modern one with all the extras so it made for a good experience.
By the time we had put our stuff away it had stopped raining so we ventured out and explored the area we were staying in, but as it was a Sunday evening a lot of places were closed, so we walked to the train station where we had heard there were some good food courts. The station is pretty big here (although nothing like the ones in Tokyo) but we soon found one of the food courts and settled on a Ramen noodle place, where we ate the best Ramen we had had to date, before going back to the capsule to do some internet bits/research and get a fairly early night.
There was a funny moment when I (Vic) climbed up to Scott’s capsule for a quick cuddle and on the way back down to my capsule in the dark I leant on his wash bag containing his
electric razor, which went off and vibrated loudly until we could find it to turn it off – god knows what the other people in the room must of thought!
The next morning we were up early ready to go out and explore Kyoto, starting with a bus to Higashiyama on the East side of the city. We started in Southern Higashiyama which is the main sightseeing district in Kyoto and home to several of the famous temples, shrines and gardens. We had optimistically planned to cover both the southern and northern part of this area in a day which consisted of a ‘short’ 11.5km walk. However, as we had failed to grab any breakfast at the station and Vic’s was cold, wet, hungry and tired, her 4 worst things in the world apparently (especially as it was raining slightly and she was in shorts), it was up to me (Scott) to keep patient and use my best motivational skill to get us through the morning which by all accounts was slightly underwhelming and a little bit too touristy. Sure we saw nice temples and pagoda’s, but we just weren’t amazed yet, and with the miserable weather
we were feeling a bit ‘blah’. By this point it was gone 2pm and neither of us had eaten nor could we find anywhere to grab anything – we were tempted to head back to our hostel but luckily we stumbled across a local stir-fry type eatery and after over ordering (as usual) we found a new lease of energy and committed to finishing the day we had originally planned.
Our first point of call after lunch was Chion-in, a site where Honen, one of the most famous figures in Japanese Buddhism, taught and today is the most popular pilgrimage temple in Kyoto. We both really enjoyed the Zen gardens and had great fun seeing who could walk, jump and run the quietest along the tatami mats, much to the amusement of several Japanese tourists. With our spirits up and a spring in our step we then headed uphill to Shoren-in another impressive temple with beautiful gardens before walking under the Kyoto museum gate and along the ‘Path of Philosophy ‘(a tranquil 3km walk along the old canal) to reach our final destination of the day, Ginkakuji Temple (Silver Pavilion).
I managed to get through today with the
promise by Vic’s of an amazing silver temple we just had to see, so you can imagine my surprise when we turned up, queued and paid the entrance fee, only to find out that the temple is not actually silver. Vic’s likes to ‘skim read’ and in her rush to finish the information she missed reading the important paragraph in the guide book which said “Although the name ‘Ginkakuji’ translates as Silver, the shogun’s ambition to cover the temple in silver was never realised”. Nevertheless, this was by far the most impressive site we had seen so far in Kyoto and was well worth the small admission fee, just to see the immaculate gardens let alone the incredible villa.
Whilst walking around the grounds I turned around to see Vic’s had been stopped by a group of Japanese school children eager to practice their English with her and complete their homework (maybe to speak to a foreigner?). At first they were shy and giggly but soon after the questions came thick and fast, from ‘Where are you from?’ to ‘Who is the biggest singer in your country?’, and like everyone else we had encountered in Japan, these
kids were so well mannered and respectful they could teach British teenagers a thing or two. As a thank you for helping them and posing for photos, they gave her some Origami birds and boxes which she gratefully accepted. We spent the next hour or so strolling through the Zen gardens before catching a bus back to our accommodation.
That evening, although still staying at the Capsule Ryokan, we moved into a private Japanese style room with fold up futon beds which sit on traditional tatami mats on the floor. Before we moved to our new room, the staff asked (insisted) that Vic dressed up in a Kimono complete witth umbrella and shoes! They helped dress her and while I was sniggering they then got out a traditional male outfit and made me put it on, so we both were stood in the reception of the hotel dressed like Japanese characters for all to see which was quite funny. The room was equipped with the most futuristic shower either of us had ever seen, and resembled something from Dr Who! It had lights, music, four different water settings and body jets and it looked amazing, so while I went
to the local Onsen (public bath), Vic took full advantage and had a nice long shower and hair wash.
For dinner we had planned to try a traditional form of Japanese cooking called Okonomiyaki – a ‘pancake’ made from flour, eggs, vegetables, meat and spices semi cooked on a hot plate by the chef, before it is bought over to your own hot plate to finish cooking and sauces/garnishes are added. As this was a more traditional type restaurant we sat around the counter/hot plate amongst the locals who enjoyed pointing out what to order and smiling at us both with a certain curiosity. After finishing our feast and both feeling stuffed, we were about to leave when the lady next to us offered some of her food. We had seen it being cooked, and whilst it looked interesting we were not exactly sure what was in it, apart from the raw egg which was cracked on top. Obviously not wishing to offend, I took one for the team and had a hearty chunk whilst smiling and nodding the whole way through – much to her delight. We then headed back to plan our next few days in Kyoto.
The next morning we awoke to bright sunshine and whilst Scott went for a run, I (Vic) got ready for the day ahead, where we had decided to visit the nearby town of Nara. After the previous day’s error of not having breakfast before setting off, today we stopped off at a little bakery round the corner that our hostel recommended to us and I insisted to Scott that we go to, and we thoroughly enjoyed a chocolate and apple pastry and a corn, cheese and bacon croissant (guess who had what?!) before jumping on a train. We stopped at Inari first which is just a couple of stops from Kyoto, as we wanted to see the famous Torii Shrine Gates. These endless wooden gates are bright red and carved with Japanese script along them, and because there are so many of them they look really impactful - they were very spectacular to look at and really peaceful to walk through, so we were really pleased we had made the stop here and would recommend this to anyone coming to Kyoto – this was definitely one of the most special sites we have ever seen. We stayed
here for a good hour hiking along the trail and gazing up in awe at the gates which seemed to go on forever.
Back on the train for 45 minutes we soon arrived to Nara, which was the first permanent capital of Japan. We quickly grabbed a pot noodle lunch from the 7/11 shop next to the train station and set off uphill to Nara Park, home to over 1,200 wild deer and two of the temples we wanted to see. The walk took about 40 minutes and we passed several attractive Pagoda’s along the way before coming to the main entrance of the park, where we could straight away see loads of Deer roaming around which I loved, especially the small Bambi type ones. We walked through the park for a further 2km admiring the scenery until we could see the Todai-ji temple up ahead – this building is massive and unbelievably it is all made out of wood, giving it the title of the largest wooden building in the world. We somehow managed to go in the back entrance, avoiding paying the entrance fee (result!), and upon entering were greeted with a giant gold Buddha which was
very impressive, alongside a slightly smaller one and some other statues which were nice to look at.
We left the temple and carried on walking through the park for an hour or so, petting the Deer and enjoying the good weather and an ice cream, until we came to another, smaller temple which was pretty, before deciding to head back to the train station. This was easier said than done as we were now in the middle of the park, so had to walk at least another 4km to get out! It wasn’t as bad as it sounds though, and I have become quite the walker in these last few days you will all be surprised to hear. That said, we were both happy to see the train station up ahead after walking at least 10km again and enjoyed a well-deserved nap on the way back - Sayanara Nara! But we weren’t finished with walking for the day yet – once back in Kyoto, we had to walk 10 minutes to our hostel, get our bags (which are heavier than we would have liked and not very comfortable), and walk another 20 minutes to another hostel (K’s House) where
we would be staying for the next 2 nights.
Later that night we were feeling pretty tired after days of non-stop activity, so after showering we just grabbed a quick bite to eat at a curry place near the train station, got some popcorn from the supermarket and went back to our hostel to watch a film on our laptop in bed before falling asleep at 11pm!
On our 3
rd and last full day in Kyoto, we had planned to see some of the West side of the city so jumped on a train to Arashiyama where the bamboo groves are located. On the way we stopped off at the town of Nijo to see Nijo-Jo castle, one of the last remaining original castles in Japan. This is literally the only site worth seeing in this town (it’s about a 10 minute walk from the train station), and after a quick viewing of the pretty castle we were back on the train for a further 20 minutes to Arashiyama. The main reason for coming here was to see the bamboo groves which we were both looking forward to, but upon finding them they were slightly underwhelming.
Don’t get us wrong, they were really nice, but just not as natural and peaceful as we expected – there was a train line running through them so it was quite noisy at times, and there were overhead wires and cables running across the bamboo tree’s which was a shame, but we still found some quieter corners to enjoy nonetheless. Once out of the bamboo groves we walked through the village, stopping off in some lovely Zen gardens (we are a fan of these gardens in case you didn’t notice), a shrine and eventually coming to the Togetsu-kyo Bridge which led over to a monkey park. We didn’t want to go into the park but had heard you may see monkeys near the bridge, but we didn’t so crossed back over and walked back to the train station.
By this point it was about 2pm so we went back to Kyoto and got a bus to one of the last sites that we wanted to see here – Kinkakuji temple, also known as the Golden Pavilion (this one really is covered in gold, unlike the Silver Pavilion). In his haste to make the bus, Scott made us jump on
one going in the wrong direction which we only realised about 20 minutes into the journey. Luckily the buses all do a loop in the city so we ended up at the right place in the end, albeit almost an hour later! We paid the entrance fee to Kinkakuji and upon turning the corner were immediately presented with the most stunning captivating temple we had come across yet. If we thought we were almost templed out by now, we were mistaken. The gold was shimmering against the soon to be setting sunshine and the reflection of the temple could be seen in the lake in front of it. Surrounded by trees and flowers, this really was a work of art and we stood admiring it for ages taking lots of photographs before doing a loop of the gardens and leaving to get the bus back. As it was almost 6pm, instead of heading back to the hostel we decided to stop off in Gion to explore downtown and wonder the back streets in the faint hopes of spotting a rare Geisha.
When we got off the bus we immediately came across a famous sushi train restaurant which Scott was
desperate to try out. Although I wasn’t keen, I watched him demolish some seared salmon, wasabi maki rolls and king shrimp nigri – he said it was by far the best he had ever tasted.
It was now dark and as we had had such an amazing few days we thought the last thing to seal a perfect stop in Kyoto would be to spot a Geisha. We wondered the back streets and alley ways of Gion on the off chance that we would be able to spot one. Geisha’s are traditional female Japanese entertainers who act as hostesses to entertain wealthy men in private tea houses, however, they are not prostitutes. In modern Japan, geisha and maiko are now a rare sight. In the 1920s, there were over 80,000 geisha in Japan, but today, there are far fewer - the exact number is unknown to outsiders and is estimated to be from 1,000 to 2,000. To our astonishment, as we walked away from the main drag we spotted one scurry across the alley into a teahouse, we were both really excited and the virtually camped ourselves out in the neighborhood for the next hour in the hope of
spotting another. We couldn’t believe our luck, when in the distance Scott spotted a group of 3 scurrying along a back street and then within seconds another one walked straight past us which we managed to get a clear picture of. We were both now completely buzzing and headed back to our hostel with the biggest grins on our faces after the perfect end to an amazing day.
When we got back Scott managed to convince me to try the local onsen, which I tentatively agreed to and after grabbing some bits we were on our way. Upon entering, men and women separate, so he went one way and I went the other and got undressed in the changing room before wrapping my towel around me and heading into the baths. Now I knew that you go into the baths naked (yes completely starkers!) but didn’t realise the nakedness starts as soon as you leave the changing room. Luckily a nice Japanese lady in all her glory showed me the ropes and I was soon sat on a low plastic stool next to her, totally naked, having a wash with a cloth and some hot water…one of the strangest
experiences I have ever had and to say I was uncomfortable would be a huge understatement, but when in Rome and all that! But at least I was sitting down so you couldn’t see too much, until said lady gestured to me to get up and walk with her to get into the hot bath. The look on my face was priceless but I bravely went with it and was soon sharing a bath, naked, with a Japanese pensioner…just another mad Japan experience! Scott was on the men’s side and shouted over words of encouragement every so often which I could hear through the thin walls that separated men and women (of course he loved this experience and this was his 4
th visit to an onsen since we arrived in Japan 10 days ago!) and it wasn’t long before I had tried all the various hot and cold baths, washed thoroughly and was back in the safety of my clothes. After thanking my new Japanese friend and leaving, we went for dinner at a nearby Teppenyaki place where we got to cook some of the food on our personal hot plate which was yummy – grilled prawns, sautéed beef and
Japanese pancakes. This rounded off an excellent few days to Kyoto and we were sad this part of our journey had come to an end.
Next stop, some harrowing history lessons in Hiroshima . . .
S&V's Traveller Info: Kyoto General Info: Approx 125 yen to £1. Kyoto is the historic capital of Japan. Although fairly small in size, the main attractions are spread out so basing yourself near the train station seems a good choice. When leaving any shop, station or restaurant, always look both ways as there is likely to be someone on a bicycle heading towards you. Transportation: Getting around Kyoto is incredibly easy, especially if you have a JR pass which can be used for all day trips to Nara, Arashiyama and Inari. Local buses (or walking) can be used for the remainder of your journeys, a single ticket costs 220 yen whilst a day pass costs 500 yen. Food: As like Tokyo, a lot of the cheaper food options can be found on the top floor of department stores or the lower levels of the main train stations. The Japanese pancakes range from 650-1100 yen depending on filling and a bowl of ramen will cost from 650 yen up.
Accomodation: Of the two places in which we stayed, Capsule Ryokan charges 3500 yen pp for a capsule (which we would recommend trying) and a private room runs at 4000 yen pp (although we had this discounted to the same price as the capsule, so ask for a cheaper option if staying a few days). K's house is cheaper at 2500 yen pp for a 4 bed dorm and a good hostel. All accomodation in Japan needs to be booked a good few days in adavnce if you want to get your prefered choice, the hostels/guesthouses here, although expensive, are of a very high standard. Other observations: x) An umbrella is for all occasions in Japan - be it rain, sunshine or to complement an outfit. xx)Green tea comes in every form imaginable - in a kitkat, ice cream, cake, tea and sweets. xxx) The Japanese are very obidient especially when it comes to crossing the road. Absolutely no one will cross the road, even if there is no traffic in sight, unless the green man is showing.
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Auntie Anne
non-member comment
Wow
What an amazing experience you are both having, and your trip has only just begun. I can only imagine what you have seen up until now. Still missing you loads. I have been telling Sharon & Jason all about it and she wants to be added to the blog if ok with you. Her email address is sharon.green@orange.fr Hopefully skype very soon. Stay Safe. xxx