Japan Trip 2024 - Kyoto

Our second leg of the trip brought us to Kyoto. One of the most gorgeous cities ever!

Here's how we unfold Kyoto, place by place:

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DAY 5

Another earlier start for us, since I wanted to go to 3 places today (Yep, I am an ambitious vacationer. Not a leisurely holiday after all!)

First up, the place where most people got their 'red-gates' photos: Fushimi Inari Taisha!

*side note: Japan is FULL of temples & shrines -- but it turns out that there's a difference between them (at least in the Japanese context)

 --> Todai-ji that we visited in Nara is a Buddhist temple. Hint: the name ends with -ji

--> Fushimi Inari Taisha is a Shinto shrine! 

They have different influences and building philosophies, but both have been beautifully conserved by the Japanese people! 

I saw people online getting up at dawn to get here at 6 or 7 am. I really didn't want to sacrifice my sleep in that way. 

But at that time of year, early December, we could still enjoy it and took decent pictures, even when we're not up with the sun! Walking underneath the gates felt surreal. And the gates led us into the woods and up the hills. We enjoyed walk in the woods, up and up the, until we reached a small lake. But, it turned out that it was just the beginning - because the map said it would take close to 40mins to complete the whole track! We decided we didn't have to go all the way - so we took our pictures, headed down, and back to Kyoto station for our second destination. 

Here, we had our first experience of taking the bus in Japan. Each city works out a little differently, but I must say, the buses was so easy to ride! Just like the trains, they have both visual and audible announcements, in Japanese, English, & sometimes more!

After queuing for a bit, we hopped on to the bus that brought us to our 2nd destination: Kiyomizu-dera temple! 

Upon getting off of the bus, we were slightly distracted by another temple, and ended up not going up via the famous Higashiyama streets. However, we encountered another way, passing by the local cemetery, and it turned out to be one of my favorite views throughout the whole trip! :")) The cemetery was located on a cliff, next to a beautiful valley, and the weather that day was cold, but it made for a slight misty quality to the sky. And once again, the hill was covered with green trees, accentuated by the autumnal leaves. 

Second favorite view: just when we arrived, before walking up to Kiyomizu-dera. The red temple was peeking behind orange-red leaves, and below, a small lake was sitting still. SO pretty. 

We walked up towards the entrance, got a view of Kyoto from the hill, took some pictures, and just like the other temples, we didn't go in. LOL. Down we went, this time via Higashiyama streets. Each side of the streets were made up of charming traditional houses that had been turned into shops, selling souvenirs, snacks, coffee, matcha, strawberry daifuku, etc! 

Here, we did encounter a massive crowd. But it made for a very lively, cozy experience. 

We returned to the Kyoto station via the same bus, and found our lunch there. Our group split up - I was sooo called by the chazuke. 

If you haven't tried it before, it sounds weird: rice with green tea soup. But actually it quickly became one of my favorite Japanese meal because of how simple yet flavorful it is! The rice was warm, topped with any toppings of your choice - I chose salmon. The rice bowl came with a pot of broth, made up by green tea and dashi, so it tasted clean, yet umami. The dish was completed by a small plate of pickles, to balance all the flavors out. As a lover of broth and soups, I happily devoured this to the last drops. 

Once we filled up our tummy, we headed to our 3rd destination of the day: Uji!

We took the train to Uji. This is a special place for me, because of my love for matcha! And the specific place I wanted to visit was just a stone-throw away from the station. So, I thought we had made it, even though we got there at around 3 in the afternoon. 

What I hadn't accounted for was the crowd! When I got to Nakamura Tokichi Honten, I was on the waiting list with 80 people ahead of me! Say what!! And the store closes at 4:30 :") 

So I was very nervous, hoping that people were dropping out of the list (which did happen) and praying we get in. In the meantime, we explored the charming town of Uji. 

While we couldn't find the actual tea plantations, there are plenty of things to do in Uji. Well, one primary thing: shop for matcha! There are streets, store after store selling matcha, and as well as other handcrafted souvenirs. There are other restaurants and cafes too, of course, which closes later compared to Nakamura Tokichi and had became my backup plan in case this one didn't work out. There was actually another store location for Nakamura Tokichi that was just as crowded. 

Besides window shopping at these stores, we did walk around the local neighborhood. Though the houses here are not super traditional as in old-school looking, they were pretty standard Japanese houses, with small roads, a Yakult lady passing by, and a postman delivering mails. 

After checking my phone every minute, finally the queue got quite close! We went back to wait in the store, so we could immediately go up when they call our number. 

The honten houses a sizeable store for all things tea - not just matcha! Then, at the back was a large room used as their sit-down restaurant/cafe. Thank God, our number was called not too long afterwards!

After taking our order, the server brought us a set of tea :") I didn't expect it, but saw that every table also got this. Instead of a jug of water or a thermos of tea, we got served tea in nice, proper tea pots. And it was an incredibly delicious tea, too! 

Then, came our order: a bowl of sticky rice balls with milky matcha, and the famous Matcha Parfait.
It was layers upon layers of DELICIOUSNESS! 

I mean, I think most of us thought of matcha parfait and think of matcha ice cream, whipped cream, maybe mochi and anko. But who would've thought of lemon preserves? and crunch! jelly! pudding! aahhh it was a feast of flavors and textures, where the matcha sings proudly, but complemented by a beautiful background chorus. It was definitely WORTH the travel and the wait! Their matcha with milk was also warming and delicious. Made just right. 

The price for our order was more expensive than our lunch HAHA but again, what a treat. 

And we continue to be treated by the most beautiful sunset, overlooking a bridge and a little village across. It had gotten too dark to explore further, so we ended our Uji trip here. Took a few dim, romantic pictures, then off we went to Kyoto station. 

That night, I explored the iSetan once again, climbing all 10+ floors and basement! Spent a good chunk of time at the Itoya, and also the food hall at the basement. I was actually looking for a local supermarket feeling, but this one was more focused on food - local to imported ingredients, and on the other side was stalls upon stalls of ready-made food. From bento, salads, pao, pickles, etc. 

As I was quite full from everything I'd eaten throughout the day, I was fully satisfied with a couple of onigiris for dinner. Once again, with the lemon tea! 

I'm pretty sure I also ended the night with a sachet of green tea from the hotel - which was so good. 

Here in Kyoto, our rooms had such a cozy ambience, that I just want to soak up with a good book. So that's how we end this long, long day. 

DAY 6

It was another day full of full-on adventures. Tehee. 

When researching for the Kyoto trip, the two major touristy sites to visit are Fushimi Inari Taisha (&the Gion area), and Arashiyama. Many sites would suggest splitting them into two days - one day to explore each area, so that's what we did! And Arashiyama might be my favorite stop during this whole trip. 

How would it not? Our first destination upon arriving in Arashiyama is Arabica coffee shop. Yes, Arabica has many many stores - we've visited ones in Malaysia, in Jakarta, etc. BUT! As a brand that started in Kyoto, we just had to try it here. What I hadn't expected is the specific location of this Arabica: facing a river and a hill. 

By this point, you know how much I love rivers and hills. This one didn't disappoint. 

There was a relatively long queue (but I'd been told it could take 4x longer in the peak peak season); but I didn't mind. I took out my camera and snap away. The cold air only made it even more dreamy. Ahhh. 

My sister ordered Kyoto Latte and I ordered matcha. Though I don't drink coffee, the Kyoto Latte was sooo smooth, I could've finished the whole thing! 

After we got our coffees, we made our way to the Bamboo Forest. 

If you've seen Shang-Chi, this is not too far off of the Ta Lo forest! (sans the magical maze and speeding cars). Although quite crowded, it was so serene. After walking around the 'forest' for a while, we went back to civilization, which is another charming tourist town. 

We took the bus to bring us to the other side of Kyoto. The bus took a while to come, and the whole drive took almost an hour. But that's ok - we got to see Kyoto's different sides, and rest our legs for a bit. 

We stopped a little bit before our original 2nd destination - because we were super hungry! We had Kyoudon Kisoba Okakita on a list of recommended restaurants, fortunately. So, we got lunch of soba & oyako-don in a fancy-ish place. I guess fancy is not the right word, but it was quite proper! But the food came so quickly, thank goodness! 

After lunch, it was time for a long walk to & in the "Philosopher's Path". It is a wonderful, quiet path, where we could walk next to a stream. The walk is quite narrow, and in a residential area. But it was so peaceful! No wonder it's called 'Philosopher's Path' - no wonder philosophers and writers love this area. It allows for some peaceful pondering. There was some ducks playing in the stream, trees lining both sides, and people just enjoying their day here. 

From here, we could've taken the bus to our next destination; but since the day is getting late (3 pm), we decided to Uber instead. Our first Uber experience in Japan! It was smooth, as expected. The trip took 8-10 minutes by car, and we arrived in Kyoto Imperial Palace! 

Sooooo quick tip: check the opening time for each place you want to visit. Lol! Kyoto Imperial Palace closes at 4 pm - and we just arrived at 3 pm - and last entry was at 3.20 pm! We barely made it. phew! 

The Palace was so well-kept, and the brochures did such a good job explaining what everything was! We truly got a sense of how the palace was used by the imperial family, for private life & ceremonial/duties. 

The grounds inside the palace were vast, but the garden outside of it was even more extensive! Maybe not as intricately designed, but just as tranquil and beautiful. It truly felt like a community garden - where people walk their dogs or exercise. 

We sat for a little bit here (again, resting our tired legs xD) before walking a little bit further to two mini-stops: Kurasu coffee & Ippodo tea shop! We passed by more residential streets here, experiencing more intimately the narrow lanes, fitting 1 car. We passed by school, a Yamaha music course center, houses, and mini apartment.

As my sister bought her coffee in Kurasu, I headed to Ippodo to get my matcha - while in Kyoto! 

The thing is, I heard that there was a kind of matcha shortage especially in Tokyo. And, Kyoto really is the epicenter of matcha. So, why not get my matcha here? Ippodo is actually my 'back up' matcha place. But since we were very close by, I decided to pick up a tin. I chose a special Kyoto blend - more umami but not too overpowering. It costed me in total Y1600 -ish for a tin of (I think) 20rg More high-end for my current matcha budget, but after using it for several drinks, it tastes good! The color is so vibrant, and the aroma is incredible. 

After shopping for matcha, we headed to our final planned destination in Kyoto: the Karasuma Dori area. We were originally looking for the shopping street like the one we found in Osaka - with brand names left & right. But this is Kyoto - not Osaka. Things look different here! Here, the shops are bigger - not just stalls, but entire buildings! So our expectations were not met here. BUT another interesting thing: I didn't feel like we need to visit the 'Kyoto Market', since we've had a little taste of that in Osaka. Turns out, the market is there in the same area! So, we walked right in. 

The market works differently - this one is more massive and sells a lot more different things than in Osaka. Not just food stalls - but donuts shops, clothing, fabric outlets, tea shops, shoe stores, etc. It runs over several streets/blocks. It turned out to be quite fun! A sight seeing experience - not shopping though, unfortunately. 

Then we got hungry. And once again, we couldn't figure out what to eat. 

At the end, we split up - 2 got Ichiran ramen, 2 got bimbimbap & kimbap xD LOLZ. I just need that spice after all the lovely but subtle Japanese food! 

We made it back to Kyoto Station just before the closing time of iSetan, where I planned to buy another tin of matcha from a very famous brand: Marukyu Koyamaen. It took me maybe 10 minutes to find their stall - but sadly, they no longer sell their matcha in store :") We had to get them online. Nooo :")

So, that night, whilst enjoying Häagen-dazs' delightful matcha ice cream, and the last night in that beautiful boutique hotel, I researched how to get my matcha fix. We've got several hours before our shinkansen on the next day! 

DAY 7 - part A

Okay, so this was supposed to be a chill morning. We would be travelling to the next city at noon, so I thought, why not just get the morning off, enjoy the hotel or neighborhood, and just chill. Relax, you know? It is a holiday, after all. 

Nope. Not me xD 

Because my matcha quest failed yesterday (read: incomplete), so I must finish it that morning. How? Well, if I couldn't get the Marukyu Koyamaen matcha, there has to be other amazing brands or shops in Kyoto!

So the night before, I was up quite late just trying to find something that is - number 1: good & came highly recommended; but number 2: would fit my schedule xD  Yes - though Japan is known as the 'Land of the Rising Sun', Japanese stores don't open from the break of dawn! I was also deciding between ordering Marukyu Koyamaen online or finding something else - I decided with the latter. I want the tactile experience hehe.

I finally found this one shop back in the market, Karawamachi & Teramachi-dori area. Whilst the review is good, the website is quite old-school. Is it even active? Is the store alive? Of course I also made backup plans (HA!) and found another store nearby in case this one didn't work out. 

Morning came, we packed everything, checked out, left the luggage in the hotel's storage area, and took the bus back to Karawamachi. Fortunately for me, my sister was so charmed by the Arabica from Arashiyama, that she insisted on getting another one whilst we were still in Kyoto! And guess what? The nearest Arabica happens to be just across from the matcha shop I want to visit! It worked out well :) 

Once we got off the bus, we split ways: I went to the matcha shop directly, and she went to Arabica. 

The market was just waking up (around 10 am?). The store was barely open. But someone who looked like the manager or owner had been working for a bit. He saw me lurking for something, offered help in perfect English, and the transaction went to smoothly! 

I got myself another tin of matcha - YAY!

I joined my sister at Arabica, and we took the bus again. BUT WAIT! We weren't heading back just yet. Hihi. What did I tell you about me & holidays. No spare moments left to leisure. 

There was one final stop that I had been wanting to visit - even before the necessary detour to Karawamachi. There is a cozy little shop called 'Totaro' that was known to sell incredible matcha drink. So I had to visit. 

The shop was a little wooden room, no seats, just tables lining the walls. The line wasn't too bad, but they did take their sweet time in hand-crafting each individual matcha drinks and sweet donut-bites. They used a special Japanese sugar in their menu, which added a special touch. The matcha & donut bite was incredible. 

However, the clock is ticking. We had to get back soon! Because the waiting time was quite long, we took an Uber back to the hotel.

It took us 7-8 minutes by Uber. Then, we quickly grabbed our luggage, and met our parents who are already waiting in the train station. 

Before heading to our platform, there was one final, final, final thing to do: grab our Ekiben, drinks, and desserts. 

Why? Well, because we were riding the shinkansen, of course! It has to be part of the experience! 

We rushed to our platform, though the train was leaving early and that we had missed it (quick tip! double check the trains! There is always a little sign on the train itself to tell you what train it is & the direction), but it turned out that our train was late! WHAT. Yep, Japanese train could get into some trouble and be late, too. No one's perfect. Not even Japan. 

But soon, we hopped on to our Shinkansen, settled, and before long, the train started moving. Taking us to our next destination: Tokyo!

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Talking about moving to Tokyo, we once again employed the luggage transfer service! 

We told the receptionist on our second night in Kyoto that we wanted to employ this service. They asked us to fill the form right away (the night before we send the bags), so that we won't be rushed in the morning, where the receptionist area might be crowded & busy. 

The next morning, we brought down 2 of our luggage to be sent to Tokyo ahead of us. 

(2 bags this time instead of 3 - because actually we had reserved an 'oversized luggage' space on the Shinkansen. But since our hotel is 7-10 minutes walk from the station, carrying all those huge suitcases were not such a good idea. Not for us, neither for the little wheels on those luggage! So, we sent the two biggest & heaviest. It was definitely worth it!)