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Japan 2023: Kyoto revisited
posted : Sunday, April 23, 2023
Picking up from where we left off in the previous post. Might have got a bit carried away camping at Tokyo station for Wi-Fi…though it was starting to get colder even though I was indoors but I guess coz I was nearer to the entrance and doors keep opening so some of the cold air got in. In the end it was a bit of rush to find a toilet nearby (which happened to be a bit of walk) and then head out towards the bus pick up area, but got there in good time just as people were starting to board. Bit of background on why I booked an overnight bus - I had good experience the last time round in that I managed to sleep peacefully for enough hours. So I thought that’s a good substitute for Shinkansen + saving one night of accommodation. Though coz it happened on the first night it does mean that I am going two nights in a row without a proper bed. But sadly the experience this time round was less than ideal. I think the only issue I had was that the seat was very narrow (I am pretty sure I had enough space to move the last time round and I definitely have slimmed down as compared to last time) and the bigger problem is the legroom. I chose a first row seat right behind the driver and I couldn’t even stretch out my legs, which led to a pretty uncomfortable sleeping position. But I guess lethargy took over coz I had even lesser sleep the night before so I ended up managing to sleep, although I woke up every time driver stopped at a rest stop and it’s overall low quality sleep. Arrived at Kyoto on time at 530am. Somehow was the only passenger dropping at Kyoto (bus was bound for Osaka and USJ). And it was freezing omg - about 5 degrees and I only had one jacket on. Shaking like a leaf on the short walk to cross the road into Kyoto station haha. But got in there, repacked a bit, then took own sweet time to freshen up at a disabled toilet. Walked around a bit grabbing a quick breakfast from convenience store, and depositing my luggage in a locker.  Good morning chilly Kyoto  Sun’s out! Off to my first stop at about 7 - Fushimi Inari. This had shades of my previous Kyoto trip written all over hahah. The idea was simple - visit while most of the tourists are not there yet and you have all the time in the world to take pics and what not. Still works like a charm.  Still a majestic sight  Didn’t enter the temple  More flower shots  Still very much instagrammable without all the crowd Decided against a hike even though it’s supposedly not difficult and doesn’t take too long, but I do want to head to my next stop before the crowd comes. Downside of being too early is the lack of non-convenience store options - the street food vendors were just starting to set up as I was leaving, nothing else was open, wanted to drop by this cafe but it wasn’t open either. So duly head off to my next stop. Kiyomizudera I was there in an evening last time round coz there was a spring nighttime illumination. Well it’s still on, but figured I wanted to see it in a different light, literally. Plus there was all sorts of scaffolding last time round coz it was under renovation, and I wanted to see it with Sakura. So definitely warranted a return visit.  Came out from train station to this sight  Sakura lined river bank  Doggo be like too early for this shit  Up the hill to Kiyomizudera  Made it to the top, thank god for sunglasses covering up the eye bags  Bluest sky  Obligatory flower with attraction shot  What I missed the last time round  Daytime definitely has its own charm  Time to head towards Ninenzaka!  Soft serve…why not. Coz it’s now a wee bit warmer than say a few hours ago.  See flower, nice architecture, take pic  Snacks along the way, this is a croquette but I can’t remember what flavor it is already. Only knew they also sold apple pies but I didn’t get those  One of the shots of this trip  Crowded (but apparently Golden week was much worse)  Too cheapo to pay entrance fee, so this will do Still pretty early in the day and felt my legs giving way already so stopped and rested for a good 15 minutes checking out lunch recommendations in the area. Couldn’t find anything inspiring though or maybe I didn’t try hard enough…so decided to head downhill.  Kimono ladies along the way Was going to take a bus to Nishiki Market but bus taking a while to arrive (actually didn’t have a heart or legs to chase down a bus that came), so decided to walk instead, bless my legs. Past the Gion area, thinking I might pop in one of the shops to eat/rest, but again didn’t find anything inspiring and headed straight to Nishiki.  Gion district, nothing inspiring me to sit down though  Nishiki Market! One of my favorites from my last Kyoto trip  First stop  Strawberry daifukus, still not a massive fan of red bean paste  Weekenders Coffee. Had wanted coffee since morning, nothing was open that early and had a packed schedule. This was an interesting place though. Housed in a nondescript spot in an open air carpark, no seatings either so everybody just sat around. Coffee’s good though Still a bit early coz check in time was really late at 5pm. So hung out at Kyoto station a bit, sat down and replied a couple of work texts from D urgh. Then headed over at about 4pm hoping that the Japanese weren’t as rigid as I thought they’d be. Well they turned out to be so I sat down at the lobby Wifi-Ing a bit, but they did call us in for check in slightly early at 445pm.  Throwback to last trip too Self check in system, where you process everything yourself including scanning passport (hold it up and take a pic), code your own key card, and for “green” reasons since housekeeping is only done once every two days, you gotta collect your own toiletries from the lobby before heading up, although it’s free flow la and you can grab as much as you want. Another interesting point of note is that in lieu of a key card you can also choose facial recognition as a way to access lift and your room, but I had very little faith in such systems hahah so I went for the foolproof way.  Oh my first bed in a couple of days. Had to resist the temptation of just plonking on to the bed No plans for the night considering the two long days I had…so it’s really just a quick dinner and oh, did I mention that the hotel had a spa/onsen? They swap around for each gender everyday though, and it happened to be spa day for males but I thought I’d pop by after dinner. But first, a dinner story. Headed out to tapao something quick for dinner, settling for McD (prawn patty burger, no photos oops but yum) and went back to Kyoto station to brave the queue for 551 Horai. I remember having this in Osaka last time and I didn’t have a great impression, but queues at the two outlets at Kyoto station were longgg. So I got inspired. Yep. Came out closer to the outlet near the metro station of Kyoto station, so queued and when it’s nearly my turn, spotted this sign.  For some reason my brain, without consulting translation app, decided that this sign meant that all hot items have sold out for the day and they are only selling frozen items for you to take home to heat up. And my mind was like I can’t do that in my hotel hmm. So I gave up my spot and went to the other outlet, nearer to the train station. Which had an even longer queue, so I went to the front to check and lo and behold, they also have this sign! I was like urgh. But brain belatedly went, hey, let’s check what this sign meant. Turns out…it meant to say they ONLY SELL HOT ITEMS and not frozen ones zzzzz. So I went back to the metro station outlet and rejoined the queue. It was a 15minute queue la to be honest it’s not too bad but still I wasted like half an hour going back and forth.  Success!  Overbought, so I saved a bit for breakfast. It’s as what I remembered, not fantastic, really tasted like the frozen Ajinomoto brand ones I had as a kid. But it’s uniquely Japanese I guess Back to the spa/onsen story. Started off without anybody inside but by the time I left there’s like 3-4 people. But I guess it was refreshing? The shower afterwards especially. And that’s basically the night. |
