Kyoto & Nara Throwback

Moving on to the next leg of my Japan 2018 trip - KYOTO. It was my first time visiting Kyoto and I was very excited because I’ve heard so much good things about this city. Kyoto used to be Japan’s capital during the Edo period and home to the geisha culture so when you pair that much culture and history together, it was just super exhilarating for me to explore the city and discover its charm 😍

KYOTO HIGHLIGHTS

Accommodation for our 3D2N stay in Kyoto was Hotel Elcient Kyoto which I picked specifically for its close proximity to Kyoto Station and the Japanese spa that was available to all hotel guests. Since I was travelling alone with a senior citizen (aka my mother 😂), I had to make sure accommodation was easily accessible i.e. not far from transportation, close to convenience stores etc and the hotel is located about 5-8 mins walk from Kyoto Station nearer to the Shinkansen side. We managed to travel very easily around the local attractions easily either via bus or train. I loved the Japanese spa available too, in fact I went down for a soak every night we stayed there because I love me some onsen time! My mum is not a fan of onsen so this arrangement worked out perfectly for us as she could be in the hotel room resting or playing games on her phone while I went for my daily soak.

Starbucks Coffee Kyoto Ninenzaka Yasaka Chaya Branch

📍349 Banchi, Masuya-cho, Shimogawara Higashi-iru, Kodaiji Minamimon-dori, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto

Our first location of interest in Kyoto was the Gion district which is home to a ton of shrines and the geisha art. Gion is filled with a ton of heritage and old Japanese architecture and was very confusing for me to navigate around with no distinct area for us to start. So since I wanted to visit the world’s first-tatami style Starbucks outlet along Ninenzaka street, that was the first location I set my GPS to and thankfully I was able to pass by at least 2 shrines along the way and of course many tourists wearing kimonos 😆

I will always remember the day that we went to Gion because I was having a severe allergic reaction to the mentaiko onigiri I had consumed in the hotel and I was in so much discomfort I wanted to give up and head back to the hotel to rest (FML really 😰). However I didn’t want to waste my trip to Gion plus I was also very determined to locate the Yojiya store at Shijo as it is the largest one in Kyoto that after almost 2 hours I managed to puke everything out and then all was good 😅 Honestly, the power of my love for Japanese makeup brushes 😂😂

Yojiya Gion Store

📍270-11, Northestem corner of Hanamikoji street,gion shijo, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto

Nara

The next day we set out for Nara via train and it took us approximately 45 minutes to an hour to reach Nara station. By the time we arrived at there it was almost lunch time so the mother and I settled lunch somewhere in the station before we walked towards Nara Park.

Nara was very enjoyable for me as I was looking forward to seeing the free-roaming deers the most. While it can also be accessed from Osaka, I chose to make this day trip from Kyoto instead as we were spending more days there and I knew I could squeeze in more sights in Kyoto after doing this day trip.

I picked up a sightseeing map at the tourist center located in Nara station just so I could navigate much easily without having to refer to Google maps all the time.

Took a brief stroll over to Kofuku-ji Temple first and explore the area abit before heading towards Todai-ji Temple which houses a very huge Buddha statue.

Kofuku-ji Temple

Along the way I saw several free-roaming deers and many people bought the senbei/rice crackers that can be purchased on the spot to feed them. I have this irrational fear that animals would attack me if I did not give them the food which stems from a childhood trauma so I was quite afraid of feeding the deers. Btw, I did see some people get head-butted or bitten at by these wild deer so please mind your fingers if you ever attempt to feed them lol 😂😂

We didn’t end up at Todai-ji Temple that day because the mother was exhausted by the time we walked half the distance in so we just u-turned and headed to the shopping street area towards the famous mochi store Nakatanidou.

Nakatanidou

📍29, 橋本町 Nara, Nara Prefecture 630-8217, Japan

Well if you arrive at the shopping street area and see a ton of people outside a particular store, you’ll know that it’s Nakatanidou. The store owners do the live mochi pounding every 30 minutes so you can definitely witness this traditional method of making the mochi. Oh and the mochi from Nakatanidou is one of the best I’ve ever tasted 😍😍 I refused to share one piece with my mother and bought 2 pieces so we could each have our own and boy was I tempted to go for a second round and even tapao-ing back to the hotel 😂😂 But alas, the mochi had to be eaten on the day itself so I just settled for one piece. That being said I would definitely go back to Nara solely for the mochi at Nakatanidou #foodieforlife

FUSHIMI INARI

Shrine

Fushimi inari Shrine

📍JR Inari Station

You cannot say that you’ve been to Kyoto unless you’ve visited Fushimi Inari shrine. Well, I most definitely have and actually visited the shrine at night no less wtf 😒 The original plan was to visit after returning from Nara but I clearly didn’t factor in the fact that it was autumn so the sun set way earlier and that we were spending too much time in Nara lol.

By the time we reached Fushimi Inari, it was 6pm then and pitch dark inside the shrine 😅 We were among the brave few who decided to walk up to wherever the torii gates were open and let’s just say I’m gonna go back to visit when there’s daylight because all I saw were the orange gates and that’s it heh. I do have to state that it was freakily eerie inside the shrine because of the darkness so I don’t recommend anyone going at night.

Kyoto Tower

Anyhow, after visiting Fushimi Inari we took the train back to Kyoto Station to finally end the day. I really wanted to have okonomiyaki since it is a Kansai dish and after a quick Google search, the mother and I went to Donguri for dinner.

DONGURI

📍191 Higashisakai-cho, Karasuma-dori-Shichijo-sagaru, Shimogyo-ku

Dinner was fairly simple and yummy! I liked how they fried the okonomiyaki on the hot plate in front of us. And no worries regarding the language barrier because there were iPads available at the table and you can order your food in English.

Nishiki Market

On the final day in Kyoto, the mother and I went to Nishiki Market which is actually situated very near the Gion district but it is actually much better to visit in the day time as the stalls would be open selling their wares and food items. We went with an empty stomach and it was a very good choice because we were eating non-stop the moment we stepped into the entrance of the market 😩

nishiki market

📍609 Higashiuoya-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto-fu

Mochitsukiya - store selling dango covered with sweet miso sauce and sweet soy sauce

I was honestly floored by the amount of food the market was selling - from seafood, sashimi, bread, sweets, desserts, food condiments etc, whatever you want to eat you’re bound to find it here. There wasn’t any particular food I had to try since I cannot eat sashimi but I was very keen to try dango or mochi balls because alot of the stalls were selling it. My good friend Google told me the most famous store selling dango is actually Mochitsukiya so that was where I went and ordered one of each flavour. However I cannot recall which I liked better but I didn’t dislike any of it so I would say just order both flavours to try 😝😝😝 Oh and do try the warabi-mochi if you ever come across it in the market. It’s one of my favourite snacks to buy at Don Don Donki here in Singapore so I was very excited to find it there! Anyway after spending a couple of hours filling up our tummies at Nishiki Market, we headed back to the hotel to pick up the luggage and made our way to our next destination Osaka.

I really enjoyed my time in Kyoto on that trip despite the whole puking fiasco from the mentaiko onigiri (that was how I found out I was allergic to bloody mentaiko as well 😓) and would love to come back here again. For first-timers in Kyoto, my suggestion is to spend at least 3 nights there if your itinerary allows because Kyoto has a ton of places of interest. In fact, I didn’t manage to visit any of the famous shrines like Kinkaku-ji Temple and Ginkaku-ji Temple and had to give up the visit to Arashiyama Bamboo Forest so these places are on my list of places to visit for my next trip to Kyoto! Sigh, let’s hope the world is able to restart soon and we can once again freely travel wherever our hearts desire.