A bus and 4 trains from Kawane and we arrived into Kyoto at lunchtime. The train station in Kyoto is absolutely massive, like an airport really, and it has quite a spectacular roof. We went for lunch at a shopping centre attached to the station where there was a ramen floor with lots of small restaurants, holding probably no more than a dozen people each. You ordered from a screen and waited your turn to be seated.
After refuelling we headed to the hotel and had some free time. It was, sadly, raining but I couldn’t just sit in the room so my roommate and I went for a little walk to nearby Nijō-jō Castle. Inside there are these incredible paintings of trees and animals, including leopards which the artists had never seen in real life and were drawing based only on hides. They also have ‘nightingale corridors’ which sound like nightingales as the floorboards creak as you walk along, which was to deter intruders. Really cool. Unfortunately we hadn’t quite given ourselves enough time before both the castle closed and we were meeting up with the rest of the group for a walk through Nishiki Market on our way to dinner.
Our leader on this tour is a bit of a foodie and is taking us to lots of different places to try as many different types of Japanese food as possible, which I am extremely grateful for. Tonight we went Gyukatsu Kyoto, for breaded katsu beef steak (gyukatsu), which you can then cook to your own liking on the table in front of you.
After dinner it had just about stopped raining and we walked past more cherry blossom-lined streets, into the Gion district which is where Geiko and Meiko’s (geishas) work. However, due to tourists being too intrusive, you no longer see them wandering around the streets so we didn’t see any in person. The evening finished with a drink on a rooftop bar with great views over the city.
The next day was a reasonably early start (sadly still in the rain, the poncho came in handy) to take the train out to Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine. This shrine is dedicated to Inari, the god of rice, and has hundreds of scarlet red/orange torii gates which look so picturesque. The writing on them looks really cool as well, though apparently it is just the names of people and companies who have sponsored each of the torii gates!! It’s a good idea to get there early as it was very busy despite the rain. The torii gates create a long walkway up the hill and the further up you get, the fewer people you encounter.
We went to a sake museum after this, to escape the rain and learn about how sake is made. We also had a tasting afterwards of 3 different sakes. I’ve actually never had sake before, and if I’m honest, I’m not entirely sure I like it. I preferred the more fruity ones, there was quite nice melon-y flavoured one, but I think I’ll stick to wine given the choice!
After lunch in a food hall in the basement of Kyoto tower, we had a free afternoon. It was still raining, and whilst most of the group retreated back to the hotel, I went to visit Sanjusangen dō, temple containing 1000 Buddhas. It’s really quite the sight as you walk into the main hall where all the Buddhas are lined up in neat rows, the length of the room. No photos inside but outside in the gardens, the blossoms are out so armed with my poncho and brolly, I wandered though the gardens for some photos.
On the way back, I made a pit stop in Nishiki market for some candied strawberries. It’s strawberry season here and these strawberries were so sweet even after cracking the sugar-coating. Delicious!
That evening for dinner I had eel, cooked over charcoal. This was my first time eating eel and I’d imagined it would have a texture similar to squid, but it was much more like a white fish in texture. I really enjoyed it. The restaurant, like most I’ve been to in Japan, is very small, often sitting at counters, and maybe holding slightly too over a dozen people in total.
This was our last evening in Kyoto – an all too brief visit as there is so much to do and see here. I already feel like I will come back here one day to see more. Kyoto is a big and busy city but I really liked it.
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