After beautiful Nagano I took the Shinkansen to Kyoto. This city I already know a little bit because last year I was also there. This time I can skip some places and discover new places where I haven’t been yet.
My hotel was near Kyoto Station. I couldn’t find the entrance but it is a long hallway and at the end there was the entrance. The hotel is very good. It all looks so nice and so clean.
It is so great to be back in Kyoto, even Kyoto Tower still has the same colors in the evening as it did last year. I still could recognize many things. I just walked around the station and in the station. It is still impressive, what a great station.
So the next day I woke up very early because I wanted to go to the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove and be there before it got crowded. I arrived there around 8 am but it was still a bit to late. I think the best time to be there is around 7 am. Luckily it was not that crowded but still for that time there were already many people, they all had the same thoughts.
This place was magical. You walk right through the bamboo, it was very special. I made a lot of pictures but still it doesn’t capture the beauty.
Around the forest there were also some temples and Japanese Gardens. I just spend a few hours wandering around.
After that I had a great lunch, delicious sashimi.
For dinner I had an invitation from MATT Restaurant 2.0. I got the invitation on Instagram. At first I was a bit suspicious but after some research I found out that is was legit. I replied and I was welcome there around 6 pm. Upon arriving I discovered that the restaurant was in the basement and at that moment I thought “hmmm”, but I went downstairs anyway and it all looked fantastic. I was warmly welcomed. The staff were very friendly. It all looks so classy and everything was very tasteful.
I wanted to do a bar tour so I booked one. That was so great. The tours name is “Izakaya Bar Tour”. The group was very fun all the people were very nice. There was a couple from Canada also four Dutch guys, a girl form Japan and our local tour guide Kazu. We had various kinds of drinks and food. The tour lasted about three hours. The group was so fun that afterwards we went with the Dutchies and the Canadians to a Karaoke bar. It was actually a private room with unlimited drinks. So the Japanese girl didn’t join us because she had to leave early. But I will meet with her again the day after tomorrow. Kazu didn’t join us also. But it was a fun night and I also wanted to go to a Karaoke Bar :). The others went also to the club afterwards but my hotel was a bit far away so I was lucky that I could take the subway, it was also the last one riding for that night.
The next day I did everything on a slow pace, had a nice breakfast and took the bus to the Philosopher’s Path. This is a good place for a stroll and enjoy the scenery but it would be better if you do this during spring because of the cherry blossoms. Then they are in full bloom. So another good reason to visit Japan again in springtime.
In the evening I had another tour. This time it was a Gion night walk tour. It started at 8 pm and there were nine of us in total. It was a very interesting and informative tour. Our tour guide Kevin is from France he’s living in Japan about 5 years now with his wife. I mostly was more talking with him because the rest of the group were not that talkative. Kevin could tell us all about this neighborhood. We walked through the area were the Geiko’s (Geisha) are living and working. We were also lucky because we saw a Geiko, a Maiko (an apprentice geisha) and also an Okasan (mother of a Geisha house). Normally it is really difficult to see them especially because of the holiday in Japan. The tour ended around 10 pm, so I still could take the bus back to my hotel.
With Risato the Japanese girl I met during the bar hopping tour I went to Kifune. We met at Kyoto Station and from there we took the train and bus to Kifune. I am so glad that she suggested this place because without her I never would go there. It is more a favorite spot for the locals because it is a bit cooler there and not many tourist. When we arrived there the weather was still dry. We made a reservation for lunch because otherwise you will have to wait for hours. Then we went to get some drinks. This time I went for beer. I must say the beer here is very tasty. The people here are drinking beer so I also had to blend in ;). Also the place where we drank was so beautiful it was by the stream. After that we walked around, saw some temples and also make a wish there. Risato told me that you should use a 100 yen coin never use the 500 yen coin because that was to greedy. Also don’t use the 1 yen coin but rather the 5 yen coin.
While walking it started to rain very hard. We were soaked, but it was very refreshing. Luckily I brought my mini umbrella but it rained so hard that I still was a bit soaked.
The lunch spot that we reserved is one of the favorite spot to go. Because it was raining very hard most reservations were canceled. So Risato asked if we still could eat because people were sending away. One of the worker told her that we still can eat but we had to be quiet about it only some local people could eat there and I was lucky that I came with her. All the other tourists had to go somewhere else.
This lunch was a fun experience. We were sitting by the water with a magnificent view from a little waterfall. In a bamboo water stream the somen floats by and you had to catch it with your chopsticks. So you had to be quick to catch it otherwise you can not eat. It is so fun to do and I highly recommend it to try it out if you have the chance.
After Kifune we went back to the city. We went to the Gion district and walked around and drank something.
Then we went back to Kyoto Station because there is a great restaurant where you can eat delicious fresh sashimi. Must say the presentation was top notch and the food was so good. We also drank some sake and after dinner I went back to my hotel.
This was my last day in Kyoto so it was really a good day and also happy to have a new friend. I will meet her again after Korea. Then I’m going back to Kyoto for a few days because we made some plans to hang out :).
Next stop will be Okayama. See you then!
-XOXO-
San
