Japan Trip Report – Kyoto Days 8 to 12

Day 8

We left Hiroshima first thing in the morning.  Kyoto isn’t that far by shinkansen, but we had a detour on the way.  For bunnies.  My wife and kids were obsessed with seeing Okunoshima, a small island completely overrun with little rabbits and bunnies.

And like all apparently all wild animals in Japan, they have no fear of humans and are ready to be fed.

The island was apparently used for chemical weapon testing during World War II, and other than the abandoned factory, it’s basically uninhabited now.  Except for rabbits.

 

After an a hour and a half on the island feeding rabbits, we made our way back to Kyoto arriving around 5pm.  Checked into the Kyoto River View House apartment/hotel.  The place was great.  It was a large spacious room with a balcony overlooking the Kamo River.

Grabbed dinner at small ramen shop nearby called Yamasan.  I had the curry ramen which was really good, but overall the place was just meh.

Day 9

I always plan a rest day, and we needed one after a week of travel.  Plus it was set to rain.  My wife and I got out before the rains came to get coffee and walked up towards the Gion district and had some really coffee at %/% Aribaca, a little hipster place just off the main tourist path.  We walked through the Gion district back home but it was still shuttered at 9am.

Grabbed the kids went back out to explore nearby. Ended up back in the Gion District.  Which while still not crowded yet, seemed like it was just tourist shops and despite the cool architecture, felt like Epcot’s attempt at Japan.

You walk through rows and rows of similar streets with various shops until you reach the Kiyomizu-Dera Temple which we could see from our balcony.

The family went back to rest and I went to find some beer.  My first stop was the Hachi Record Shop (because it was closest).  When I arrived at 4pm it had just opened and I was the only one there.  The bartender was an older Japanese man who was very polite but not talkative.  He just poured me by beers and spun jazz records on the double record player system.  It was a bit surreal and really cool.  And probably a little hipster, but I can handle hipster in foreign countries.

Dinner at Gyzo Chao Chao which totally caters to the tourists.  Not a bad thing as the food is decent and the service was great and very English friendly.   But don’t go there expecting some authentic experience.  At one point I scanned the restaurant, and the 10 groups of customers were all foreigners.  Take that for what it’s worth.  Sometimes it’s nice not to have to struggle.

Left the kids back at the hotel and went looking for a wine bar for my wife.  Harder to find than you might expect.  Wine hasn’t caught on yet and the ones in Kyoto are high end and don’t open until 8pm or later.  It was only 7pm.  And we couldn’t find anywhere to have a glass of wine.  Tried a few bars in Pontocho Alley but they weren’t ready for business yet.

Finally stumbled on The Grape right by our apartment.  Google maps didn’t originally list it as it is not totally English friendly.  But, the bartenders were very friendly despite the lack of English and somehow we were able to order some red wine.  Sometimes it’s worth the struggle.  We loved this place.  The bartenders were loud and boisterous and yelled out every time someone ordered something or walked in.  It was like a tiny Japanese Cheers and we were all Norm.

Day 10

Up early to beat the crowds.  We got to the Fushimi Inari Shrine by 7:30am.  This is the 10,000 Torii gates that wind their way up the hills above Kyoto.  There’s no way to capture this in a picture.  And every picture ends up looking the same as you make the climb.

It’s a long (just under an hour) climb through the gates and then another 30 minute descent.  But,it’s just a surreal experience is just walking through thousands of these bright orange Torii gates for close to two hours.

We had lunch at Kyoto Station which is just massive complex.

Wife and kids wanted their afternoon rest, so I went beer hunting again.  Ended up at Kyoto Beer Lab.  The customers were mostly foreigners which was becoming the norm in Japanese craft beer breweries.  The beer was good and I enjoyed talking beer with a Scot and some Aussies.

Got back in time to grab the family and head towards the Philosopher’s Path which we overheard some other travelers talking about seeing the fireflies.  We walked up and down it for a couple of miles.

It was beautiful.  But, there were no fireflies to be seen.  Fail.  Had dinner at a restaurant where we might just have been the first Western diners.  The owner was nice and we figured it out with google translate and a lot of pointing.

We took a taxi, dumped the kids, and ended up back at The Grape for a quick nightcap.  The bartenders were so happy to see us again.  Most tourists don’t attempt to be a “regular” when traveling.  I highly recommend it.  The service you get when you come in that second (or third) time is unbelievable.

Day 11

We left at 7:30 to take the train to Arashiyama to beat the crowds that storm the Bamboo Groves as the day gets later.  The path is only about 300 yards or so there’s not room for a lot of people.

We were done with bamboo in about 10 minutes.  And so as not to waste the hour it took us to get there we decided to climb up Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama to see some of the Japanese macaque monkeys in their “natural” habitat.  It’s a You can get into a caged building to feed them and get an up close look.  Or you can just sit out in the open and let them wander around you.  They can be a bit agressive, but they mostly stayed to themselves.

Public transportation in Kyoto is lacking, so we opted to take a taxi rather deal with buses and headed out to Kinkaku-ji, “The Golden Pavilion.  It was after 10am, so the place was packed.  My picture looks amazing serene, but you don’t see the 1,000 Japanese schoolchildren in their uniforms elbowing their way to get a view.   It’s another quick visit (and better done early) and we were eating lunch by 11.  Ramen again.

Another taxi home. We were paying for our time as the buses could have taken 2 to 3 times longer.  I went with the kids back into the Gion District for some souvenir shopping.  And now with the sun out, the crowds were out.  Kyoto is unbelievably crowded and June is considered their off season.   We got to see the tourists in Kimonos walking through the streets.  I’m not sure I’d recommend that for Westerners.  It’s looks a bit foolish, in my opinion.  There’s nothing authentic about the Gion District to me, so I’m not sure why you’d want to dress up in front of a horde of tourists while shopping for $10 trinkets.

 

Back at the apartment to sit out and enjoy the beautiful view from our balcony and figure out dinner plans.  The kids were now toast and had no desire to go back out again.  I went to the market and bought pasta.  That freed us up to go a little more upscale.

We ended up at what I believe was Manzara Donguribashi.  I’m not 100% sure because the English name wasn’t on the door and we just kind of walked in.  But, it was great.  We ordered a bunch of small dishes that we could share and had a great view.

 

We debated going back to The Grape again.  But, we were just too tired.  Early mornings were catching up with us.

Day 12

The next morning was overcast.  And we were tired enough to use that as an excuse to do some work and relax.  Around 11 we kicked in ourselves into gear and jumped on a train down to Nara.  Nara is famous for two things.  Temples and deer.  And the deer clearly steal the show.  They are far more friendly and aggressive than the deer at Miyajima Island and there a lot more of them.  They are everywhere you go as you walk from temple to temple.  You can buy crackers to feed them.  Don’t try to fool these guys.  I had one give me a nip on the butt cheek when he saw me put them in my pocket.

 

The highlight for temples in Nara is the Todai-ji Temple which houses the largest bronze statue of Buddha and is house indoors in just a massive building.  The pictures just do it justice.

We got back to Kyoto around 6pm and wanted a quiet night.  Bought a bottle of wine and some Japanese craft beer from a Bic Camera Store (way better than it sounds), and then got some chicken yakitori from 7-11 and sushi from a department store for dinner (also way better than it sounds).  Then we sat out on the balcony and watched the sun set on our time in Kyoto.

NEXT – MATSUMOTO

PREVIOUS – HIROSHIMA

TRIP SUMMARY