Konnichiwa!
Finally going to blog about my first ever Japan trip in my life (so so so memorable). I do feel really grateful to everything and everyone who made this trip happened (if you know me you probably know how much I love Japan, even when I have never been there). This blogpost would serve as a travel diary to record each and every bit of the trip. If it is too long, might make it into two or three posts lol~ I have too many pictures to share!
First of all, I seriously could not believe that my first ever Japan trip would be in winter! First ever Japan trip and first ever winter trip for me too :D Actually I was in a mix feeling due to being excited to try winter travel for the first time, being "not-so" excited because I had to spend more on winter attire, plus increasing my luggage weight duh... Right let's start the main content now.
KYOTO 京都
We traveled to Kyoto by Haruka express. The whole journey from Kansai Airport to Kyoto station took 1 hour 15 min. By the time we reached Kyoto it was evening and already dark outside.
With very pretty 3D wall art! All of us were so excited and were going to take out our phones for pictures, when we felt the sudden freezing cold crept up on us. Yes the temperature suddenly dropped and it was freezing !! We had to grab our coat/jackets first on the spot haha~
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| Stepped out and greeted by glowing Kyoto tower |
For this trip, we stayed in Airbnb near Saiin station (西院) which was one station away from Kyoto station. After we settled down it was around 8pm+ already, which means most of the shops were closed 😐 Five of us had to put on layers of clothes (it was night and the cold was almost unbearable), walked outside in dark and looked for restaurants to have dinner. Lucky for us, we found one not too far from our Airbnb.
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| Don't you think the train looks like the one which Chihiro and Kaonashi took? |
LOCATION: 拳10ラーメン (Kobuton Ramen)
This is really a hidden gem! I think not many tourists would visit this small ramen shop (really small, like 8 seaters max I think). Perhaps due to the area was not near to any tourist spots, Saiin itself is not a famous tourist area as well. But the ramen was super duper extremely good!! The pork-bone broth was so flavorful and thick, and even the char-siew (roasted pork slices) were so so so so delicious! Just typing this makes me wanna go back to this shop and have this ramen omg..
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| First ramen in Japan! So warm |
LOCATION: Arashiyama 嵐山
Ohayou Arashiyama!
Walked quite some distance and had to walk across this famous bridge to get to the bamboo forest.
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| Togetsukyou bridge |
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| Arashiyama station. So pretty! |
I totally forgot to include Rilakkuma shop in my itinerary and so I didn't even research about where it is located, but well, never in my life would I have expected I will passby it on the way to bamboo forest! You see, good things do come when you least expect them.
LOCATION: Rilakkuma Shop Kyoto
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| My heaven: Rilakkuma shop! Sorry for the "senget" photo |
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| So cute OMG |
I tell you, cuteness overload in the shop... They even have this Shiawase no Rilakkuma Jizou (Happiness Rilakkuma statue). It says that if you touch it you will get happiness in life. So cute!!
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| ME touching the happiness Rilakkuma statue |
After dragging myself out from Rilakkuma shop (yes I did buy something but rest assured I did not go bankrupt there lol), we reached the very "Zen" bamboo forest. It was quite crowded though.
LOCATION: Arashiyama Bamboo Forest 嵐山竹林
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| Very crowded bamboo forest |
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| Experience tranquility |
Arashiyama Bamboo forest is definitely worth a visit. Plus, there is no admission fee charge. Do visit the nearby Nonomiya Shrine if you have time to spare~ (it was too crowded so I just stopped by awhile).
Next, to
LOCATION: Kinkakuji 金閣寺
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| Admission ticket is an Omamori, so cute! |
Raining when we reached there >.<
The Golden Pavilion was really amazing to look at, sadly no one can enter the building. I had always thought people can go inside and have a look.
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| The Golden Pavilion |
Before we head to Nijo Castle next, we decided to have our lunch in nearby 100 yen sushi shop: Kura sushi!
Side note: if you are looking for super high quality sushi, this is not the place. But if you just want to have some decent ok sushi at 100yen per plate, please visit Kura sushi. It has branches all over Japan lol.
LOCATION: Kura sushi
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| Kura sushi くら寿司: 100yen sushi shop |
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| When sushi is 100yen per plate you don't need to hold back |
LOCATION: Nijo Castle
After lunch we headed to Nijo Castle. To be honest this was one of the places that I really looked forward to visit. Sadly there is no photography/videoing allowed inside so I only got one picture which is the entrance of the castle. One of the most interesting features of this castle is the Nightingale floor, in which the floor creaks making sound of a nightingale bird when someone is walking on it. This was to prevent sneak attacks from assassin/ninja. The sound is actually due to friction between nails in the floor.
12 minutes walk from Ginkakuji is another famous tourist spot: The Philosopher's path (Tetsugaku no Michi). It is a famous sakura-viewing spot as the trees will have full bloom of sakura during spring. Look how it was when we visited during winter...
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| Empty trees sobz... |
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| It still has its own beauty though |
LOCATION: Nishiki Market 錦市場
We went to Nishi market in the evening. Sadly almost 70% of the stalls were closed by the time we arrived. Wish we got to visit again maybe in the morning, with all food stalls opened. XD
Cute mentaiko plush in front of a mentaiko shop!
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Orange juice straight from the orange itself!
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Found one sashimi stall selling sashimi skewers
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Ordered the octopus sashimi. So fresh!
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Have to say that the sashimi skewers were surprisingly fresh and tasty. My fellow colleague ordered another... salmon? tuna? I can't recall. But it was really good too!So much for day 1 and day 2 in Kyoto! Sorry if the post is too long. Will continue with the rest of the trip in upcoming parts.（*＾-＾*）ノ~~ﾏﾀﾈｰ xoxo
𝓨𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓼 𝓽𝓻𝓾𝓵𝔂,
𝓐𝓲𝓴𝓸
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