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Link to Part One of my Trip Report!
As I previously shared (copy and paste), I am sharing my personal experiences and opinions, which of course are going to be unique to me in some way and shared commonalities in others. Just because I did or did not like something or had issues / smooth sailing with something else shouldn’t deter you or draw you in. Take everything with a grain of salt…we all like different things and experience things in our own unique ways 🙂
If you didn’t read Part One (link above), I am a 30-35 year old female from Canada, first solo trip. I’ve been to a few European countries before. I live in a small town and am fairly unfamiliar with big city etiquette and public transit. I speak about 3 words of Japanese.
March 5 – this is where I left off – today was a travel day from Nikko to Kyoto, arrived around 1pm, stored my bags at the hotel – ventured to the Pokemon Centre, and on the way visited Higashi Temple and Pontocho Alley
March 6 – finally over jet lag! although still waking around 6am which is perfect for tourist stuff – made my way first thing to Fushimi Inari (climbed to the very top!) – saw Kiyomizudera Temple, Hokanji Temple, and the Yasaka Pagoda
Note: This was a great day–I’m not “fit” by any means, the climb to the top of the mountain was difficult but do-able–take lots of breaks, visit the offshoot mini-shrines, stop to just admire the beauty of nature and a crazy unique experience
Note: If you Google Maps “Yasaka Pagoda Photograph Spot” it will bring you to a street where you can take a popular photograph of the Pagoda and the old-style houses / cobblestone road…pretty neat
March 7 – this was probably my busiest day – started the morning at Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, visited Tenryuji Temple, walked the Togetsukyo Bridge, MONKEY PARK (by far the best experience every, for someone that loves animals), ventured to Kinkakuji Temple and finished by walking the full Philosopher’s Path
Note: Be sure to check Temple opening times – visiting Arashiyama Bamboo Forest is best for early morning, but the Temples often don’t open until 0830/0900, so you have to kind of wander around and make up time
March 8 – checked out of my hotel in Kyoto and travelled about 10 minutes by train to check into my Ryokan – more on that later – rested and enjoyed the traditional experience
March 9 – checked out of the Ryokan and made my way to the final stop in Osaka – arrived approximately 1pm and stored my luggage – found the Pokemon Centre (sense a theme?), visited Osaka Castle and also checked out the Animate Umeda
March 10 – woke up early to head to Nara – did ALL the Nara things (including Todaiji Temple) – fed the deer (more on the later!) – ran out of steam and returned to the hotel early to do some laundry
March 11 – last adventure of the trip to Hiroshima – what an experience that was – pretty big history buff, to read all the signage and be in the presence of a stain on history was overwhelming but necessary
As for Food and Accommodations:
Kyoto – Hotel the M’s – 4.5 stars – very large room for Japan, bed was hella comfortable – no bathtub (bad for sore legs) but really nice walk in shower – all the required facilities and close to the train station
I had my first experience with Coco Ichibanya (thanks to whoever recommended that in the last post!). Truly fantastic. Tried some more authentic (North American-ized authentic?) sushi and still a big proponent of convenience store food…go to breakfast was the Red Bean Paste thing…so good.
Ryokan (Kyoto) – Kyonoyado Gekkou-an – 5 stars – I don’t know where to begin…the two concierge gentlemen that welcomed me (literal welcome package) were fantastic, so friendly, so knowledgeable about the area and recommendations and history – the food…okay, so being that I’m not super adventurous I wanted to try the traditional experience so I paid some coin for this Michelin Star dinner and then opted for the “Western breakfast” to offset…my mistake, I’m sure an adventurous eater and/or connoisseur would love the dinner but it was just a little too much adventure for me – other than that, the interior design, facilities, staff…everything was friggin amazing and I cannot recommend this experience enough!
Osaka – The Rise Kitashinchi – 3 stars – by far the “worst” place I stayed – the room was smaller than Tokyo, the bed was very hard, the facilities were minimal, and I guess I didn’t read the reviews good enough because the staff spoke 0 English which made everything so much more difficult – I think this is meant as a business hotel, so very minimalistic
As for food, I finally made it to a Sushiro (conveyor belt sushi) – awesome! So fun and I love how you don’t have to interact with anyone, just use the tablet to place your order and bam! Food delivered right to your table!
Final Thoughts
Over the course of 14 days, I walked a total of 170km (avg 11-12 km per day). Make sure, for the love of your feet, ankles, knees, and back, that you have GOOD WALKING SHOES. Like old man, supportive, walking shoes. Thank me later.
Here’s some thoughts coming at your hard and fast:
* Coins…so many coins…be prepared to hold them and use them!
* Pasmo / Suica – I had the Pasmo Passport, got it at the airport, super easy to use – reloadable at train stations and convenience stores (I used mine a lot to buy stuff at the convenience stores and even some shops along the way – just look for a sign near the till, usually it will say whether they accept IC cards)
* I found the bus lines (used in Nikko and Kamakura) to be confusing, but this is coming with someone with no public transit experience…I stuck to trains or good old fashion walking
* For all you folks nervous of the train stations, look up and down! Lots of signage on the floors, above your head, color coding, etc (very helpful)
* When using Google Maps for navigating trains, try your best to pay attention to the exit and entrance suggestions (highlighted in yellow) – it’ll help you get closest to your destination or train platform
* I’m a fairly heavy data user – I opted for the 10GB Ubigi esim – I used just under 7GB in 14 days, totally seamless and easy to install/uninstall
* For any Pokemon lovers, cards were super easy to find at the Pokemon Centres (you have to go to the till to buy them) and also I found singles at Animate (and a pack at one of the 7/11s)
* If you’re planning on visiting the typical tourist spots, don’t try to do Arashiyama / Fushimi Inari on the same days, especially if you plan on climbing the mountain – both are jam-packed by midday and it’s just not good for your body
* The train system in Kyoto was WAY different than in Tokyo – what I mean is, the Tokyo trains were in and out, very efficient, no stopping for extended periods (except maybe the JR lines or Shinkansen) – in Kyoto, trains often arrived 5-10 minutes before departure and sat and waited – threw me off a few times but if you’re paying attention to signage and your train is next up, get on the train! otherwise you’ll have to wait for the next one
* Japan seems to be very environmentally friendly and energy efficient – if you use the hotel laundry services, you may need a few rounds of the dryer, particularly if you have heavy articles of clothing
* Bring ear plugs! All of the hotels I stayed in had very little sound-proofing
* If you’re as confused as I am with using the machines to buy train tickets (for JR/Shinkansen) – go to the ticket counter! I showed them my Google Maps of where I wanted to go and when, they did the rest and bam…tickets! Note: When you buy physical tickets, you get 2 (one is the actual train ticket and one is showing which districts you are going to/from) – you have to put BOTH of those in the gate machine at the same time and SOMETIMES you have to also scan your Pasmo…I had to ask for help a few times, it’s ok, you’re not the only one!
Over / Under rated: I forgot to say this in the last part, Kotoku (the big Buddha statue in Kamakura) is a can’t miss! So cool. Arashiyama Bamboo Park was by far the most over-rated item on my list…took my like 10 minutes to walk the path…but it led (eventually) to Monkey Park, so that was awesome. Seriously, Monkey Park…what a fun place! The Golden Pavillion (Kinkakuji Temple) was beautiful and well-worth the visit. Fushimi Inari is another that is absolutely must-see (but please, go early). Philospher’s Path would most definitely be a must-walk, in the late spring / summer / early fall. Still beautiful now, but I can well imagine the foliage and plant-life would make it stunning.
I sincerely hope that you enjoyed these reads and get something from it! Remember, if you think something is worth visiting then it is. It doesn’t matter what I or anyone else thinks. And hey, if you don’t like something or think it’s over-rated, move on! I spent between 20 minutes and 4 hours at each of the aforementioned. Everything brought value to my trip, even if it was a short stay.
If you have any questions, please comment below! I’ll do my very best to help!
Arigato!
by First_Middle_Last-00