**Introduction:**
([A picture of Kinosaki Onsen in the early evening](https://i.imgur.com/HshDprk.jpg))
In Dec. 2019, my wife and I went on our second trip to Japan, to visit Kyoto, Harie Village, Kinosaki Onsen, and Osaka. This was part of a multi-country journey that proceeded on to South Korea and Taiwan – and cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, as we hurried home to California, not long before the shutdowns began. I’ve since tried on multiple occasions to write this account of my Japan trip, but it has been a long and fraught 2.5 years, and each time I tried, I gave up. Lack of writing stamina on my part, maybe. Sadness about not being able to travel, certainly.
But now that travel to Japan is a possibility again, I’ve decided to finally commit to writing this. I’m not sure how much help it’ll be to you, as my travel interests are a little quirky. We prefer slow travel over seeing many attractions, and we did whatever we wanted without caring too much about recommended tourist itineraries or destinations. But if you get something out of this, that’s good enough for me.
**Dec. 15, 2019**
We arrived in Kyoto on Dec. 15, 2019, at Kansai International Airport, and took the 1 hour+ train to Kyoto. From there, we took the city trains to the Gion district and walked another 15ish minutes to our hotel: Laon Inn Gion Shinbashi. This is a no-frills inn nestled among bars and clubs in a nightlife area. It was comfortable enough, save for a somewhat unresponsive heater, and reasonably priced. I believe I paid about $550 for 8 nights. But the real reason I stayed there was so that I could walk around in the Gion district whenever I wanted to, having been taken with its beauty during my 2018 trip.
Every morning, at around 5:30 or 6 am, I would go get my breakfast by walking down what I’d describe as the prettiest walk to a 7-11 I’ve ever experienced. First, a stroll down Shinbashi Dori, completely quiet and slumbering in the pre-dawn. I’d grab breakfast for myself and my wife: usually some onigiri, always a boxed salad so that I can say I had veggies for the day, maybe some instant ramen (try the Tsuta soba, which is spectacularly good for instant food), and canned coffee. Then back along the Shirakawa canal in the dawn light, stopping sometimes to look at the herons that hunt in the canal. Being able to do this almost every day was one of my favorite parts of this trip.
Depending on your itinerary, staying in this area might not be the best for your trip; I once timed my trip from my room door to the gates at Kyoto Station, walking and train trips included, and it was just shy of 30 minutes. Not fun when you’re tired after a long day of walking and touring.
But on the other hand, if you want to spend a lot of time in the eastern part of Kyoto, it might be a good choice. Just be aware that this is a nightlife district. While I never felt unsafe at all, you’ll be among bars and nightclubs depending on where you are. Heck, I was a keen Pokemon Go player at the time, and while chasing a wild Chansey spawn near the hotel, I ended up in front of a host club in the early AM and watched a couple of tired-looking hosts walk out at what I assume was the end of their shift. It was pretty fun, actually, people-watching in the evening and early in the morning.
(Kyoto might be one of the best cities in the world for Pokemon Go, BTW. So many stops, and so pretty too. But I digress).
**Dec. 16, 2019**
We started off with a relatively relaxed day. First, we went to [Aoi-Jaya](https://en.japantravel.com/kyoto/aoi-jaya-in-kyoto-station/23352) in Kyoto Station, a favorite of my wife’s during our previous trip to Kyoto. I got the [Rin set lunch](https://i.imgur.com/1MJR5Nk.jpg); steamed vegetables, sashimi, soba, warabimochi, and lightly seasoned rice. It’s not a meal that will punch you in the face with strong flavors, but it is relatively healthy and delicately tasty.
After that, we went to the Don Quijote near Kyoto Station to buy snacks and supplies for our stay, like my wife’s favorite Japanese sunscreen.
For dinner, we ended up at Kawaramachi, another nightlife district. This is where I made a classic tourist mistake – we ate at an izakaya after being invited in by a tout. I wasn’t sure why I did that aside from being tired and hungry, as I was familiar with the advice for tourists to not follow touts, but fortunately, it wasn’t one of those places that scams tourists. The place is called [Momiji](https://tabelog.com/en/kyoto/A2601/A260201/26017499/dtlrvwlst/), the ochazuke and negima yakitori was fine, and it was fun to watch some fellow diners having a spirited discussion while enjoying a beef tongue platter. Still, don’t make my mistake – especially as a tourist not familiar with the lay of the land, I wouldn’t take the risk with touts.
**Dec. 17, 2019**
We left early for Kyoto Station to set off for the village of Harie, known also as “The Village of Living Water.” This is a town known for its canals full of spring water that’s so clean that it has been traditionally used for drinking and washing vegetables. Carp swim free in the canals, or live in pools in traditional household kitchens. You may have already heard about this place through popular YouTube videos like [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THcKJpXwqVM).
I should emphasize at this point that Harie is not a tourist attraction per se – it is a normal Japanese country town. My understanding is that the town leadership prefers tours of the town with an authorized tour group, which makes sense, since it might be disruptive to town life otherwise. Some of these springs are located within private residences, after all.
So, at Kyoto Station, we met up with Seita Mori, a guide (and I believe) the owner of YUTour, a company specializing in tours in the Lake Biwa area. Mr. Mori is an excellent tour guide; not only does he speak fluent English, he’s very passionate and knowledgeable about the towns around Lake Biwa, and participates in community events in Harie. He’s also very considerate – it was a rainy day, and he showed up with umbrellas for us even though we never asked for it.
I really enjoyed my time in Harie. Keep in mind, again, that Harie is a working village, not really set up for tourists, and the documentaries are somewhat romanticized. Don’t come expecting something as dressed up as a famous onsen town. But still, just walking around the town and its canals, and having the details of life there explained to us – it was lovely. One of the fondest memories I had of this trip was visiting the Shodenji temple, where [the bell tower had radishes hanging off of it](https://i.imgur.com/F1Eva21.jpg) to dry when we visited, and where we were told, the residents used to gather not just to worship, but also for movie nights.
Aside from that, we got to tour a tofu factory and a sake brewery, but the highlight of the extended tour was a meal at [Kawashin](https://oryori-kawashin.com/), a 100-year old local restaurant. I opted for [the Lake Biwa set](https://i.imgur.com/IDUUCJK.jpg) and was served a beautifully plated assortment of local delicacies: Ayu fish from Lake Biwa, smokey locally made tofu from the factory we visited, Omi beef, shrimp with soy beans, sashimi, mochi, and so many other local delicacies. Absolutely marvelous, and almost all locally sourced from the town and the lake. And to top it off, I believe this set was only around $15. Good God.
And yes, we did drink the spring water. It was… well, water. Refreshing, and just very subtly different from the tap water offered to us as comparison. I have no doubt about its quality, though.
We took the train back and opted to get some delicious salad from a department store food hall. Yes, more veggies. But [look at this salad](https://i.imgur.com/v1gkR6X.jpg) and tell me it doesn’t look delicious.
**Dec. 18, 2019**
My wife loves snow crab, so we decided to stay at a ryokan at Kinosaki Onsen. This is a town well known for its onsen, of course, but also so famed for its winter snow crab offerings that the front of the station has a [crab-themed sitting area](https://i.imgur.com/LFZPBCt.jpg), and that there is a memorial dedicated to all the snow crabs consumed there. Or so I heard.
Before we went to Kinosaki Onsen, we needed lunch, so we went to [Ramen Nishiki](https://www.ramen-nishiki.com/), a small restaurant not too far away from Yasaka Shrine, where I ordered [this bowl of ramen](https://www.ramen-nishiki.com/our-produce?pgid=jrtcmo3y-ba6ccb50-831b-48f3-be0b-148a57b238be). Eating this was like being caressed by the golden essence of sea bream, which I realize might sound a bit off-putting, but I’ll say this, no joke. This might be the single best bowl of ramen I’ve ever had, and I’ve had plenty. Thin noodles, a light but flavorful broth, and a succulent, rich piece of sea bream. Put it another way – during the meal, the only sounds were slurping and the 60s classic rock playing over the sound system. My wife and I usually chat while having meals, but we said not one word to each other until we had both finished the bowls all the way down to the last drop of broth. Highly recommended (but only if you like fish).
We then boarded a train for Kinosaki Onsen from Kyoto Station, and spent about 2.5 hours traveling through the countryside. From there, we took a bus to our ryokan: [Morizuya Inn](http://www.morizuya.com/en/), a small, family-owned ryokan. Upon arrival, we were treated to a tea ceremony by the owner’s mother, and then quickly ushered a tour of the owner’s train collection, and then to a selection of yukata to wear for the night, followed by a whole bunch of photo-taking on the street by the owner. It did feel a little rushed, but I don’t blame them one bit – again, it’s a small family operation, and we weren’t the only guests.
After we were shown to our room, we reserved our time at the ryokan’s cave-themed bath – which I confess I do not remember much about, except that it was relaxing. After that, we walked around the town for a bit in our borrowed wooden clogs. This is what every tourist does in Kinosaki Onsen – soak in the atmosphere of the town, enhanced by the lights glittering off the willow-lined canals, and the evocative sound of the clogs on stone. The main attraction here, other than copious amounts of crab in the winter, are the seven famous public baths, but we skipped doing that, because we had a bath already, and just were really focused on crab.
We returned to our room for the ryokan dinner, which featured an obscene amount of snow crab. I wish I had thought to have taken a picture of the spread, but believe me when I say it’s enough crab to satisfy even the most obsessed crab fanatic, with [cold crab legs](https://i.imgur.com/sG9oUCK.jpg), [a nabe pot full of vegetables](https://i.imgur.com/jXt1bCz.jpg) (and also crab), and an assortment of other dishes (but who cares about those, right? You’re in Kinosaki Onsen!)
Then, we went wandering around the town again. We made one mistake in that I think we missed an area where a lot of the activity was going on, like fair games. But it was fun to walk around all the same, just soaking in the atmosphere.
**Dec. 19, 2019**
Kinosaki Onsen is just as beautiful in the early morning as it is in the evening. I wandered around the town again, and at one point, was stopped by an elderly woman – between her limited English and my godawful Japanese, she guided me to her favorite walking path by the canal. It was really sweet of her to do that.
After that, I went back to the ryokan for the included [traditional ryokan breakfast](https://i.imgur.com/vaklw2M.jpg): rice, fish (salmon), salad, yudofu soup, and a small bowl of chawanmushi (steamed egg), which because this is Kinosaki Onsen, the place where crabs come to die, had a small piece of crab hiding in it. There was a[ sweet tofu dish](https://i.imgur.com/c5xsSGn.jpg) too, with a kind of sweet sauce and toasted kinako powder (soy flour) and this blew my mind by how well the roasted flavor of the kinako played with the sauce and the cold tofu.
Later that morning, we wandered around the town for the last time, buying some seafood snacks and a self-heating [crab and beef ekiben](https://i.imgur.com/m9Lozy3.jpg) to eat on the train back to Kyoto ([picture of the contents](https://i.imgur.com/I02MDoe.jpg)). The crab wasn’t as good as the fresh crab, of course, but it was worth it for the novelty of watching a self-heating ekiben in action, and it did turn out to be sufficiently hot.
Back in Kyoto, we rested for a bit before heading out again for shopping. This time, we went to Kyoto Loft, where my wife shopped for stationery, as well as the nearby Maruzen bookstore to look at books. I passed up the opportunity to have [a parfait with a corn dog in it](https://i.imgur.com/cGbx5kq.jpg), for dinner at Miyakoyasai Kamo-Kawaramachi, a low-key buffet restaurant with a small selection of mostly vegetarian dishes. I thought [this was just okay](https://i.imgur.com/b8V9EYG.jpg), but if you wanted something focused on organic vegetables, it wasn’t a bad choice. [Google says](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Miyakoyasai+Kamo-Kawaramachi/@35.0063818,135.7689944,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xb037a2188c3609d2?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwigpqGp8Kn6AhW2FjQIHUspA34Q_BJ6BAhIEAU) that this location has shut down, but here’s a [site](https://nasukamo.net/restaurant) that indicates that other branches might be active.
**Dec. 20, 2019**
We missed out on Osaka during our previous trip to Japan due to an injury, so we decided to try again this time around.
The first stop at Osaka was [Abeno Harukas](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4026.html), currently the tallest building in Japan, with a department store, an art museum, and an observation deck. My wife wanted to go shopping – but first, lunch from the Kintetsu department store food hall. Fried shrimp,[ simmered fish, and a salad](https://i.imgur.com/Ej9B6MB.jpg). The shrimp was terrible, the salad was pretty good, and my wife said that the fish was so good that she wants to eat it again if we come back to Osaka.
We also got desserts from the food hall: a Konigs-Krone egg pudding for my wife and a [Konigs-Krone Koblenz](https://entabe.com/48787/konigs-krone-koblenz-coffee-jelly-review) coffee jelly for me. I knew nothing about this coffee jelly when I bought it, so I took a bite with zero expectations. My reward was this sublimely good blend of flavorful coffee, meltingly soft jelly, mochi, and red beans. Super satisfying and not too sweet.
After we were done with shopping at Kintetsu, we went to the 17th floor cafe, Cafe Ciao Presso, and I watched the sun set over Osaka while drinking a matcha latte. We had decided not to go to the paid observation deck, because for our super high view, we were planning on going to the top of the Lotte World Tower in Seoul later on. But even on the 17th floor,[ the view from the cafe was gorgeous.](https://i.imgur.com/0NErUoW.jpg)
The next stop was [Dotonbor](https://i.imgur.com/KpzQCVy.jpg)i, a place that I had wanted to visit for years. As soon as we got there, we took a picture of the Glico Man sign, as is near-mandatory, and then started off on my exploration of the area.
My wife would later tell me that going to Dotonbori had the same feeling for her as being in Disneyland as a kid, and I agreed completely. We bounced from place to place as though Dotonbori was a loud, neon-soaked pinball table and we were the pinballs; riding the Ferris wheel outside of the Don Quijote; eating [takoyaki](https://i.imgur.com/YQmyUAQ.jpg) smothered with green onion and katsuobushi at one place, as wistful J-pop played; grabbing warm melon pan at another store; gawking at the huge, animatronic signs all over the place; drinking [boba tea in a can](https://i.imgur.com/lCh5Xqf.jpeg) in a K-pop themed cafe overlooking the canal, looking at even more snacks and wondering how close we would get to that saying in Osaka, *kuidaore*. Eat until you die.
Dotonbori is sensory overload. It’s damned loud and larger-than-life, it’s touristy and almost a cliche at this point. It was one of the best evenings of my life. I will definitely come back one day.
(BTW, if you actually wanted to eat until you die, [this might be a good place to start](https://i.imgur.com/Z9ve6FT.jpg)).
**Dec. 21, 2019**
So I have a fondness for Japanese variety shows, as cheesy as they can be. I watch them on the hotel TV every time I come to Japan. Here’s a [picture](https://i.imgur.com/EMoug0P.jpg) I took of a couple of panelists gawking at a fake shrimp made of, I kid you not, bananas. Are they amazed? Disgusted? I can’t remember, so you can decide, this is now a Choose-Your-Own Adventure post.
This was part of a show segment featuring an entire osechi (New Year food set) made of bananas. You could say that this whole situation was bananas.
Anyway, the plan for this day was to go to the [Kobo-Ichi market](https://www.kyotostation.com/toji-temple-kobo-ichi-market/) at Toji Temple, an easy walk from Toji Station or Kyoto Station. On the 21st of every month, throngs of people, both locals and tourists, descend upon this huge flea market on the temple grounds to shop for antiques, handmade crafts, vintage clothes, street food, and other assorted goods. We bought souvenirs, roasted chestnuts, and grilled rice on a stick, which I’m guessing is goheimochi. If you don’t mind crowds, this is a great way to do some shopping in a lively and vibrant atmosphere.
From there, we walked over to Aeon Mall Kyoto and had conveyor belt sushi, which wasn’t particularly memorable. Perhaps because it was getting a little later in the afternoon, but the selection wasn’t amazing.
The last item on our list for that day was Pokemon Center Kyoto. Both my wife and I played a ton of Pokemon Go back then, so we came here to buy some Pokemon souvenirs (and raid for Lugia with local players). Then, for dinner, an [ikura bowl set](https://i.imgur.com/S2mMnxQ.jpg) at the nearby Nana’s Green Tea location, which I had the last time I came to Kyoto as well, and is consistently delicious.
**Dec. 22, 2019**
I do think that every time I go to Kyoto now, I must drop by Fushimi Inari, and this was the day to do it – this time for my fourth visit.
There is a not-so-hidden “hidden” [bamboo path](https://seekingstephanie.com/2020/01/03/exploring-kyoto-fushimi-inari-shrine-hike-secret-bamboo-forest/) in Fushimi Inari – because the path to it runs not through the famed Thousand Gates section, but alongside it, most people do not go there. And yet, it’s quiet and peaceful, and a place where I’ve been able to stroll, and think. I hope I’m not overselling this spot; it’s not like some bamboo paradise where enlightenment will descend upon you. You’re just as likely to hear a motorcycle go by on a nearby road. And yet, it’s a place that I want to come back to whenever I visit Kyoto. Just a quiet little bamboo path, nothing really amazing, but I’m just very fond of it.
After walking the path, I rejoined the main path, prayed at the shrine, and got myself an omikuji, which foretold bad luck followed by good. Later on in Seoul, my wife’s laptop would get stolen, and then after that, my boss messaged me telling me that he had given me a raise. Which is probably just confirmation bias, but I’ll hold on to this one!
Typically, when we go on vacation, I allocate at least one day for my wife to rest in the hotel room. While she did, I wandered back across the Kamo river without a specific plan, looking for some kind of anniversary present. Eventually, I ended up in Nishiki Market, where I bought an octopus stuffed with a quail’s egg for her present- nah, I’m kidding. I bought her a pretty hand-embroidered folding fan.
In [my previous trip report](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/aa2rxv/walloftext_first_visit_to_japan_tokyohakonekyoto/), I said that Nishiki Market was straining under the weight of tourism, and during this trip, just shortly before the pandemic broke out, it was absolutely true. Being in Nishiki Market pre-pandemic was like being carried along in a slow-moving river of people stuck in a narrow alley. I’m not sure how it is now, but I imagine now that tourism will resume in Kyoto, it will become crowded again. I would still recommend going there at least once, but just be aware.
**Dec. 23, 2019**
This was, sadly, my last day in Kyoto. After making the pre-dawn walk down Shinbashi Dori for the last time this trip, to get our breakfast, I returned to the hotel, packed up, and checked out later that morning. We took a train to Kansai airport, where I had a pretty tasty hambagu steak set meal, and then flew off to Seoul for the next part of my trip.
There were more adventures for us in Seoul, Busan, and various parts of Taiwan after that – but, well. This is r/JapanTravel, so I’ll end my report here.
Just one final thought. When I was in Japan in 2019, a world-changing pandemic was, of course, the furthest thing from my mind. It feels a bit surreal now, looking back at my photos of Japan in 2018 and 2019, seeing what it was like back then, just blissfully traveling through Japan, not knowing what was about to happen. I have spent an embarrassing amount of time in the last couple of years thinking fondly about various places in Asia, including Japan, and wishing I could travel there again.
Except – now, finally, we get to go back! Well, maybe you do, this year. As for me, I’m going to try to head back to my other favorite place in the world and my wife’s family’s place of origin, Taiwan, which is finally allowing visa- and (basically) quarantine-free entry as well. But Japan holds a special place in my heart, and I’m looking forward to visiting again, hopefully next year.
I hope you enjoy Japan as much as I did. 🙂
