"It is impossible to know the real Japan without knowing Kyoto"
I have just returned from my weekend to Kyoto and the only complaint I have is that I didn't have enough time! This city is breath-takingly beautiful! For those of you who don't know of Kyoto, let me give you a small introduction and then let Wikipedia do the rest!
Kyoto was the imperial capital of Japan from 794 until 1868 when the capital was moved to Tokyo after the Imperial restoration. Today, Kyoto is the capital city of the Kyoto prefecture (and the city in which the book Memoirs of a Geisha is set). It lies in a valley surrounded by the Higashiyama (East Mountains), Nishiyama (West Mountains) and Kitayama (North Mountains) Ranges. It is home to 17 Unesco World Heritage sites, over 1600 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto Shrines. Plus, one of the few cities in which a mere mortal can still catch a glimpse of a proper Geisha or maybe a Maiko (apprentice Geisha). Therefore, in a nutshell, it is a must-go-to city! It is also very easy to reach either by shinkansen (for those who are rich or not residents of Japan*) or by bus for those who are less well off...
The bus I caught was a night bus operated by Willer bus company. It is a great company to use as
- the website is available in English (a Japanese rarity)
- the tickets can be paid for in a convenience store so I didn't need a credit card
- and the tickets were quite cheap (a return ticket costed approximately ¥14,000)
I boarded the bus late Thursday night from Shinagawa station and woke up Friday morning in front of Kyoto station. I am not going to say that it was the best night sleep I ever got as that would be a blatant lie but it wasn't bad for a bus ride. Kyoto station is one of the coolest train stations in Japan (the new part of course) and Starbucks is just across the road which gained it extra points :) I'm slowly running out of my money with all my travels so I decided to book a hostel rather then a hostel. I stayed in K's House hostel and I highly recommend this place. It is 10 minutes away from the station on foot, dorms were clean and I paid around ¥2300 per night. They also have a really cool cafe/bar in the hostel that serves a decent breakfast, snacks and cheap drinks. The place was jammed with backpackers and the atmosphere was really nice. The website for the hostel is:
On Friday I visited Higashi Hongan-ji Temple. This temple is very close to Kyoto station and admission is free so it is worth a visit. The Buddha statue is impressive and the wooden craved ceilings are beautiful to see. I also visited Toji-ji Temple which is home to one of the highest and oldest wooden Pagoda in Japan. An interesting fact is that during it's construction, the engineers designed a system in which to allow it to be earthquake proof. The halls also house some impressive statues which are worth a visit. In the afternoon, I booked a Japanese sweet-making course. Kyoto is renowned for it's Kyogashi (wagashi is the common name). These are made from different coloured mochi (rice flour and sugar pastry) and filled with azuki beans (red bean paste). The class was held in a traditional Japanese sweet shop and our sensei has been creating these little master pieces for over 20 years. They do speak a bit of English and I recommend reserving a spot at one of the classes ( ¥2000). The link below goes straight to the English webpage through which you can make a reservation.In the evening, we all walked around the Gion district in search of a Geisha. This is the place to find them! We did manage catch a glimpse of two young, very beautiful Maiko ladies. Gion's Hanami-koji and Ponto-cho are a must-see! Ponto-cho is a narrow alleyway lined with small wooden restaurants and bars with traditional lanterns hanging outside. These two roads really capture the essence of Kyoto's rich past.
Saturday was excursion day. I wanted to take a train to the North of Kyoto to a place known as Amanohashidate. This site is marked as one of three most scenic places in Japan. It is a beautiful place where a passage of land forms a natural bridge connecting two opposite pieces of land. I can't describe it in words so I shall just allow the picture to speak for itself. It did take a long time to get there! Even via semi-express train it took us two hours to arrive and set up back ¥4,000 yen one way (Please do not believe anything else you read. This is the cheapest price!) On the way back, we decided to take local trains only which costed us ¥2,200 but took four hours. I didn't mind the time as we got to stop at other smaller cities and see some more remote parts of Kyoto. Saturday night was dinner and bed night as I was knackered from my mini-adventure. Quick note about Amanohashidate: there is certain way in which you should view the bridge...you need to turn around with your back to the bridge, put your head between your legs and see the view. It is said that it's as if you are looking at the bridge to Heaven...I'll leave it to you to decide.
Sunday was my last day and I intended to make the best of it. So, I purchased a one day bus ticket which is extremely convenient. It costs ¥500 and allows you to board as many buses as you need to throughout the day. It also comes with an English bus map, mapping all the stops and the routes which pass through them. The subway system is not very well connected so I do recommend the buses. I visited the International Manga Museum which was a bit of a disappointment and not really worth ¥800. However, we did also visit the Golden temple Kinkaku-ji and the Daitoku-ji temple with all the gardens around it.
I really did not have enough time and I really wish I find some time to go back as there is so much to see that three days so not enough. Some other sites which I highly recommend is the Ginkaku-ji which is the silver temple. Japanese people prefer this temple to Kinkaku-ji and I would have loved to see it. There is also a foodmarket downtown which is very famous. It is called Nishiki Market and worth a visit!
And one last thing...please go to Cafe Independants in downtown Kyoto. It doesn't serve Japanese food but it is one of the coolest places around!
