After the best sleep I've gotten this whole trip, I woke up early to get ready and go to breakfast. Once again, it was a meal served at the hotel and done in traditional Japanese style.
Featuring everything from rice and fruit to steamed spinach and soup with a whole crab in it, it was filling and delicious.
After breakfast, I reluctantly left the ryokan and headed off on my journey to Kyoto. It was 50-minute bus trip, followed by a 2-hour ride on the bullet train, and a 20-minute ride in a taxi, but it didn't seem all that long all together. I was immediately awestruck by my hotel's location, right in the middle of the famous and historically important Teramachi shopping street. Though I was two hours earlier than check-in time for my hotel, it turned out that my room was ready early anyway so luckily I was able to bring my stuff up to my room right away. I didn't wast any time dropping my luggage off and heading out to take a bus to my first attraction of the day: Ryoanji, the Zen temple known for having the most famous rock garden in the world.
The bus ride was a bit long, but went right to the entrance to the temple grounds. It was a very cathartic moment getting to actually go right in to the temple and take my time enjoying the entire place, as last time I'd been there I had been horribly sick and had to rush through it all. Though it was a bit cloudy at times, it was otherwise beautiful weather and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom in the extensive temple gardens.
I left Ryoanji, having enjoyed it much, much more this time around, and took a quick bus ride over to Kinkakuji, one of the most famous attractions in Japan. It was unbelievably crowded there, with people packed along the walkways and stopping every few steps to take selfies, but it was still an amazing sight.
I made my way along the meandering path through to a small shrine at the back, where I gave an offering of incense sticks, and then made my way to Tenryuji temple and the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. After getting on the wrong bus and accidentally traveling in the wrong direction, I took a cab over to save myself a lot of time and confusion.
I took a quick tour of Tenruyji, exploring the various shrines and gardens, but the sun was setting and I really wanted to get to the bamboo forest before dark.
A short walk later, I found myself at the iconic bamboo grove path.
It was an otherworldly experience, especially when the wind blew and the trees all clacked together. In the middle of the grove, there was a small but elaborate Shinto shrine.
Way in the back of the shrine area, there was a little shrine dedicated to Inari, the Shinto goddess of rice and prosperity. As is often common at Inari shrines, there was a little display of fox figurines--foxes are thought to be the messengers of Inari. A nice foreshadowing of my main excursion tomorrow to Fushimi Inari Shrine, which has thousands of fox statues.
After I left the bamboo grove, I wandered around the area, making my way through a scenic valley overlook, a cherry grove, and a rustic suburban neighborhood. I finally wound up on the main street again, and walked around sightseeing for a while before heading back to my hotel via bus.
I rested for a short while before hitting the streets again, exploring the vast expanse of Teramachi to see all of the shops and restaurants. They sell
everything there, with souvenir shops, clothing shops, fine art shops...everything. I could spend a whole day just exploring that area and not see everything. I decided to focus on dinner, though, as I'd forgotten to eat lunch in my excitement about getting to see Ryoanji. Though there were many, many places to eat all kinds of foods, I was drawn to a small restaurant I'd seen on my way to the hotel--I'd been thinking that I'd like to try some unagi don (grilled eel on a bowl of rice), and no sooner had I thought this then I saw this restaurant displaying that specific dish in the window. So, I went back to that restaurant and ordered their biggest bowl of unagi don.
It was delicious, especially with the Japanese pepper, which I learned is called sansho and has a unique lemony taste and an oddly tingly sensation.
After dinner, I wandered the streets a good deal more. Kyoto is completely different from Tokyo; while it's still a big city, it's so much more peaceful, relaxed, diverse, and I love the blend of ancient architecture and shrines and history that's scattered throughout all of the modern buildings and features...I definitely prefer Kyoto to Tokyo. There was so much to see, though a lot of it was closed for the night (namely, a shiba inu cafe and a ninja-themed restaurant), but I spent another hour wandering around just taking in the sights.
Finally, though, I decided to make my way back to the hotel and call it a night, where I watched some very important television while writing this entry.
Tomorrow will be a nice break from traveling and changing hotels, and I've been looking forward to Fushimi Inari Shrine probably more than anything else this trip...expect plenty of pictures of Shinto stuff and foxes tomorrow.
Featuring everything from rice and fruit to steamed spinach and soup with a whole crab in it, it was filling and delicious.
After breakfast, I reluctantly left the ryokan and headed off on my journey to Kyoto. It was 50-minute bus trip, followed by a 2-hour ride on the bullet train, and a 20-minute ride in a taxi, but it didn't seem all that long all together. I was immediately awestruck by my hotel's location, right in the middle of the famous and historically important Teramachi shopping street. Though I was two hours earlier than check-in time for my hotel, it turned out that my room was ready early anyway so luckily I was able to bring my stuff up to my room right away. I didn't wast any time dropping my luggage off and heading out to take a bus to my first attraction of the day: Ryoanji, the Zen temple known for having the most famous rock garden in the world.
The bus ride was a bit long, but went right to the entrance to the temple grounds. It was a very cathartic moment getting to actually go right in to the temple and take my time enjoying the entire place, as last time I'd been there I had been horribly sick and had to rush through it all. Though it was a bit cloudy at times, it was otherwise beautiful weather and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom in the extensive temple gardens.
I left Ryoanji, having enjoyed it much, much more this time around, and took a quick bus ride over to Kinkakuji, one of the most famous attractions in Japan. It was unbelievably crowded there, with people packed along the walkways and stopping every few steps to take selfies, but it was still an amazing sight.
I made my way along the meandering path through to a small shrine at the back, where I gave an offering of incense sticks, and then made my way to Tenryuji temple and the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. After getting on the wrong bus and accidentally traveling in the wrong direction, I took a cab over to save myself a lot of time and confusion.
I took a quick tour of Tenruyji, exploring the various shrines and gardens, but the sun was setting and I really wanted to get to the bamboo forest before dark.
A short walk later, I found myself at the iconic bamboo grove path.
It was an otherworldly experience, especially when the wind blew and the trees all clacked together. In the middle of the grove, there was a small but elaborate Shinto shrine.
Way in the back of the shrine area, there was a little shrine dedicated to Inari, the Shinto goddess of rice and prosperity. As is often common at Inari shrines, there was a little display of fox figurines--foxes are thought to be the messengers of Inari. A nice foreshadowing of my main excursion tomorrow to Fushimi Inari Shrine, which has thousands of fox statues.
After I left the bamboo grove, I wandered around the area, making my way through a scenic valley overlook, a cherry grove, and a rustic suburban neighborhood. I finally wound up on the main street again, and walked around sightseeing for a while before heading back to my hotel via bus.
I rested for a short while before hitting the streets again, exploring the vast expanse of Teramachi to see all of the shops and restaurants. They sell everything there, with souvenir shops, clothing shops, fine art shops...everything. I could spend a whole day just exploring that area and not see everything. I decided to focus on dinner, though, as I'd forgotten to eat lunch in my excitement about getting to see Ryoanji. Though there were many, many places to eat all kinds of foods, I was drawn to a small restaurant I'd seen on my way to the hotel--I'd been thinking that I'd like to try some unagi don (grilled eel on a bowl of rice), and no sooner had I thought this then I saw this restaurant displaying that specific dish in the window. So, I went back to that restaurant and ordered their biggest bowl of unagi don.
It was delicious, especially with the Japanese pepper, which I learned is called sansho and has a unique lemony taste and an oddly tingly sensation.
After dinner, I wandered the streets a good deal more. Kyoto is completely different from Tokyo; while it's still a big city, it's so much more peaceful, relaxed, diverse, and I love the blend of ancient architecture and shrines and history that's scattered throughout all of the modern buildings and features...I definitely prefer Kyoto to Tokyo. There was so much to see, though a lot of it was closed for the night (namely, a shiba inu cafe and a ninja-themed restaurant), but I spent another hour wandering around just taking in the sights.
Finally, though, I decided to make my way back to the hotel and call it a night, where I watched some very important television while writing this entry.
Tomorrow will be a nice break from traveling and changing hotels, and I've been looking forward to Fushimi Inari Shrine probably more than anything else this trip...expect plenty of pictures of Shinto stuff and foxes tomorrow.
