Japan,  Travel

2 weeks in Kyushu with the Japan rail pass. Part 6 of 6: Day 14 – 17 Kyoto and going to Narita airport (Tokyo)


Day 14: typhoon approached Southern Japan – Rest day and Kyoto ramen

We woke up and felt smug and relieved at the same time. Smug as we made the right choice traveling yesterday and relieved as we actually managed it. Shinkansen between Kokura and Kyoto are not running all day today and had we not traveled yesterday, we would’ve been stuck in Beppu, probably fighting for tomorrow’s train with other travellers who are also stuck.

Kyoto station, Kyoto tower, dark sky

We decided not to do any sightseeings today as the city public transport could also stop today. We were also really tired after 2 weeks of traveling in Southern Japan heat, so had a nice slow and easy day and went out only after lunch hour.

Kyoto station. Kyoto travel guide.
Kyoto station

Our airbnb was near JR train station called Tanbaguchi, so we could use our JR pass. We went to Kyoto station and went to tourist information, post office, did some window shopping and ate Kyoto ramen.

Kyoto ramen at Kyo-Azuki. Kyoto travel guide.
We went to a restaurant called ‘Kyo-azuki’ in Kyoto station
Kyo-Azuki restaurant menu
Price was very reasonable. Kyo-azuki is also well known for sweets.

Kyoto ramen is quite different to many other ramens in Japan; flavour is subtle and much less oily. I really like Kyoto ramen.

It rained a lot at night and we could hear the strong wind.


Day 15: Kinkakuji temple – Nishiki market – Gion area – Daimonji bonfire festival

The sky was blue and the sun was out. The typhoon seems to have passed.

We first went to Kinkakuji temple (Golden Pavilion), ¥400 entry fee. It was busy, very busy.

They have a tea house. ¥500 for matcha and sweets.

Kinkakuji temple
Matcha tea at Kinkakuji temple. Kyoto travel guide.

Top tips for JR pass holders; Do not bother with JR Kyoto buses. Buy a Kyoto city bus pass. There are loads of city buses covering all areas in Kyoto whereas JR buses only run certain routes and some come only once every hour, or none. City bus day pass is ¥600 and can be bought from a driver on the bus.

We then went to Nishiki market. I guess no introduction is needed.

Nishiki market, Kyoto travel guide.

Mini octopus at Nishiki market. Kyoto travel guide.
When in Nishiki Market…
Japanese omelette in Nishiki market. Kyoto travel guide.
Kyo-dashi-maki (Kyoto style omelette) shop
Kyoto style omelette in Nishiki market. Kyoto travel guide.
Kyo-dashi-maki omelette (¥360) fluffy, umami, Kyoto deliciousness!
Fishes in Nishiki market. Kyoto travel guide.
Fishes…
Pickles in Nishiki market. Kyoto travel guide.
Pickles…
Soya milk donuts at Nishiki market
… and of course Soya milk donuts

We visited Yasaka shrine, walked around Gion, and it was time to go and see the Daimonji festival.

Yasaka shrine
Yasaka shrine
Gion area in Kyoto
Gion area

Daimonji festival is an annual cerebration in Kyoto. Huge bonfires are set alight on five mountains in the shape of Japanese characters. ‘Obon’ is a big holiday time in Japan. The Japanese believe that the spirits of their ancestors come to visit the human world during Obon. Daimonji festival celebrates the end of Obon and sends off the spirits back with bright lights so they don’t get lost.

Tanbaguchi station Kyoto
Tanbaguchi JR station platform

I’ve seen photos of Daimonji festival many times, but never thought I’d have a chance to see the real thing! We found out that the roof top car park of an Aeon shopping mall has a good view of the mountains. The car park was full of people when we got there, but we managed to see a couple of bonfires really clearly. I put my hands together and wished for their safe returns. It was such a wonderful and moving experience.

Daimonji festival Kyoto
The letter ‘大’ can be seen.

We went back to airbnb and had some Kyoto sake.

Kyoto sake
Light and fragrant

 

Day 16: Fushimi inari shrine – Ninen-zaka – Uji-cha green tea

I don’t know what happened to Fushimi Inari Shrine, but it became so big, so famous I don’t even recognise the place anymore. I first visited here probably about 10 years ago, it has always been a well known Kyoto attraction, but it was not like this:

Entrance to Fushimi inari shrine
In it together
Torii gates in Fushimi inari
… all together

I do not mean to sound like those You-tubers who probably get up at ridiculous hour of the morning to get the ‘best shot’ of Fushimi Inari, but it’s true what they say. Please do try to come as early as you can, it really is a tranquil, beautiful and peaceful place, I promise!

Fox in Fushimi inari shrine
Japanese matcha green tea in a pet bottle
By the way, I bought a bottle of green tea at a convenient store next to the station and it came with a free Rilakkuma bottle cover!
Rilakkuma pet bottle cover
Only in Japan.

We then went to Ninen-zaka.

Tea and tofu ice cream
But first, ice cream. (Hoji tea and Tofu flavour)
Shop that sells yuba cream croquette in Kyoto
Yuba cream croquette! (¥250)
Yuba cream croquette in Kyoto
Yuba, creamy happiness.
Tofu manjyu store, Kyoto
Tofu manjyu!
Tofu manjyu in Ninenzaka. Kyoto travel guide.
It was more like a savoury steamed bun. I like the natural sweetness of Tofu.
Best looking Starbucks in Kyoto
Possibly the world’s best looking Starbucks.
Inside the Starbucks in Kyoto
Green apron is the same.
Ninenzaka kyoto

One of many things we wanted to do in Kyoto was to try the real Kyoto green tea called Uji-cha. We had a few places in mind but went to a cafe called Cha-no-ki inside Marui department store.

Marui department store, Kyoto
Marui department store
Cha-no-ki cafe in Kyoto

As you can see, it’s a very, very, modern setting and we had to first spend a few seconds erasing our traditional-wooden-house-with-beautiful-tatami-floor Kyoto tea drinking fantasy out of our minds.

Ujicha cafe Cha-no-ki menu
Menu

C and I had iced green tea and C’s mum had hoji tea. Both are easily one of the best Japanese teas I’ve had. The green tea was so thick it was borderline milkshake consistency. We don’t normally spend ¥600 for a glass of tea, but it was definitely worth it and definitely the kind of Kyoto tea experience we were hoping for.

Matcha and Hoji tea in Cha-no-ki cafe. Kyoto travel guide.
Iced matcha, no ice. Hoji tea came with sweet mochi.

Marui also has a Taiyaki shop on the ground floor. Taiyaki is a sweet bean paste wrapped in a thin fish shaped pancake. Of course we tried the matcha (¥250) and the hoji-cha (¥200) flavours.

Taiyaki seller in Marui department store Kyoto
Taiyaki 'pancake'


Day 17: Final day – going to Tokyo Narita airport from Kyoto

Kyoto tower at night. Kyoto travel guide.
Kyoto tower (last evening)

Last day of our 14 days JR pass and the last day of our journey.

C and I will have another week in Tokyo, but C’s mum was leaving to Europe from Narita airport tonight.

We checked out our airbnb and arrived at Kyoto station early enough so we could buy some last minutes souvenir and food for the journey and have coffee in a cafe.

Bento seller at Kyoto station. Kyoto travel guide.
You can find so many different Kyoto bentos and Kyoto dishes in the station!
Bento seller at Kyoto station. Kyoto travel guide.

We went to Deli Cafe in the station. C ordered hoji-cha latte and I matcha-latte. We never order lattes, but that was the Kyot-est thing they had on the menu and they actually were really delicious. Good-bye Kyoto, until next time!

Deli cafe Kyoto station. Kyoto travel guide.

We took the 10:32 Hikari shinkansen. Only 2 and half hours to Tokyo, amazing! But my Kyoto experience didn’t end with the matcha latte. At the station, I bought a couple of Kyoto dishes, Koya-tofu and burdock wrapped in Japanese omelette. I had them for lunch in shinkansen – fantastic.

Kyoto tofu and omelette on a Shinkansen. Kyoto travel guide.

I like the subtlety and elegance of Kyoto flavours. Next to me, C was happily chomping his egg sandwiches from seven-eleven.

Lawson's egg sandwich in Japan
Chomping . Confession; this is not the actual egg sandwich that C was chomping on the Shinkansen, but I wanted to show you how Japan brought the egg sandwich game to a new level. This one from Lawson comes with 4 different types in one pack: egg salad, boiled egg, Japanese style omelette and scrambled egg.

We arrived at Shinagawa station at 13:03 and took the 13:24 Narita Express. We arrived at Narita airport terminal1 at 14:29. C’s mum’s flight was at 18:00 and the check-in was going to open at around 15:00, so it was perfect timing.

After checking in, we went to the food court and had udon with egg and grated yam (¥540) and soon it was time for C’s mum to go to her gate… We were going to see her only in a week, but still it was a little sad to say good bye after traveling and being together for over 2 weeks.

Udon at Narita airport
Udon slurping and aeroplane spotting.

C and I love Narita airport and we were planning to play and shop till we drop before going to our Tokyo airbnb. But we dropped before we could shop. Both C and myself experienced this sudden rush of overwhelming exhaustion a second after seeing off C’s mum. I think we were both relieved that we brought her here safely (and on time and she was going to the right gate!) and we also completed our intense 2 weeks Kyushu adventure, safely.

We went straight to the JR ticket office and booked the next Narita Express to Ikebukuro. By the way, I didn’t know that Narita Express went straight to/from Ikebukuro until then. We booked an airbnb in Ikebukuro because it was the cheapest, but were thinking that we had to change at Ueno or Tokyo for JR Yamanote line. I was surprised and overjoyed to find out that it was going to carry me all the way to Ikebukuro.

Narita Express inside
Narita Express. Included in Japan rail pass, otherwise this journey would have been over ¥3000.
Narita Express luggage space
Plenty space for your luggage.

C and I were both exhausted. We stretched our legs and rested in a comfy Narita Express train, slowly taking in all the excitement we had in Kyushu and Kyoto and looking forward to our Tokyo adventure.

Ikebukuro Tokyo at night
Arrived in Ikebukuro!

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