Osaka & Kyoto Trip - Part One.
I went to Japan for the second time during September. My mother had always mentioned that we should visit the land of the rising sun but we finally decided to head there, like probably two months before the date we went. So it was quite last minute, I guess?
I couldn't pass the chance to visit Japan. My first trip there was eye-opening. Japan was another world to me, different from all the other countries I been to. The last time I been there, I didn't want to leave the wonderful country. This time, me and my family went visit the Kansai region.
Since I have already been to the capital city of Japan (Tokyo), this time we're visiting Osaka and Kyoto. The only knowledge I have about these two cities before the trip are from Memoirs of a Geisha and Azumanga Daioh, and it was only just because the character was nicknamed Osaka.
Ignorant? I know. Please forgive me.
We weren't following the usual packaged tours where normally buses would bring us to tourist areas and living in fancy hotels. Instead, we're doing like a personal tour where we will settle accommodation and transportation by ourselves. We're still going to tourist locations but hey, at least someone won't be telling us when to leave after barely visiting a site.
This wasn't a very difficult thing to do because Japan has a great public transport system and it's just impossible to get totally lost. I had some experience using Japan's public transport when I was in Tokyo and learned some knowledge of catching buses in Singapore so I guess my mom handed me the responsibility of traveling in Japan.
Malaysia has lots to learn from countries with good public transportation. But I will admit, they have improved and are progressing. However, they still have a loooooooooong way to go.
So anyway, before we landed on Japan, I had to do a lot of research about the places of interests and how to get there. We would arrive at Kansai International Airport (KIA), head to Kyoto first and then back to Osaka till our trip ends after a week.
Thanks to the power of the internet and some kind people on the internet, we managed to get the right tickets and at least have some knowledge of how to get around in the two cities. I would say I managed to get these important information rather last minute too, but hey, we survived.
DAY ONE
After a six hour flight of constant turbulence, we landed safely in KIA. Our first goal was to find the HARUKA train platform and head straight to Kyoto, the city that avoided the atomic bomb thanks to a man named Stimson.
The train ride was 75 minutes and by the time we arrived at Kyoto, it was dark. I had to ask some directions to get to our lodging, Racine Home. But other than that, we were fine. After that, we head out for dinner (which was some good beef and rice, but kinda pricey) and was done for the night.
Fun fact: I do not (believe or not) have data in Malaysia. Basically, I only use available Wi-Fi to surf the net in my country. But for this trip, we rented a pocket Wi-Fi for convenience and I just think it's funny that I had to get out of Malaysia to experience what it's like to have the internet wherever I go. I finally downloaded the Google Maps apps too thanks to this trip.
DAY TWO
We woke up early and took the bus to the Arashiyama area where the famous bamboo grove and the Tenryū-ji temple are.
It was the first time taking the bus for us and I had to look into a tiny bus schedule printed on a big pamphlet. My mother, like I said, relied on me transportation so I had the pressure on me. But it was okay, we made it. However, I made the mistake of getting the bus a few stops too early so we had to walk a bit. On this day, we used the one-day Kyoto city bus pass that costs 500 yen.
We arrived there early to avoid the crowd so it will be easier to take pictures. The whole bamboo grove route was shorter than I expected, but it was really pretty. You don't see bamboos everyday. What am I saying.
We also visited nearby shrines and walked around the nearby neighborhood areas. We got separated for a while when my brother wandered off looking for the toilet while holding the pocket Wi-Fi while me and my mom just stood around waiting.
But it was a great experience just hanging around the more rural areas rather than a city. It's really peaceful place and just imagining living there makes my me and my mom jealous.
I couldn't pass the chance to visit Japan. My first trip there was eye-opening. Japan was another world to me, different from all the other countries I been to. The last time I been there, I didn't want to leave the wonderful country. This time, me and my family went visit the Kansai region.
Since I have already been to the capital city of Japan (Tokyo), this time we're visiting Osaka and Kyoto. The only knowledge I have about these two cities before the trip are from Memoirs of a Geisha and Azumanga Daioh, and it was only just because the character was nicknamed Osaka.
Ignorant? I know. Please forgive me.
We weren't following the usual packaged tours where normally buses would bring us to tourist areas and living in fancy hotels. Instead, we're doing like a personal tour where we will settle accommodation and transportation by ourselves. We're still going to tourist locations but hey, at least someone won't be telling us when to leave after barely visiting a site.
This wasn't a very difficult thing to do because Japan has a great public transport system and it's just impossible to get totally lost. I had some experience using Japan's public transport when I was in Tokyo and learned some knowledge of catching buses in Singapore so I guess my mom handed me the responsibility of traveling in Japan.
So anyway, before we landed on Japan, I had to do a lot of research about the places of interests and how to get there. We would arrive at Kansai International Airport (KIA), head to Kyoto first and then back to Osaka till our trip ends after a week.
Thanks to the power of the internet and some kind people on the internet, we managed to get the right tickets and at least have some knowledge of how to get around in the two cities. I would say I managed to get these important information rather last minute too, but hey, we survived.
DAY ONE
After a six hour flight of constant turbulence, we landed safely in KIA. Our first goal was to find the HARUKA train platform and head straight to Kyoto, the city that avoided the atomic bomb thanks to a man named Stimson.
The train ride was 75 minutes and by the time we arrived at Kyoto, it was dark. I had to ask some directions to get to our lodging, Racine Home. But other than that, we were fine. After that, we head out for dinner (which was some good beef and rice, but kinda pricey) and was done for the night.
Fun fact: I do not (believe or not) have data in Malaysia. Basically, I only use available Wi-Fi to surf the net in my country. But for this trip, we rented a pocket Wi-Fi for convenience and I just think it's funny that I had to get out of Malaysia to experience what it's like to have the internet wherever I go. I finally downloaded the Google Maps apps too thanks to this trip.
DAY TWO
We woke up early and took the bus to the Arashiyama area where the famous bamboo grove and the Tenryū-ji temple are.
It was the first time taking the bus for us and I had to look into a tiny bus schedule printed on a big pamphlet. My mother, like I said, relied on me transportation so I had the pressure on me. But it was okay, we made it. However, I made the mistake of getting the bus a few stops too early so we had to walk a bit. On this day, we used the one-day Kyoto city bus pass that costs 500 yen.
We arrived there early to avoid the crowd so it will be easier to take pictures. The whole bamboo grove route was shorter than I expected, but it was really pretty. You don't see bamboos everyday. What am I saying.
We also visited nearby shrines and walked around the nearby neighborhood areas. We got separated for a while when my brother wandered off looking for the toilet while holding the pocket Wi-Fi while me and my mom just stood around waiting.
But it was a great experience just hanging around the more rural areas rather than a city. It's really peaceful place and just imagining living there makes my me and my mom jealous.
All the rickshaw pullers are muscular and look very cool. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
There was a female one too!
We didn't visit the Tenryu-ji temple but
we went and cross the Togetsu-kyo bridge nearby.
Our lunch was at Saga Tofu Ine, a tofu restaurant because according to
my aunt, the tofu in Kyoto was great. Unfortunately, that wasn't the
case for us as we couldn't really finish our meals. Sorry Kyoto, we
tried.
Kinkaku-ji, or the Golden Pavilion was our next stop. The main attraction in that garden was the temple that is covered entirely in gold leaf. Did I mention that the ticket to get in was a talisman? It'ssocoolemergerd.
Oh, a guy also passed out at the side. Hope he's fine now.
Other than that, there were other shrines and temples, beautiful rocks and ponds and things like that. But of course, everyone was kinda there for the golden temple. Ha.
After we were done with the Golden Pavilion, I thought we still had time to visit another location. And so we took the bus to Kiyomizu-dera temple.
There was a lot of people when we got there. We had to hike up 15 minutes up a slope before we could see anything, and there was a lot of food and souvenir stores as we walked up. We bought some snacks and took a break because all the walking before made us kinda tired.
When we finally got there, we found out that some parts of some temples there were under maintenance. It also seemed like the whole garden was gonna take a long time and it was about to close so my mother decided not to go.
I'm pretty sure it's a beautiful place but we didn't went in. Though I realized that the places bears some resemblance to the L4D2 mod map Yama. (I just searched in Gamemaps and yeah, Kiyomizu-dera is the reference to the map! THAT'S AMAZINGGGG)
We were really tired by the time we left Kiyomizu-dera, Before we had our dinner, we went to the Nishiki market that my mother really wanted to go (she wanted to go all the places we went). However, by the time we got there, it was almost closing so not all the shops are open. It was near the city area so the bus going there was just always stuck in traffic.
We had our dinner at the famous Ichiran ramen restaurant. We only had to wait 15 minutes before we struggled with the ticket machine. But we got that out of the way and we sat in a tiny room, each seat in their individual booths (you can actually remove the divider if you're with your friends and you want to talk to them).
The ramen was the type of ramen that I really like. Everything was great but I still really like Marutama's eggs. It just melts in your mouth, hnngggg. The price for Ichiran is I guess more expensive because of its name? But everyone said it was good so we had to just try it.
We went to Pontocho alley just to look around, but our feet was so sore so we just decided to head home after a while.
DAY THREE
We woke up early once again and took the train to Fushimi Inari Taisha. It's a Shinto shrine famous for its long rows of vermillion torii gates. These giant (or tiny) gates are donations from individuals or companies. The shrines are dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice and the foxes are thought to be Inari's messengers so that explains why you can see so many fox statues around.
It's a very, very, very beautiful place. Yeah, it's a good place to take your Instagram pictures but seriously, it's a very peaceful, beautiful place to just hang around and chill. There are also locals there who hike the mountain trails behind the main area. According to the internet there, you can easily spend two to three hours if you really went to explore the area.
Me and my brother decided to hike up further while my mom stayed back. We only managed to hike to one of the many other shrines. I'm sure if you have the time and the energy, you can see more beautiful things, but unfortunately we don't have the time and energy. So we headed back.
By the time we left the main exit, people were starting to crowd up the area. One advice: always leave early to popular tourists areas.
We returned to our lodging because we had to pass over some documents before we check out. It was the first time we saw another human being other than ourselves, seriously. We really liked that the staff was really flexible and chill, unlike a hotel where there's everyone everywhere and not as quiet and peaceful I guess.
Racine Home is a really good place to stay and was the best, in my opinion, among the other places we stayed during our trip in Japan. Do consider this place if you ever want to visit Kyoto, it has everything you need and just 10 minutes walk from Kyoto station.
My brother was tired from walking so me and my mom went to a nearby temple called Higashi Hongan-ji. We actually passed by the temple a few times when we were walking to Kyoto station, and was amazed by the size of it. Over there, we learned a bit of its history and enjoyed the scenery.
It feels amazing visiting so many shrines and temples. Number one, it feels surreal to be these places after only seeing them on screens, animes and mangas. Number two, even though I'm not a religious person, it's great to experience their culture, their architecture and history.
For our lunch, we went to the Nishiki market once again. This time, all the shops are open. We bought snacks and food from multiple stores, you know get the taste of everything to fill up our tummy. We bought sashimi, fried food, unagi, and tidbits.
After that, we grabbed our bags and head to the station and on our way to Osaka. We stopped at Namba station and arrived at a very popular destination, Dōtonburi.
We checked in to a -surprise- capsule hotel, Astil. Let me just say, there's a lot of rules and things you have to remember. Females and males are divided to different floors and you have to leave your luggage near the front desk if it's too big.
When me and my mom got in to the room where everyone sleeps, it reminds me of a morgue because it was dark and it was just two rows of double-decked pods(?). My mom slept in the lower pod and I had to climb up to mine. I didn't take many pictures because you weren't supposed to, I think.
They basically have everything, from lockers, to toiletries and their own sleeping pajamas which you must return later, of course. It was exciting for me, but in places like these you're often with strangers and you have to be quiet all the time.
We rested for the afternoon (because we're tired) and went to the Dōtonburi street at night. Dōtonburi is known for the street food and their big exaggerated signs, depending on what the stores are selling. If it's a takoyaki store, most likely there's a huge octopus on its sign.
Dōtonburi is also popular because of this big Glico running man sign, which I do not understand. It's just a guy running with his arms up. I don't get it.
For dinner we had to walk some distance away from Dōtonburi to have some wagyu beef. The restaurant is Tsurugyu, a recommendation by a blogger for people who want to taste something close to kobe beef but at a much cheaper price.
We had different cuts of beef, from their meat to their organs, all in tiny pieces. It was definitely a different experience from eating normal beef, but it didn't make me go like WOAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
Walking back was a pain, because we're tired. Then, we just knocked out in our capsules. I slept well.
According to my mom, she can hear noises if I move too much above. She said she heard some noises at night too. It is something you have to deal with when you're sleeping with so many strangers in a same room. Avoid sleeping near the door too.
That's it for part uno, I swear the second part will be much more interesting and probably much longer. Be prepared!
---
Read Osaka and Kyoto Trip - Part Two here!
---
I finally got to play Junkenstein's Revenge on Overwatch after a year. I could remember feeling wanting to get the game so bad. It's funny how Overwatch aims to be a PvP game but I'm more attracted to their PvE game modes. Just seems more fun and united, no?
Kinkaku-ji, or the Golden Pavilion was our next stop. The main attraction in that garden was the temple that is covered entirely in gold leaf. Did I mention that the ticket to get in was a talisman? It'ssocoolemergerd.
Oh, a guy also passed out at the side. Hope he's fine now.
Other than that, there were other shrines and temples, beautiful rocks and ponds and things like that. But of course, everyone was kinda there for the golden temple. Ha.
After we were done with the Golden Pavilion, I thought we still had time to visit another location. And so we took the bus to Kiyomizu-dera temple.
There was a lot of people when we got there. We had to hike up 15 minutes up a slope before we could see anything, and there was a lot of food and souvenir stores as we walked up. We bought some snacks and took a break because all the walking before made us kinda tired.
When we finally got there, we found out that some parts of some temples there were under maintenance. It also seemed like the whole garden was gonna take a long time and it was about to close so my mother decided not to go.
I'm pretty sure it's a beautiful place but we didn't went in. Though I realized that the places bears some resemblance to the L4D2 mod map Yama. (I just searched in Gamemaps and yeah, Kiyomizu-dera is the reference to the map! THAT'S AMAZINGGGG)
It was raining and dark when we visited.
Just kidding, that was just a screenshot of the game map.
We were really tired by the time we left Kiyomizu-dera, Before we had our dinner, we went to the Nishiki market that my mother really wanted to go (she wanted to go all the places we went). However, by the time we got there, it was almost closing so not all the shops are open. It was near the city area so the bus going there was just always stuck in traffic.
We had our dinner at the famous Ichiran ramen restaurant. We only had to wait 15 minutes before we struggled with the ticket machine. But we got that out of the way and we sat in a tiny room, each seat in their individual booths (you can actually remove the divider if you're with your friends and you want to talk to them).
The ramen was the type of ramen that I really like. Everything was great but I still really like Marutama's eggs. It just melts in your mouth, hnngggg. The price for Ichiran is I guess more expensive because of its name? But everyone said it was good so we had to just try it.
We went to Pontocho alley just to look around, but our feet was so sore so we just decided to head home after a while.
DAY THREE
We woke up early once again and took the train to Fushimi Inari Taisha. It's a Shinto shrine famous for its long rows of vermillion torii gates. These giant (or tiny) gates are donations from individuals or companies. The shrines are dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice and the foxes are thought to be Inari's messengers so that explains why you can see so many fox statues around.
It's a very, very, very beautiful place. Yeah, it's a good place to take your Instagram pictures but seriously, it's a very peaceful, beautiful place to just hang around and chill. There are also locals there who hike the mountain trails behind the main area. According to the internet there, you can easily spend two to three hours if you really went to explore the area.
Mandatory photo.
Me and my brother decided to hike up further while my mom stayed back. We only managed to hike to one of the many other shrines. I'm sure if you have the time and the energy, you can see more beautiful things, but unfortunately we don't have the time and energy. So we headed back.
By the time we left the main exit, people were starting to crowd up the area. One advice: always leave early to popular tourists areas.
We returned to our lodging because we had to pass over some documents before we check out. It was the first time we saw another human being other than ourselves, seriously. We really liked that the staff was really flexible and chill, unlike a hotel where there's everyone everywhere and not as quiet and peaceful I guess.
Racine Home is a really good place to stay and was the best, in my opinion, among the other places we stayed during our trip in Japan. Do consider this place if you ever want to visit Kyoto, it has everything you need and just 10 minutes walk from Kyoto station.
My brother was tired from walking so me and my mom went to a nearby temple called Higashi Hongan-ji. We actually passed by the temple a few times when we were walking to Kyoto station, and was amazed by the size of it. Over there, we learned a bit of its history and enjoyed the scenery.
The temple looks waaaaay bigger in real life, believe me.
It feels amazing visiting so many shrines and temples. Number one, it feels surreal to be these places after only seeing them on screens, animes and mangas. Number two, even though I'm not a religious person, it's great to experience their culture, their architecture and history.
For our lunch, we went to the Nishiki market once again. This time, all the shops are open. We bought snacks and food from multiple stores, you know get the taste of everything to fill up our tummy. We bought sashimi, fried food, unagi, and tidbits.
After that, we grabbed our bags and head to the station and on our way to Osaka. We stopped at Namba station and arrived at a very popular destination, Dōtonburi.
We checked in to a -surprise- capsule hotel, Astil. Let me just say, there's a lot of rules and things you have to remember. Females and males are divided to different floors and you have to leave your luggage near the front desk if it's too big.
When me and my mom got in to the room where everyone sleeps, it reminds me of a morgue because it was dark and it was just two rows of double-decked pods(?). My mom slept in the lower pod and I had to climb up to mine. I didn't take many pictures because you weren't supposed to, I think.
They basically have everything, from lockers, to toiletries and their own sleeping pajamas which you must return later, of course. It was exciting for me, but in places like these you're often with strangers and you have to be quiet all the time.
We rested for the afternoon (because we're tired) and went to the Dōtonburi street at night. Dōtonburi is known for the street food and their big exaggerated signs, depending on what the stores are selling. If it's a takoyaki store, most likely there's a huge octopus on its sign.
Dōtonburi is also popular because of this big Glico running man sign, which I do not understand. It's just a guy running with his arms up. I don't get it.
For dinner we had to walk some distance away from Dōtonburi to have some wagyu beef. The restaurant is Tsurugyu, a recommendation by a blogger for people who want to taste something close to kobe beef but at a much cheaper price.
We had different cuts of beef, from their meat to their organs, all in tiny pieces. It was definitely a different experience from eating normal beef, but it didn't make me go like WOAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
Walking back was a pain, because we're tired. Then, we just knocked out in our capsules. I slept well.
According to my mom, she can hear noises if I move too much above. She said she heard some noises at night too. It is something you have to deal with when you're sleeping with so many strangers in a same room. Avoid sleeping near the door too.
That's it for part uno, I swear the second part will be much more interesting and probably much longer. Be prepared!
---
Read Osaka and Kyoto Trip - Part Two here!
---
I finally got to play Junkenstein's Revenge on Overwatch after a year. I could remember feeling wanting to get the game so bad. It's funny how Overwatch aims to be a PvP game but I'm more attracted to their PvE game modes. Just seems more fun and united, no?
A random screenshot while I was lagging out so badly.
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