After a 3-hour train ride, we set foot in Kyoto station, hip hip hooray! The magnificent Kyoto tower beckoned to us as we exited from the train station. I must say that the train ride was one of the most enjoyable I have taken. Japanese long distance trains are clean, spacious and best of all, you can have your dinner comfortably in the train as every seat comes equipped with a tray in front, like in an airplane.
We made our way to Kyoto White Hotel, which was a short 10 minutes walk from Kyoto station. I had forewarned my friends earlier not to expect too much of this hotel, as it was the cheapest hotel which came with an attached bath that Ms To and I could find. We knew that the hotel wasn't going to be great before we even got to it as it was located in a small dark alley which we almost missed. Here's what greeted us at the entrance....we had to leave our shoes there and wear the red bedroom slippers provided. Very homely indeed!
As soon as we dumped our stuff in the room (which was clean but not inviting enough for us to stay longer), we headed out into the chilly Kyoto night in search of....you got it right....SUPPER!
At a local ramen shop. When we got in, we tried to shift the tables but got a loud tut-tut from the owner. What's worse was when he commanded Ms To and I to move to another table which faced the wall. We suspected he did that because there were 6 of us but we ordered only 3 bowls of ramen.
Day 5: Temple hopping
Fresh new morning: Again, Kyoto tower greeted us as we stepped out of our hotel (or should I say guesthouse). I had a really bad night sleeping on the futon - not comfortable at all plus a certain red dot of light above me was very disturbing.
After a simple but delicious breakfast at Kyoto station, we were ready to set off to our first destination - Kinkakuji or golden pavilion, by bus! Taking buses in Kyoto was a relatively simple process. Just get a 1 or 2 day bus pass which will give you unlimited rides in Kyoto and it comes with a comprehensive bus guide!
Pretty pavilion. If I had taken this photo from another angle, I think I could have captured its reflection. Oh well!
A vending machine that dispenses oracles. As a true supporter of "all-things-inane-but-fascinating", Mr Lee paid some money to get his very own oracle. If you get a bad oracle, you are supposed to tie it into a knot at a designated place. Luckily for Lee, his was a "Very Good" fortune!
We had lunch at a pretty cafe serving hamburgers and pastas. Everything we ordered - spicy cod roe pasta, hamburger with brown sauce, etc was good! Next, we went to the Kiyomizudera temple (water temple), set atop a hill. The walk up was arduous but there were lots of shops selling food, candies and other niceties to distract us.
At the entrance of the water temple. We had difficulty taking a decent photo as there were many visitors and tour groups.
The pavilion below, I think, is the water temple. We didn't manage to get to it as it was quite a long walk from the entrance and we were all so tired from walking....
Such pretty nooks and crannies are aplenty in Kyoto. Here, we tried to take some "wedding" style photos. Ms To and Tyre doing the "I'm-coy-and-you're-macho" thing.
Mr Lee and I doing the "we're-in-our-rosy-little-world" pose. I kept sifting through my photos to find a decent shot of the Vongs but ended up laughing so much 'cuz the poses were very unnatural...haha.
This is something that we are very fond of doing wherever we go. Taking our own reflection in the mirror.
Day 6: Himeji castle and Shinsaibashi shopping in Osaka
All too quickly, we had to leave Kyoto. I wish we had more time in Kyoto as I love the place for its serenity and quaintness. The next time I go, I'll be sure not to stinge on hotels - I'll go all out and stay at the Granvia Kyoto!
Our next destination was to Himeji castle. On our way there, I spotted this cute retro bus! This made me happy :)
Every photo you take in Himeji is postcard material - it's that scenic.
Himeji castle in its finest glory.
Cute little ice-cream parlor. On our way back to the train station, we passed a 100-yen shop and though we were running late, we refused to pass the shop up. So in we went, shopped frantically and had to run all the way to the train station to catch the train to Osaka (truth be told, we did a lot of running on this trip chasing trains). Thank goodness we made it.
By the time we checked into Comfort Inn @ Osaka, it was already getting late. We went our separate ways to do some last minute shopping and reconvened at Shinsaibashi to have our dinner!
Dinner degustation menu
Crabs in various styles - sashimi, cold and grilled. All tasted divine!
Takoyaki. We asked the guy what's in the ball and he did a really comical "octopus" action. Apparently, the taco-pachi we find in Singapore are variations of the real thing as "taco" means octopus.
Ramen in tonkotsu soup. Delicious with a sprinkling of chopped garlic!
Day 7: Universal Studios
Coincidentally, the Halloween theme was on at Universal Studios. The good people at Disneyland ran the same theme when I was in the US 2 years ago!
The Halloween float parade!
The cool couple with their vintage cars.
I could never understand why people are so fascinated with the carousel. I used to like it as a kid, but I grew out of it as I got older. So it caught me by surprise when all my friends wanted to go on it. Choosing the "animal" to ride on was fun though. There was this sweet little girl riding alone on a unicorn next to me. We were amazed that her parents let her ride alone as she can't be older than 2 years!
We made our way to Kyoto White Hotel, which was a short 10 minutes walk from Kyoto station. I had forewarned my friends earlier not to expect too much of this hotel, as it was the cheapest hotel which came with an attached bath that Ms To and I could find. We knew that the hotel wasn't going to be great before we even got to it as it was located in a small dark alley which we almost missed. Here's what greeted us at the entrance....we had to leave our shoes there and wear the red bedroom slippers provided. Very homely indeed!
As soon as we dumped our stuff in the room (which was clean but not inviting enough for us to stay longer), we headed out into the chilly Kyoto night in search of....you got it right....SUPPER!
At a local ramen shop. When we got in, we tried to shift the tables but got a loud tut-tut from the owner. What's worse was when he commanded Ms To and I to move to another table which faced the wall. We suspected he did that because there were 6 of us but we ordered only 3 bowls of ramen.
Day 5: Temple hopping Fresh new morning: Again, Kyoto tower greeted us as we stepped out of our hotel (or should I say guesthouse). I had a really bad night sleeping on the futon - not comfortable at all plus a certain red dot of light above me was very disturbing.
After a simple but delicious breakfast at Kyoto station, we were ready to set off to our first destination - Kinkakuji or golden pavilion, by bus! Taking buses in Kyoto was a relatively simple process. Just get a 1 or 2 day bus pass which will give you unlimited rides in Kyoto and it comes with a comprehensive bus guide!
Pretty pavilion. If I had taken this photo from another angle, I think I could have captured its reflection. Oh well!
A vending machine that dispenses oracles. As a true supporter of "all-things-inane-but-fascinating", Mr Lee paid some money to get his very own oracle. If you get a bad oracle, you are supposed to tie it into a knot at a designated place. Luckily for Lee, his was a "Very Good" fortune!
We had lunch at a pretty cafe serving hamburgers and pastas. Everything we ordered - spicy cod roe pasta, hamburger with brown sauce, etc was good! Next, we went to the Kiyomizudera temple (water temple), set atop a hill. The walk up was arduous but there were lots of shops selling food, candies and other niceties to distract us.
At the entrance of the water temple. We had difficulty taking a decent photo as there were many visitors and tour groups.
The pavilion below, I think, is the water temple. We didn't manage to get to it as it was quite a long walk from the entrance and we were all so tired from walking....
Such pretty nooks and crannies are aplenty in Kyoto. Here, we tried to take some "wedding" style photos. Ms To and Tyre doing the "I'm-coy-and-you're-macho" thing.
Mr Lee and I doing the "we're-in-our-rosy-little-world" pose. I kept sifting through my photos to find a decent shot of the Vongs but ended up laughing so much 'cuz the poses were very unnatural...haha.
This is something that we are very fond of doing wherever we go. Taking our own reflection in the mirror.
Day 6: Himeji castle and Shinsaibashi shopping in OsakaAll too quickly, we had to leave Kyoto. I wish we had more time in Kyoto as I love the place for its serenity and quaintness. The next time I go, I'll be sure not to stinge on hotels - I'll go all out and stay at the Granvia Kyoto!
Our next destination was to Himeji castle. On our way there, I spotted this cute retro bus! This made me happy :)
Every photo you take in Himeji is postcard material - it's that scenic.
Himeji castle in its finest glory.
Cute little ice-cream parlor. On our way back to the train station, we passed a 100-yen shop and though we were running late, we refused to pass the shop up. So in we went, shopped frantically and had to run all the way to the train station to catch the train to Osaka (truth be told, we did a lot of running on this trip chasing trains). Thank goodness we made it.
By the time we checked into Comfort Inn @ Osaka, it was already getting late. We went our separate ways to do some last minute shopping and reconvened at Shinsaibashi to have our dinner!
Dinner degustation menuCrabs in various styles - sashimi, cold and grilled. All tasted divine!
Takoyaki. We asked the guy what's in the ball and he did a really comical "octopus" action. Apparently, the taco-pachi we find in Singapore are variations of the real thing as "taco" means octopus.
Ramen in tonkotsu soup. Delicious with a sprinkling of chopped garlic!
Day 7: Universal Studios
Coincidentally, the Halloween theme was on at Universal Studios. The good people at Disneyland ran the same theme when I was in the US 2 years ago!
The Halloween float parade!
The cool couple with their vintage cars.
I could never understand why people are so fascinated with the carousel. I used to like it as a kid, but I grew out of it as I got older. So it caught me by surprise when all my friends wanted to go on it. Choosing the "animal" to ride on was fun though. There was this sweet little girl riding alone on a unicorn next to me. We were amazed that her parents let her ride alone as she can't be older than 2 years!
3 comments:
i so enjoied reading this...am looking forward to other posts on lake kawaguchi and hakone if you are going to post them :D
Yes will post them in time to come...hee :) Stay tuned!
hahahahha i still rem the red dot thingy. so funny ah you miss laky. hahahahaha
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