Japan (Part 4): Kyoto

Kyoto

Before visiting Kyoto, my impression of the city came from animes like Rurouni Kenshin, where it’s depicted as a quaint little city with traditional Japanese architecture and geishas and the like, but to my surprise, the city is extremely modern and large. While shocking, Kyoto was still my favorite city to visit due to the numerous attractions I’ll go more into detail below (stay tuned, it might be a long one). Protip: Stay at least, 3-4 days as we stayed only 3 days and felt there was so much more to experience!
Where we stayed:

While this isn't exactly where we stayed at, many of the streets looked similar. Again we did Airbnb which worked out perfectly for us, even if it was a short 15 minute hike from Kyoto station. If you’re worried about safety in Japan in general, we stayed in a more residential area that was pretty empty and eerie at night, but I felt completely safe walking around, even when walking through a dimly lit park at night (thanks to google gps…) During our whole trip, I never felt in danger so don’t worry too much about that.

What we did:

As mentioned before, Kyoto was my favorite city because it’s brimming with sightseeing opportunities, some you shouldn’t miss, some I’d want to visit again!

Fushimi Inari Shrine:

Famous for its thousands of orange torii gates, I won’t go into too much detail as the photos showcase the shrine’s atmosphere, but don’t think the photos do the actual experience of walking through the numerous gates any justice. It is a completely different and enlightening experience to witness it in person. There’s a reason Fushimi Inari is many tourists’ number one landmark to visit, and it did not disappoint. One recommendation is to visit early in the morning, we’re talking 6 or 7 am because the crowd is sparse and being able to saunter up the mountain and take everything in at your own pace made the visit even more magical. Also being able to get pictures without people in the background makes for a better instagram post!

On our journey back down at around 11 am, the crowd of tourists was insane and you can barely walk without bumping into someone, so do yourself a favor, visit early in the morning, you will not regret it!

Arashiyama:

This area in western Kyoto is a little out of the way, about 45 minute bus ride from Kyoto station, but visiting and seeing the lush bamboo groves is a must! You will understand why it has been a popular destination for over a thousand years. The bus dropped us off right on the river close to numerous shops and restaurants. As we walked across the Togetsukyo Bridge in the fall, we admired the warm, vibrant foliage that line the river’s shores.

Imagine going there in during cherry blossom season, usually during early April, actually, imagine visiting anywhere in Japan during cherry blossom. Next visit... 

The main attraction was taking a stroll through the massive bamboo grove. With bamboo stalks reaching up to 30 meters in height and surrounding you on both sides, this path is something not to miss, even if it rains like when we visited. The light drizzle enhanced the serene atmosphere and thinned the crowded out.

Even though we dressed up in kimono and yukata the previous day, we were jealous of those who were lucky to get the bamboo forest as their backdrop for photos. After the bamboo grove, we toured the Tenryuji, a Zen temple of utmost importance, that also has a tranquil garden. One can only go to so many temples and shrines before they begin blending together, but this one was memorable.

One extra activity that we skipped but has been recommended by friends was the Iwatayama Monkey Park which has cute little monkeys roaming around.
We ended the afternoon with some coffee (for andy) and ice cream (for me)!

Eastern Kyoto:

Higashiyama District & Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Gion District & Yasaka Shrine, and others

Bring your comfortable walking shoes (or just tough it out for the gram if you rent geta, traditional and not so comfy Japanese shoes) to the eastern side of Kyoto because there are a ton of sights to see that are all relatively within walking distance. We didn’t hit all these places in one day, but it might be doable with some better planning… Anyways, the main thing for us was the Kiyomizu-dera Temple, and simply put, the temple has views for days. Built to incorporate the Otowa Waterfall, whose water is said to increase longevity, increase career success, or better your love life depending on which you choose, a visit to this temple and surrounding area will not disappoint. It is another great place to rent kimonos and yukatas like we did.

We rented from Okamoto Kimono Rental, which is located on one of the main streets in the Higashiyama District that leads up to Kiyzomizu-dera Temple. For around $40, you can rent some fancy clothes for the entire day and transport yourself back into the feudal area. And for an extra $10 you can also get your hair styled complete with a kanzashi (flower hair clip) of your choice.

The Higashiyama District look and vibe was more what I was expecting when visiting Kyoto because of its traditional Japanese architecture and streets that have been preserved to resemble the past. Take your time walking around and visiting the shops and make sure to visit Yasaka Shrine, which is on the outskirts of the Gion (geisha) district, and a sight to see when it gets dark because the many hanging lanterns are lit up. If going in the summer, the Gion Matsuri festival is one of the most famous festivals and happens at Yasaka Shrine.

When you head towards the Gion district to the west of Yasaka Shrine, you might catch a glimpse of an actual geisha walking around in the early evening when the lanterns hanging from the shops start lighting up. The district is jam-packed with restaurants, bars, and sights to visit during the day and during the night. Walking further to the west, you will hit Nishiki Market, one of the largest and busiest shotengai, shopping street, in the city. The market consists of numerous small shops and food stalls flanking a small center walking path and is one of the best places to try Kyoto’s excellent street food. Our motto was, ‘If it looks good, it probably tastes good,’ and that motto usually never failed.

Food:

Ok, maybe our motto didn’t always work because in Kyoto, we didn’t have many memorable meals. Maybe we just choose the wrong places because I’m sure there are tons of excellent food choices. One place we did enjoy was called Nakau. Open 24/7, Nakau is the perfect place for a quick, cheap meal. You order at a vending machine and the food quickly comes out. We actually dined here twice because of the variety. Many restaurants in Japan are very specialized with one type of meal, but here you can get anything from Udon, to Uni-don, to curry, so it would be great for a larger group of differing taste buds. Not so much to recommend here, but if you are having trouble deciding, check out the massive Kyoto Station and the surrounding malls, one of which has a Ramen floor with dedicated to different types of ramen (which we discovered the day we left sadly) and multiple food courts.

Those are our highly recommended sights and areas to visit, but Kyoto has so much more to offer, some of which we had to skip due to time constraints, such as Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavillion), Nijo Castle (closed when we visited sadly), and the Philosopher’s path, to name a few. I can’t wait to visit again!

Bonus:
CAT CAFE. Yes. For all you cat lovers! Andy was allergic so I went alone but had a blast...