Japan Diaries 2: Day 5

August 29, 2018

Day 5 May 21, 2018

Kyoto Adventure (Day 2)

We woke up to yet another beautiful day here in Japan. The weather is great, perfect for our planned activities for today.

To familiarize ourselves with the place where we will live for another three days, our plan for today is to have a walking tour around Kyoto Station which is quite near our place. I told my wife that she should be prepared to walk the whole day and I'm happy that she agreed. (Well that's one less problem for me).

The Kyoto City Bus Passenger Station

< On a side note, my wife has been planning to meet up with Gil, her long-time Filipino friend who happened to have settled in Kyoto City after marrying a Japanese. However, it was a challenge for us to coordinate our moves with her as we did not avail of any pocket WIFIs or roaming numbers for our mobile devices. Regardless, we'd get to meet Gil as the story progresses... >

Well, well, well... Look at what we have here!

We left our Air BnB residence early so that our energy won't be quickly drained by the heat of the sun. Based on our itinerary, our first destination would be Toji but it opens at 8:30AM and it's just 6:30AM. Hence, we looked for a place to eat some breakfast first.

While on the hunt, we passed by the Kyoto City Bus Passenger Station. I got to buy my daughter two days' worth of Kyoto City Bus One-day Pass. (My wife and I already bought ours yesterday).

My meal in Yoshinoya

Look who enjoyed her meal.

We continued on our way to Toji still looking for a place to eat breakfast. I was a bit frustrated as I did not include a "where to eat" section in the itinerary but it seems like good fortune was on our side today as there was very familiar signage a few blocks away from the bus passenger station... Lo and behold, it's a Yoshinoya restaurant! Of all restaurants, it was one of the Japanese restaurants that my wife and I frequent in the Philippines (oh and did I mention that it was her favorite).

Toji's Kondo as seen from Nandaimon gate

Our visit was perfectly (accidentally) timed with the Kobo-Ichi

After a hearty meal, we proceeded to Toji and arrived there almost half an hour after it opened (yup, we ate that long). I included the temple on the list as it's one of the 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Kyoto. We happen to visit on a special day as the temple grounds were transformed into a flea market. This flea market is locally called "Kobo-Ichi" after the famed monk Kobo Daishi. It was quite tempting to purchase something but the large crowd was draining our energy.

Toji's famed 5-story pagoda

Time for a picture!

After getting my goshuin, we proceeded to see the temple's famed Toji five-story pagoda which is one of the National Treasures of the temple. We had to pay 500 yen per person to enter its "special" area where one can see the picturesque Hyotan Pond and have a closer look at the pagoda. I was awestruck upon seeing its famed pagoda personally. I can't believe that I was seeing the pagoda with my own eyes as I had been googling about it a lot of times in the past. After checking out the "special area", we decided to rest a bit near the ticket office before leaving Toji. To our surprise, there was FREE WIFI. My wife got the chance to communicate with Gil and we finalized our plan to meet her at Umekoji Park which is 1.2 kilometers away.

The map of Umekoji Park

Killing time, in front of the Kyoto Aquarium

Ella and I went hunting for monuments.

After walking for 20 minutes or so, we arrived in front of the Kyoto Aquarium in Umekoji Park. Since we arrived first, Ella and I went monument hunting at the Kyoto-Umekoji Area. It was like an I-Spy game promoted by the local tourism office of the city. We managed to locate several of these small monuments (using the map of the said activity that we got in the Kyoto Aquarium). Gil and her son arrived a few minutes later and after a brief catch-up chat, we decided not to go inside the Kyoto Aquarium and just explore Umekoji Park instead.

Let's eat at Kobushi Ramen restaurant

Kobushi Ramen's Ramen

Itadakemasu!

We allowed the kids to play in a nearby playground for some time. We were then invited by Gil to her home which we gladly accepted (as it was freaking hot and humid already). Before, going there, we ate ramen for lunch at Kobushi Ramen (restaurant). Gil's place was about 20 -30 minutes away by foot. While walking to her home we found out that each bus stop is equipped with free WIFI (something that would surely be helpful in the following days). Going to her home was really a good decision as we got to rest and improve our itineraries for today and the following days.

Let's go ride on the historic Randen

Welcome to Arashiyama Station

Tenryuji

That afternoon, we decided to head to Arashiyama. We rode the Keifuku Randen from Sai station to Arashiyama Station. We paid 230 yen pax but our children were free because they were below 5 years old. Upon arriving at Arashiyama Station, we walked a bit until we reached Tenryuji which was another UNESCO World Heritage Site of Kyoto City. Sadly, I was not able to fully explore it and get a goshuin because it was already closed when we arrived, but then again, I was able to take photos of most of its important infrastructures.

Checked out the famous Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

Team Nicerio visits Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

We soldiered on as it was getting dark already. Onwards we walked and continued our stroll to our main objective... Arashiyama's famous Bamboo Groves or the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. The good thing about visiting on an afternoon of a weekday is that there were only a handful of people around. There were times when we felt that the place was exclusive to us.

Arashiyama Park Kameyama Area

The picturesque (and very clean) Oi River

Checking out the Oi River

Next time we'll try to ride the Arashiyama tsuten...

... and the ebisuya

The historic Togetsukyo Bridge

After passing through the Bamboo Forest (where most of the tourists are) and walking several minutes inside the Arashiyama Park Kameyama Area, we found ourselves at a cemented pathway beside the banks of the Hozu River which is also called Oi River. There were some Arashiyama Tsusen (traditional boats) parked along the river banks and some Ebisuya (rickshaws) that were parked along the road. After several more meters of walking towards the main road, we saw the Togetsu-kyo Bridge which is the landmark of Western Kyoto's Arashiyama District for over a hundred years. We didn't cross it though but instead walked back to the Keifuku Arashiyama Station because it was already late in the afternoon. While waiting for the train, we got the chance to check out the Kimono Forest in the station vicinity.

Strolled in the Kimono Forest

Checked out the Pond of the Dragon

We enjoyed the day thanks to our friend Gil

We agreed to meet Gil again the following day and bid her and her two kids "mata ashitane" as we separated ways at Sai Station. A few bus rides later, we were back home too.

Riding the Randen back home...

Overall, it was a jam-packed day. I felt quite accomplished as we have visited two UNESCO World Heritage Sites today and several other famous tourist destinations. I can't really hide the fact that I'm very excited about tomorrow as our itinerary would bring us to more UNESCO World Heritage Sites.