(Map) Kansai Airport->Kyoto Station (113 km, 1 hour 45 mins)
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Arigatou again to all who sent me off at the airport!
The flight left on time and felt surprisingly less cramped and more spacious than the previous flights that I had taken to Japan (probably because of the 2-3-2 configuration on the Osaka flight compared to the 3-4-3 one to Tokyo).
At the airport, the first thing to hit me was the fresh, cold air! And also that I had to stand on the right on escalators (an Osaka thing). Got through immigrations quicker than I expected (less than ten minutes – including the now-compulsory fingerprinting) and went straight to buy my bus ticket to Kyoto Station (2300yen), dumping my luggage in a queue of luggage that had already formed before checking out the unexciting arrival area a bit.
The bus left at 8:00 on the dot (as do all buses and trains here) but I arrived half an hour late at Kyoto due to heavy traffic. Thank god for Chika who surprised me by waiting at the alighting area, beacuse I was to find out for myself that I probably wouldn’t have made it to the hotel on my own – Kyoto Station is a huge underground maze! We waited for Miya at in front of the JR entrance before proceeding to leave my luggage at my hotel (3 min away on foot).
Okay based on my previous visit, I didn't expect Kyoto to be so CROWDED - it was not unlike Orchard Road during Christmas! Weekend sightseeing crowd?
We headed straight for Ginkakuji (500yen admission), which was unfortunately undergoing “maintenance and repair works” (all we saw of the silver pavilion was it being covered in construction work) so we strolled around the garden area (with the Zen raked gardens) and the other smaller shrines. We passed the Path of Philosophy, which would look a lot prettier if the cherry blossoms had bloomed.
Sho met us at the Hankyu station before we went for an obanzai lunch (880 yen), which I’d say is similar to our cai fan – choose three dishes to go with rice, pickles and miso soup. It was good, filling and healthy.
Walking past rows of shops selling souvenirs and food (tsukemono – pickles, high-end umeboshi, etc.) and entering some for free samples, we made our way to Asaka-jinja and Chion-in, before taking the bus back to Kyoto station to check out the denshijisho (electric dictionary) available at Bic Camera. The cooler and more expensive ones (40,000yen~) allowed you to watch TV and write kanji with a stylus, but I decided on getting one online (if I were to get one) instead as it’d be cheaper (at the advice of Meiping and Miya).
Asaka-jinja
Only ONE tree*seemed*to have blossomed...
Kamo-gawa that runs through the heart of Kyoto
Strolled through Gion for the atmosphere, then it was off for a short karaoke session (1.5 hour, 1150yen/pax, unlimited drinks)! Where the three of them displayed their vocal prowess with songs by Utada Hikaru, Boa, Otsuka Ai and Avril Lavigne. Their song catalogue is amazing, judging by the number of English songs available and some were really quite new (Maroon 5’s “Won’t Go Home Without You” anyone?). Chika, Miya and Sho were really good – must have been in part due to the loads of practice too!
Unexpected - loads of English songs!
We had a late dinner opposite the karaoke joint – Sho was craving for kaisen-don (which initially I wasn’t in the mood for because it’s just raw seafood on rice), but it turned out to be really delicious and satisfying! I had minced tuna, sweet shrimp and salmon on hot rice (760 yen), which was so good (topped with wasabi-laced shoyu) that I think couldn’t stop smiling while eating. 本当においしかった！The others had more exquisite uni and scallop (from 980 yen).
After getting back to the hotel I tried my best to lay my futon by picking and choosing from various mattresses inside the oshiire (closet). Hope I did it right wahaha. We walked A LOT today so it wasn't hard for me to fall right asleep...
Day 2 updates when I can!
