Japan TR (include JL & CX F review)

[boomy]

Next to come is Ryoanji Zen Temple built in 1450 with it's rock and gravel garden built sometime in min 15th century. In the garden there are 15 rocks laid out on a bed of white gravel. No one knows exactly the meaning of this arrangement but it's one of the most famous (dry landscape) Zen Gardens.

 

[boomy]

Last temple for today is also the most beautiful of them all - Kinkaku-ji with it's stunning Golden Pavilion.
This Zen Temple was founded in 1397 but was almost completely destroyed during a civil in the 14th century, just the pavilion survived. Then in 1950 a 22 years old mentally ill monk burned down the pavilion. It was restored 5 years later and large amounts of gold leaf was added over the years until restorations finally finished in 2003.
Entrance to the temple.

The Golden Pavilion reflecting on the lake.

 

[boomy]

I'm sure you already have things planned for Kyoto but it is definitely worth checking out the Nishiki Market. Dinner at Otsuka and drinks at Chez Quadimodo are good too.

Thanks. I was trying to book Otsuka for lunch but they were closed on the day we planned to be in the area. We did go to Nishiki Market. Will update the thread soon with some photos from there.

 

[PLANT]

So any need for radiation suit to visit these places boomy? Is it mentioned as an issue?

 

[boomy]

So any need for radiation suit to visit these places boomy? Is it mentioned as an issue?

It's not an issue in the areas we travel.

 

[boomy]

Time for lunch, we found a nice place to have Soba noodle soup with Tempura.

Rice balls with sweet soy sauce for dessert.

 

[boomy]

Later we went to check out Nishiki Market.

They have so many interesting types of food, all very well presented.
All kinds of sweet things.

Seafood ready to eat.

Chopsticks holders.

 

[boomy]

We continued to Yasaka Shrine located in the end of Kyoto's main street.

It's a nice place to walk around late afternoon and see people wearing traditional Kimonos.

Next we went to look around Gion which is also known as "geisha (or geiko) district".


This are was first developed in the Middle Ages to accommodate visitors to the shrine and these days it's known more as (expensive) dining and entertainment area.

 

[boomy]

I tried to make some bookings for dinner but all the restaurants we were after were already fully booked (this weekend there is public holiday in Japan and Kyoto was packed with locals as well as tourists).
We walked around the narrow alleys along the river looking for a nice place to eat.

We came across this restaurant who also had an English sign. Quick check on TripAdvisor showed good reviews so we decided to enter.

The place was full and lucky one couple just left so we took the only available table. The menu is Japanese a-la-carte and we ordered a few dishes to share.
Three kinds of Sashimi for starters.

Tempura plate.

Sesame seared Tuna.

The meal was good, we were happy with our choice and ready to go and have a few drinks before going back to the hotel.

 

[boomy]

We finished the night with drinks at sake bar.
The missus ordered Plum Sake.

I tried three different kinds of Dry Sake.

It was a small place we found on the way and lucky the owner knew English and was more then happy to explain about all kinds of sake from different regions in Japan and also give us a few complementary tastings

 

[drron]

So any need for radiation suit to visit these places boomy? Is it mentioned as an issue?

We were in Tokyo 10 weeks after Fukushima.The radiation levels in Tokyo then were lower than in Melbourne.
So if you wear a radiation suit in Melbourne.....

 

[boomy]

Day 9
We started our second day in Kyoto with a visit to Kiyomizu-dera (the temple of the Goddess of Mercy), originally built in 778, before Kyoto became the capital of Japan. Like many (or most) temples in Kyoto, this one was burned as well and rebuilt in the 16th century. It's located halfway up a mountain so there is a bit of climb to get there. Being a weekend and also public holiday the streets were packed with tourists.

We took advantage of the many souvenir shops around to extend our chopsticks collection and also enjoy some refreshing green tea ice cream.
Finally reached the entrance with the beautiful Deva gate and three-storied pagoda.


The Main Hall.

 

[boomy]

Coming down from the temple we walked the old narrow streets leading to the main street, Shijo-dori. The reason we went back there was to try the special Kyoto style sushi. Unlike the famous 'edomae' Tokyo nigiri sushi, the Kyoto sushi, or inarizushi, is made with pickled Mackerel. This type of sushi was created because there was a need to preserve the fish once they reached Kyoto.
Izuju restaurant is located just across the street from Yasaka Shrine orange gate. It's operating for 100 years already and makes only different versions of Kyoto sushi.

They gave us to choose our sake cups.

We ordered tasting plate for two with:
Sabazushi - sushi with pickled mackerel.
Hakozushi - "box" sushi.
Mushizushi - steamed sushi.

Modest interior inside with paper walls.

The Kyoto sushi already has all the flavours needed and it's not consumed with any soy sauce or wasabi. Interesting experience, recommended to anyone who visit Kyoto and wants to try something local.

 

[boomy]

We later walked down the Shijo-dori.

Kabuki Theatre.

Last stroll along the river before saying goodbye to Kyoto and continue our journey to Nara.

 

[UpInTheAir:)]

Thanks for the great trop report Boomy
We were in Kyoto last autumn and the views from the Kiyomizu-dera and the Golden Temple over the autumn leaves were beautiful.
I really enjoyed my first trip to Japan and I am enjoying reliving it through your TR

 

[boomy]

Nara
Nara is less then one hour train ride from Kyoto. It used to be the capital of Japan before it moved to Kyoto and today it's mostly famous for the giant bronze Buddha sitting in an huge shrine built especially to host it and the freely roaming deers in Nara Park.
Most people choose to stay on Kyoto or Osaka and take a day trip to visit Nara. That exactly what we wanted to do as well but unfortunately a public holiday fell exactly on the day we planned to go there and all the hotels in Kyoto/Osaka were fully booked or massively overpriced. It meant that we had to spend the night in Nara. No major hotel chains in the city so we decided to save money and stay in a Japanese budget hotel this time. We booked Super Hotel Lohas which was connected to the train station.

This hotel wasn't exactly cheap (~$130AU) but compared to other much higher options it was reasonable. This is relatively a new hotel and it has good reviews online.
Check in is done via vending machine where the guest pay the accommodation fee (upfront) and get receipt with room number and code to open the door.

There is also a proper reception with English speaking staff to explain us foreigners how it all works. Good thing is that everything in the hotel is included in the accommodation price. We got Wi-Fi, breakfast and free use of the Onsen which is open all night.
The room was very small, we could barely find a place to place our luggage.

I didn't take photo of the bathroom but let's say the one on EK F is bigger...
They encourage everyone to wear Yukata.

They offer different pillows selection in case the ones in the room are not comfortable enough. Impressive for a budget hotel.

 

[boomy]

Another good thing about the hotel location (besides being so close to the train station) is the good selection of restaurants near by. We went to a Japanese restaurant recommended by the hotel.

I like this kind Japanese traditional seating that leaves plenty of legroom for talker people like myself.

We had five kinds of sashimi, raw steak and fried miso eggplant.

Both the food and service were very good.
After the meal we walked back to the hotel and spent one hour at the Onsen. It was a relatively small one with only one indoor and one outdoor area. It's already my third Onsen experience in Japan (include one on my first visit five years ago) so I got over my issues of being naked by now. I was very relaxed when when returned to the room and was surprised to see my gf unhappy with her experience. She said too many Chinese in the women area making a lot of noise, completely inappropriate behaviour in Japan. Btw it's not the first time on this trip that we noticed Chinese tourists being loud and behaving in a vulgar way. I hope once they get to travel more they will also learn to adapt to different cultures.

 

[kevrosmith]

Aha... That explains the stay over in Nara. Makes sense now.

Want to know what Chinese tourists are like on a plane... Just take a flight from SYD-CNS. Ugh. Fortunately, they are helping to keep the domestic tourism industry ticking along. However, there's a reason CNS airport have pictures showing how to use a western toilet on the back door of each stall... Shame they don't put the same instructions on the plane. (How on earth do the women get it on the back wall...!? I thought it was only guys that had issues taking aim... )

 

[vitagen]

Omg don't get me started on fresh off the boat chinese

 

[boomy]

While I also had plenty of bad experience with Chinese flying domestic in Australia (they don't seem to know the meaning of priority lines), I always make sure to remind myself how big is their population before getting upset. Considering there are tens of millions of them traveling overseas these days, how can we expect they will all behave properly (especially when so many of them are probably flying abroad for the first time). It's enough to have a "small minority" of a couple of millions that behave badly to tarnish the reputation of a whole nation.