Shrine a little light on me

 Our last full day in Kyoto required an early start. We began with a bus ride to Nijo Castle where we spent several hours exploring the fortifications, the beautiful gardens, climbing the remains of the keep tower, and touring the palace.

  

 

Most fascinating thing we learnt today - nightingale floors were not deliberately made, they grew that way from wear and tear.

Most of the screens and paintings in the palace were reproductions, and as with other heritage buildings we have visited in Japan, it remained mostly unfurnished. So while you don't really get to see a slice of daily life, you can see the bones of the builing. While I appreciate the architecture I DO like to get an idea of the rythmn and rituals around how people actually lived then.

Exhasted and hungry again next stop was lunch and Matt was VERY happy when we happened to walk past a brew pub he'd read about. I enjoyed their home made lemon drink but the chirashi sushi was decidedly ordinary, however, Matt said his smoked bits and bites were delicious.

 

On the way to our next stop we visited a street shrine before going to the Samaurai and Ninja Museum and Experience - good fun as well as educational. You were able to get up close to real suits of armour and handle reproduction weapons. After the museum tour, an interactive session where you got to try throwing shuriken and dressing up.

  

Late in the afternoon was a train ride to Fushimi Inaria Taisha to see the famous 1000 Tori Gates. Despite the crowds you were able to walk as far as you wished through the gates.

   

Back to Omiya station we dined on another local specialty, Okonomoyaki. Not a favourite dish of mine as there is lots of cabbage and bulldog sauce - but it was nice to get a lot of vegies!

Kombini special of the day.

My deer, we're in Nara.

Nara was Japan's first permanent capital between 710 and 784 CE. Less than an hour from Kyoto, the train to Nara was very crowded (standing room only) but we made it and got excellent advice from the visitor information centre on which bus to catch and where to get off and on to see the main sites in the park. They also provided a map and marked out a suggested walk for us as well as warning us the deer could be quite insistant on getting their biscuits!

 

 The deer really do bow to you.

A lovely stroll through the forrest brought us to Kasuge Taisha Shrine and its beautiful lanterns.

The walk then took us past the grassy Wakakusayama Hill, once an imperial palace site. We decided not to try for the summit! It was further than it looks in the photo.

  

 

  

Next we explored the Todaiji Temple grounds which gave a splendid view over the surrounding countryside. The park is simply enormous and it was getting very crowded so we decided we'd petted enough deer and seen enough shrines for the day and made out way back to the bus stop + train to Kyoto.

Some housekeeping (ie laundry) and then an evening stroll to find dinner. We ended up at a Korean BBQ (even in Japan there are not a lot of choices at 8.30 on Sunday night) where we enjoyed boneless wagyu short ribs in plum sayce but the kim chi and pickled vegies were also tasty and zesty!

Still in capitals - Kyoto

 The morning was spent on walking around Nishiki Market where I enjoyed looking at all the food stalls and we both enjoyed a few tastings - but the only item purchased was chilli powder by Matt! 

We walked to the Gion district. We planned to eat the local specialty at a restaurant I found in the Bib-Michelan Guide. Kanesho was at the end of an alley and difficult to find. Only one dish was on the menu, fresh water eel. Honestly not my thing but I didn't hate my dish of grilled eel served with rice and omlet. Sitting at the counter and watching the chefs prepare our meal which started with oishinken and finished with a dashi broth was a great experience.

 
  

We took some down time in the afternoon before returning to Gion for a twilight stroll past the Kabuki Theater, the famous laneways and bridges lined with weeping willows, and yes, we did see a geiko on her way to an appointment but as she was in one of the alleys they request you not to photograph - I have no photo.

 

We then walked to Yasui Konpiragu love stone and shrine where we did see someone make his wish and climb through the hole in the stone (depending on the direction you crawl through you could be asking to break off a bad relationship or find a new one), and finally the famous pagoda.

 

After we had looked at the pagoda from all possible vantage points, we walked back to the street where a bus took us directly to Omiya station where we dined at a traditional sushi bar, Hiyoko Sushi Restaurant. Again, no English spoken but we were welcomed to sit and enjoy. 

Squeezed in between happy Japanese groups we ordered a range of sushi and watched it being prepared. It was much more simple than an Aussie sushi train, allowing the flavours of the bite sized morsels to shine without mayo or glazes. No wasabi. Beer, saki, or shoju to drink.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped in again at Azukiya where they welcomed us like long lost family members. We didn't quite hit 20k steps today, thank goodness for the Kyoto bus pass! 

Snacks anyone?  Dear Haagen Dazs, please bring this ice cream to Australia! And the kit kat haul included Sakura, Orange, and Peach flavours

 

A capital old place - Kyoto and Himijei Castle.

 We decided to base ourselves in Kyoto for several days and after a late start we arranged to leave our big bag at the hotel until our return to Tokyo, and caught the Shinkasen from Shingawa. Once I figured the ap out it was easy to purchase our tickets as we arrived at the station. Nearly lunchtime so we had the exciting experience of choosing bento boxes for snacking. 

About 45 minutes into our journey we finally saw Fuji-San. Not the best photo but at least recognisable despite being taken as we were wizzing past at 300-odd km/hour

Mount Fuji

Bento on the train

We found Kyoto busier and more crowded than Tokyo was, and the understandable resentment some locals have towards the tourist hoards was sometimes apparent. It was an easy bus ride to our hotel and we were glad we only had small carry on cases with us because of the overcrowding. 

Kombini snack of the day was a strawberry sando. Sounds weird but was light and tasty! Matt decided izikaya was the dinner of choice and said he'd found a bar with a great reputation. Found it on google that is, because actually FINDING it was quite the mission in the labrynth of  tiny alleys.

Mission Achieved!

A small room with space for maybe a dozen people belly up to the bar it was deserted when we entered but was soon full. We were the only tourists and were looked after by the owners and another guest who managed the karaoke bar upstairs. The food was amazing. Housemade kimchi. Deep fried oysters. Huge butter scallops. Chicken thighs. And all washed down with a dry sake (and beer). Adding up to the princely sum of Y5600 we decided it was a great experience and only a block or so from the main street.

Back to our small but well thought out hotel room we planned our next few days adventures.  

The next day was forecast to be a lovely 30 degrees as we caught another Shinkasen to Himeji to visit the famous White Heron Castle (as featured in numerous movies). The castle was simple to locate, you could see it as you exited the station. A wonderful restoration with the pathway to the castle itself winding through gardens with the last of the cherry blossoms still blooming. Once we reached the main keep it was a one way trip through the no-shoes-on structure up six staircases (which got narrower and steeper as you progressed). On our descent I took some of the backwards like climbing down a ladder! 

Amazing craftmanship and a beautiful space. Also it was MUCH more comfortable looking than a stone European structure of similar age! We then visited Koko En Gardens and I particularly enjoyed the water features. We were suprised to leanr it is a modern garden constructed in the Edo style as it looks as though it has been there for ever.

 

By the end of about 5 hours walking feet wanted a rest! So we caught a bus back to the station and while we had intended to take the local train back to Kyoto it was a long wait so we decided to get the next Shinkasen due in 10 minutes.

Final adventure of the day was shopping in Don Quiotje before dinner in one of the many restaurantes under the station.

I'm not sure what I just tasted but I think Matt captured what I thought of it!

Other Kombini snacks today - the famous egg sando and a banana crepe which had an actual banana in the middle. Cheaper than buying a piece of fruit.  Kit Kat flavours both based on drinks - match and milk tea.