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After spending about 2 weeks in Japan last March, we got addicted to all things Japanese. As part of our trip, we had a mini getaway to Hakone and Kyoto – so here’s the Kyoto bit! I’m hoping that by documenting our trip, we will help other travellers to plan their trip better.

Day 4: Kyoto

We left the beautifully peaceful Hakone to head towards Kyoto. Whilst on board on the shinkansen, we had the opportunity to witness the beauty of Mount Fuji. How glorious! :) People tend to use the word might when it comes to Mount Fuji. You might see it on a good day, they say. Well, either we were lucky or they were being pessimistic, but we had a chance to view Mount Fuji a couple of times on our trip.

Once we reached Kyoto and checked in to the hotel, we made our way straight to the Arashiyama area. But before that, we got a little hungry and decided to make a stop for McDonalds. Because, hey, McDonalds in different countries don’t taste the same right? Well, sort of! They have the ebi burger which I thought was pretty good, but the hubby wasn’t as impressed.

We then took a pretty vintage looking train to go to the Arashiyama area. It went past many Kyoto streets, it was a rather lovely albeit uneventful ride. We reached Arashiyama in no time and was greeted with a very Japanese looking station. Cushion mats for sitting on the floor and all. Sugoiii!!

Now, our first trip to Japan was also our first ever trip together, just the two of us. We’ve had trips to South East Asia and Sydney before this, but never just the two of us. We realised that travelling our way means getting rather lost most of the times! LOL. But we somehow enjoyed it. In saying that, I did promise myself to plan a little more next time, especially if we are going to places that don’t have much English signage.

Arashiyama area is gorgeous. It has that old town feel. I can’t really describe it with words, but I do love the atmosphere… The shops. The ladies in traditional costumes. The men carrying the rickshaws. I wish I had more time to really explore the town a little more, but hey, there’s always next time right! ;)

Our first stop was to visit Tenryuji Temple, which is one of Kyoto’s many UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is the most important temple in this district. When we got there, there was hardly anyone! I think it might be because we went there rather late already. But we didn’t complain of course! This meant awesome photos with just us and the tranquil surrounding. I’m not going to say much, so I’ll let the photos speak for themselves…

We then made our way to the Bamboo Forest, not too far from Tenryuji. Hundreds and hundreds of bamboo trees greeted us and I became trigger happy! LOL. There were a few people here and there, but still relatively quiet, which was just wonderful.

After walking for a while through the Bamboo Forest, we decided to walk back to Saga Arashiyama station to take the train back to Kyoto station. We still have a long night ahead of us, so we thought that would be a wise thing to do!

It was getting dark by the time we reached Kyoto station. We walked past Kyoto Tower and since it’s a famous landmark, I took a photo of it. Tadaaa!

It was now dark. But the reason why I chose to spend a day in Kyoto was because I knew our visit coincided with the light festival Hanatouro at Higashiyama. Here’s the description from the Hanatouro website:

Approximately about 2500 lanterns decorate the 5 km walking path that leads to the foothills of Higashiyama Mountain. Enjoy the striking charms of Kyoto streets. Faint lights that beautify the store fronts, soft lights that reflect off the stone pavements, lights swaying amongst the trees, white and earthen walls. The Ikebana Promenade together with the paper lanterns invite the visitor to an enchanting world.

We started our journey from Yasaka Shrine and just followed the lanterns pathway… There were plenty of street side snacks, and we enjoyed yummy takoyaki for our “dinner”.

I personally enjoyed the light festival a lot. I’m not a big fan of walking aimlessly, but walking along the lit pathways, with the buzzing sounds and the colourful flower decorations… I was more than happy to do so.

And yes, the ikebana was rather impressive!

There were also street performances by students. This particular one was a dance performance that was very Japanese. I couldn’t understand what they were yelling, but it was art, so language barrier didn’t matter too much!

Oh and for dessert, we stopped by at *surprise surprise* the ice cream shop for an icy cold soft serve treat! It was a cold night, but we couldn’t help it. We tried the brown tea mixed with tofu, it was delicious!

Here’s just a photo to remind me of the date when we visited. It was the 16th of March 2012. I remember it clearly because the next day would be my birthday! :)

We walked and walked and walked until we were back on the main street of Gion area.

And of course, because our dinner was just takoyaki and ice cream, we had to devour more than just that! So we stopped by at MOS Burger. Yes, it was a day of fast food and street food…

After our meal, we walked all the way back to our hotel near Shijo station. It was a long walk and I was knackered by the time we reached the hotel. But luckily, we knew the next day would be a rest day…

Our one day adventure in Kyoto was really memorable because of Hanatouro. I would encourage you to visit Kyoto during one of the Hanatouro light festivals, usually held in March (Higashiyama) and December (Arashiyama)!

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Note on the type of travellers we are: The hubby loves to just walk around and immerse himself into the culture, getting lost in the process and tasting local foods. I, on the other hand, love photography and I love people watching. Oh and I’m a keen observer of all things kawaii. We both appreciate the beauty of nature, but are more the type who love big cities and the hustle bustle. Castles and temples won’t make us go WOW! as much as Kit Kat in different flavours.

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The rest of the days of our March 2012 Japan trip:

• Day 1: Tokyo Disney Sea, Urayasu
• Day 2: Tokyo (rest day)
• Day 3: Hakone
• Day 4: Kyoto
• Day 5: Kyoto and Kyoto (rest day)
• Day 6: Tokyo – Harajuku, Yoyogi Park, Akihabara
• Day 7: Tokyo – Shinjuku
• Day 8: Tokyo – Ikebukuro
• Day 9: Tokyo – Imperial Palace & Shibuya
• Day 10: Tokyo – Odaiba

Do you plan your trip around festivals and events? Share some of your travel stories with me…