Japan Day 4: Journey To Kyoto, Fushimi Inari Shopping Street, Amazake, Kyoto Imperial Palace, Nishiki Market

We rode the Shinkansen to Kyoto and made the mistake of getting on the Nozomi train, which our JR Pass doesn't cover. We only heard the announcement 30 seconds before the train departed, so we got off at the next stop, and then got on the Shinkansen Hikari instead. I like that the train we were on, on one side, there was a gentleman reading manga, and on the other, a gentleman watching anime.

We ate our konbini bento as I waited for Fuji-san to show itself. r/JapanTravel told me that I would get a view of Mt. Fuji if I sat on the right side, seat E, right after the tunnels, and there Mt. Fuji was. Sometimes, the Internet does not lie. I was so grateful for the clear skies. Even if Fuji-san wasn't snow-capped, seeing it was still wonderful.

We walked to our AirBnB, and passed by this area by the water that looked straight out of an anime. When we got to our amazingly located AirBnB (5 minute walk from Fushimi Inari, Fushimi Inari Station, and Inari Station), we found out that Fushimi Inari is 1.) massive, and 2.) that it's surrounded by shops and there's a street that's just food stalls. We didn't have Fushimi Inari scheduled for this day, but we explored the shops, and area a bit.

We then head over to Kyoto Imperial Palace. We joked that it was incredibly safe since anyone who wanted to attack the palace would give up immediately because walking through all that gravel (under the heat) was hell. We are now the proud owners of calves of steel. We also found some Amazake from the vending machine near our AirBnB (something we wanted to try from watching TabiEats). We forgot to shake it but regardless, it was terrible, and it made me want to cry.

We then head over to Nishiki Market to consume many small food items: Octopus, pregnant fish on a stick, oyster, sea urchin, kobe beef, takoyaki. And purchase many small omiyage (souveniers to bring home) items: chopsticks, kyobaum, nuts, kitchen towel, handerchief, dog biscuits. We traveled home to enjoy our AirBnb which looked like a traditional apartment, with complete amenities, and died in bed. Jetlag comes for everyone.

(Complete album of photos here)

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Japan Day 6: Nara Deer Park, Kasuga Taisha Shrine, Todai-ji, Dotonbori, Namba Yasaka, Osaka Castle, Shinsekai

We travelled to Nara, early morning, and walked across the giant forest park to Kasuga Taisha shrine (and was not prepared to climb up stairs again), and met (and were screamed at) by many deer along the way. We fed them cookies, and prompty ran away when we didn't have any more to give them because they definitely do eat any dangling straps or clothing. When they ask for cookies though, they're very polite, and they bow at you! We passed by what seemed to be the central area, as there were a ridiculous amount of tourists running around harrassing deer, and being harrassed by deer. Good on you, deer. It's good that the deer can defend themselves. We saw different kids of deer. Cute, spotted, female ones. Teenage bucks play fighting. The younger ones don't seem as used to humans quite yet, and Moose got head-butted by what seemed to be the Boss Deer. We then went to Todai-ji to visit the Great Buddha. He's massive! There's a colu...

Japan Day 7: Mt. Kurama, Kurama Onsen, Ramen Factory Kyoto to Make Ramen

We began the day with breakfast, and a lovely travel to Mount Kurama where one of the trains we rode had seats facing the window. Had we gone to Japan a little later, I'm sure the foliage would've made for a beautiful train show. When we got to Kurama Station, we knew the truth: it was freakin' hot, and humid. Getting to the mountain was easy peasy, but getting up the mountain made me want to die. Eventually we got to the main temple, patted ourselves on the back, and decided we needed to reward ourselves by going to Kurama Onsen, so we took the cable car down and saw the devastation of what I'm assuming was from the recent typhoon. We walked to Kurama Onsen, and thought how strange it was that it seemd like the town was still asleep at 11:00am. At Kurama Onsen, a gentleman helped us press the appropriate buttons for a ticket, towel, and hand towel (that we could take home). The onsen was gendered, so we gave ourselves 45 minutes to simmer ...

Japan Day 1: Asakusa Temple, Kanda Myojin Shrine, Akihabara, Harajuku, Shibuya

We begin our adventure to Japan. We flew Singapore Airlines, and I really hyped them up to Moose because I knew they had amazing food and service. We had Japanese meals on the flight! Curry and soba noodles! We landed in Narita Airport at around 7, activated our JR Passes and took the JR line to the nearest station to our hostel, Bakurochou Station. The train floors are so clean. We stayed at Planetyze Hostel . Very cool AirBnb. They have events going on on the main floor. One night was movie night and they were showing Howl's Moving Castle (in English!) We woke up at 5:30am as we were very excited to see Japan. Out first stop was Senso-ji and Asakusa Shrine. We purified, and prayed. We got our omikuji. I got The Best Fortune while Moose got Bad Luck Fortune and I tied it up on the rack for him. It was really nice seeing the area without people, and seeing the locals start their day. It was very quiet. I found myself whispering when I spoke. We experience...

12 Days In Japan

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