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The original was posted on /r/japantravel by /u/AdhesivePolarBears on 2024-12-02 07:34:49+00:00.
20th - 25th January 2024 Kyoto
25th - 26th Hakone
Just thought I'd share my experiences no matter how repetitive/basic just in case it comes in handy for anyone. I travelled with my husband and caught up with 3 other friends while in Kyoto. Please feel free to ask any questions and if you have any feedback for anything we missed/shouldn't have done then please let me know because we're planning a second trip!
See previous post for Osaka
Hotel:
- Hotel Forza Kyoto Shijo Kawaramachi - Very comfy stay. Great amenities including a free sake every evening.
- The Machiya Kamiumeya - A traditional aesthetic hotel closer to Gion with tatami and futons
- Suiun - Ryokan in Hakone
Weather: It unexpectedly snowed while we were here! If it wasn't for illness getting in the way of our plans we definitely would have gone straight to the Golden Pavillion for a beautiful view of it capped with snow.
Something we missed on purpose: Arashiyama - from reading posts on this sub it felt like it took up a large proportion of the day, felt rushed and just wall to wall with tourists doing it for the sake of hitting all the must do spots. We also had plans to go see the snow monkeys in Nagano. For this reason we decided to skip it and enjoy a slow paced few days here. But we didn't really experience large crowds while we were in Kyoto during our dates so I wonder if this was a mistake to miss out on. We are travelling back here in November next year and I'm in two minds on whether we make the point to go.
Day 1:
- Traveled from Osaka and dropped our bags at the hotel
- Nishiki market 12:00pm - a decent amount of people walking through but easy to walk without being squished. No crazy lines for food.
- Croquettes from Hanayori Kiyoe 10/10
- Marion Crepes 10/10
- Fish cakes from Houkyuuan 4/10 - probably really good and as you would expect but it was the first time we ever had non-Thai fish cakes and we didn't enjoy them
- Yataai Mura STALL VILLAGE - got a 100 yen sake and regretted it, straight alcohol isn't for me. This place looked amazing and I wish we ate here but at the time we were full. There were stalls selling grilled seafood and tempura!
- Walked around the area finding small temples
- Checked into our hotel and headed back out to explore the shops around 4:30pm
- Nintendo store: got an obligatory photo in front of the giant mario head. There was an attendant there taking photos for people. Notable purchases;
- Blind bag collectable magnets featuring the old game covers
- Yoshi egg bathbomb featuring a mystery coloured yoshi inside
- Disney store, Edion - admiring all the different tech
- Pokemon store: Exclusive Kyoto Pikachu plushie in a sweet little kimono!!
- Tokyu hands: Dragon ball uno - unique rules! Ono 99 - a fun game! (We had also purchased pokemon uno in Osaka which also had unique rules)
- Stumbled upon an underground cave styled restaurant that served unlimited lemon sour on tap. Yakitori was very nice but the drinks were a big mistake. We didn't realise how strong they were until it was too late. Lets just say til this day I still can't stomach Yakitori or lemon sours.
Day 2:
- We had already written this day off as a hangover day so we had low expectations
- Enjoyed McDonalds in bed for lunch and tackled the laundry
- Headed to Shijo-dori in Gion around 5pm - The stores closed at 7pm from memory.
- Notable purchase: Chopsticks engraved with our names in both English and Kanji. Probably one of the best souvenirs we bought. Also had fun picking out unique novelty chopstick rests.
- Hanamikoji dori - Absolutely beautiful to walk through as the sun was setting, only a few other people there
- Yasaka shrine: 6pm - sun had completely set and the temple was lit up and absolutely stunning. There were a handful of couples walking around but I wouldn't say crowds so it was really peaceful. We walked around the grounds until we were starving.
- Dinner: Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu Gion Yasaka 6:30pm 12/10 - We randomly came across this place and it was the best 'stumble in' no plan dinner we had the entire trip. Tender beef katsu with a variety of dipping options including onsen egg which was my favourite.
Day 3:
- Fushimi inari: 7:30am - Only a handful of people on the way up. We weren't feeling too good so we were only there for half an hour and didn't walk up too far.
- Breakfast: Walked around the area but nothing seemed open at the time (8:30am) Found Cafe goo. I can't even remember what I had so I wouldn't say it was very notable. But I do remember it was run by very lovely women and it was cosy.
- We didn't expect to be back so early so we decided to walk around Gion without a map.
- Kennin-ji - 9:30am - we were the only ones there. It was peaceful and beautiful.
- Yasaka Koshin-do
- Hokan-ji - 9:45am - maybe a handful of people but we were able to get some nice photos without anyone in the way.
- I think the stores along the Sannen-zaka path only opened at 10:00am so we were able to enjoy the walk without the crowds
- Once they opened we got some more engraved chopsticks and a set of very decorative tea mugs
- Snack: Croquettes from Kikakuan okamoto Sanneizaka 10/10!
- Walked down Ninenzaka and spent another hour getting lost
- Lunch: My pet peeve on this trip was eating fast food and wasting opportunities to eat regional exclusive dishes! But travelling with a bunch of boys we ended up doing this quite a bit. KFC today and it wasn't even good.
- Shopping
- Daishodo Japanese Woodblock prints - found this store and loved looking at all the prints
- Husband bought a few Dragon Ball figurines and they were the cheapest prices we found compared to Osaka and Tokyo
- Onigiri - I can't find where it was but picked up some freshly made onigiri from a store and it was incredible!
- Ochanokosaisai Nishiki - Got a sample of rice with their furikake - SOLD - bought two packets and regret not getting more. It is the most tasty furikake I have ever had. Exclusive to this store as far as I'm aware
- Round 1: a good place to have some fun while you wait to work up an appetite
- Dinner: Kairikiya - Ramen 8/10 with a side of gyoza and fried rice 10/10. Cheap too!
- Dessert: Strawberry sandwich with custard and cream from 7-eleven - 7/10 Super fun but I feel like i'd enjoy it more if the bread was sweet too
Day 4: Nara day trip
- Breakfast: Egg sandwich from 7-eleven 10/10 still dream about these
- Had a hard time making it to Nara this day getting lost in the train station and missing the direct train. Hopped on another train that terminated at a random station in the middle of nowhere and then had to buy a limited express ticket to finally make it to Nara
- Caught the mochi pounding demonstation - 11:00am - wasn't a huge line. The mochi was so fresh and warm but no one in our group enjoyed the flavour
- We were stopped by a group of lovely older ladies who wanted to practice their English with us. This happened quite often on our trip
- Got a sweet potato from a vendor around the park. It was nice and warm but not sweet and didn't have much flavour at all. Note: The signs are priced 200 yen per 100g (I think?) and we were lined up behind a man who argued with the lady for a long time thinking it was meant to be 200 only.
- I'm not sure if this is all throughout the year or just because it was winter but a lot of the deer looked quite skinny and malnourished, lots had balding patches in their fur, broken antlers and cataracts or missing eyes. It was quite a shock and unsettled me.
- Todai-ji - beautiful
- We walked around the park for maybe 2 hours before heading back to Kyoto
- Lunch: Famichicki and some onigiri 10/10
- We stopped at Kyoto station and explored. Got a lovely view from the skyway including some incoming snow!!
- Snack: Mister Donut - kind of stale 4/10
- Dinner: Niigata Katsudon Tarekatsu - 8/10 pork cutlet set meal with very salty pickles
- Dessert: Naruto Taiyaki Honpo - 10/10 piping hot custard is always a great treat on a freezing cold night
Day 5: Hotel transfer day
- I went to get some 551 Horai takeaway from Daimaru and on my walk it started lightly snowing and did so for the rest of the day! This was an amazing surprise as we didn't expect to experience snow until our stay in Hakuba.
- Breakfast: 551 Horai - 12/10 Pork buns and gyoza - this was my second time having them (went to Osaka first) I didn't have them enough, they were so juicy and the flavour is unlike anything I have had before.
- We checked out of our hotel and used their luggage forwarding service to send our two suitcases to Tokyo as we were spending 1 night in Gion and the following night in Hakone. This was a simple process and the receptionist phoned the Tokyo hotel for us to confirm everything. I could be wrong but I think it was $24 (AUD).
- Bought a sturdy tote bag with a cute shiba wearing glasses from a vendor in Shinkyogoku.
- We had to go to a separate check in location for our next hotel which was located near Kyoto station. They gave us instructions on how to then locate and enter our accommodation.
- Lunch: Katsudon from a restaurant in Kyoto station 12/10 delicious! I'm not sure what the correct name is because we had issues finding this in Japan. Back home Katsudon is rice with chicken katsu, sweet onions and an egg scrambled over top. In J...
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