This morning we checked out of Sanga before we went about our sightseeing.  We were changing to Matsui Honkan, another ryokan nearby that night.  We were late in our booking and many ryokans were already fully booked.  Sanga was only available for 2 night.  We had to book another ryokan for the third night.  But while surfing the net subsequently, Matsui Honkan became available.  It had good reviews so we switched.  Later on a cheaper room at Sanga became available for the third night too.  But we decided to stick with Matsui Honkan since it had better reviews than Sanga.

We took a taxi to Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion). As mentioned in my last post, Ginkakuji is modeled after Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion).  My Japanese friend tells me that the Japanese prefer Ginkakuji as it is simple and less opulent.  Despite its name, Ginkakuji is not covered with silver.  One of the many sayings is that moonlight reflecting on the temple’s exterior when it was previously covered in lacquer gave it a silvery appearance.

Ginkakuji, The Silver Pavilion

While Kinkakuji has a pond garden in front of it, Ginkakuji has a rock garden.

Rock Garden of Ginkukuki

Just outside Ginkakuji is the beginning of the well known Philosopher’s Walk.  The cherry blossom here was beautiful despite heavy rain the day before causing many flowers to drop.  The ground was full of fallen flowers.  I can imagine how impressive it must have been when the trees were filled with the flowers.  The path follows a canal which is lined by hundreds of cherry trees.  This is another one of the city’s most popular hanami spots.

Along the canal along the Philosopher’s Walk  there were side lanes which one can venture to explore the smaller temples.  We did not do that as we already had a long day planned ahead.

Philosopher’s Walk

At the other end the Philosopher’s Walk which is about 2km long is Nanzenji.  Nanzenji is a huge temple complex with many sub-temples.  Nanzenji is also one of the most important Zen temple in Japan.

Nanzenji & its subtemples

The Hojo is the former head priest’s residence and Nanzenji’s main hall.  It is famous for its rock garden.  Also highly regarded are the paintings on the sliding door.

Hojo, Nanzanji

At the back of Nanzenji is an Auaduct.  We went up the aqueduct and took a left.  Walking to the end of the aqueduct, a trail leads off to the right to the Keage Incline.

Aquaduct, Nanzenji

The Keage Incline is another popular hanami spot in Kyoto.   We were greeted by a stunning row of cherry trees lining an abandoned railway track.  There were many couples in traditional wedding garb taking their photos there.  They looked beautiful in their kimono with the cherry blossoms as a backdrop.

Keage Incline, a popular Hanami spot

Walking along the bottom on the Keage incline along the canal brought us to a giant tori gate. Walking through it we arrived at the Heian Shrine.  The back garden of Heian Shrine has a grove of late blooming cherry trees.  When we were there, the flowers were still buds and not fully bloomed yet.  By this time, I was really hungry and tired and not really interested in the sightseeing.  I want my food!

Heian Shrine

Leaving Heian Shrine. I ran into the first cafe I saw.  I didn’t care if it was just simple curry rice and udon!  I want to eat.  But I must say the dessert here was pretty good!

Lunch at a café outside Heian Shrine

After the quick lunch we continued walking to Yasaka Shrine through Maruyama Park.  We walked pass the giant weeping willow which we saw on our first night in Kyoto.  By now, 2 days and a heavy downpour later, the tree is almost bear.  So glad we came that first night.  Yasaka shrine was small and many people were praying and making their wishes.  We just lingered for a while and head off to Kodaiji which has a rock garden consisting of a large field of raked gravel meant to represent the vast ocean.

Kodaiji

By now I am a little templed and gardened out!  Yet another rock garden and I am starting to not be able to tell them apart!  But I must say the best was still the rock garden at Ryoanji we saw the day before.

Exiting Kodaji, we headed towards the streets of Higashiyama.  Just when we walked several meters down the busy street, I spotted a Hello Kitty Cafe on the right!  I must go,  I am so tired and lunch did not fully satisfy me and hey it’s cute Hello Kitty!  I am not really a Hello Kitty fan, but hey, I’m in Japan!

Traditional Kyoto sweets and tea & Hello Kitty Saryo

Hello Kitty Saryo serves Japanese sweets and teas in addition to proper meals for lunch and dinner. It is like a combination of traditional Japanese teahouse and Hello Kitty.  I am so happy to be able to have my afternoon tea of traditional kyoto dessert and tea. All orders came with touches of Hello Kitty or Dear Daniel.  Several large Hello Kitty dolls were seated at the tables between guests and “accompany” us during our meal. The cafe has large full length glass windows that look into a Zen garden decorated with Hello Kitty garden ornaments. Really cute.

I enjoyed my tea break here tremendously. A truly cutesy way to take an afternoon break and enjoy the Japanese sweets and dessert that Kyoto is great for. After this break, I was re-energized and ready to take another temple, Kiyomizudera, our last temple of the day.

The shopping street of Higashimaya was really interesting. I had to stop to browse and DH had to hurry me along so that we get to Kiyomizudera before they close for the day. I told myself we will come back after the temple visit.

Streets of Higashiyama

Streets of Higashiyama

Kiyomizudera is one of the most celebrated temples in Japan. It’s name literally means Pure Water Temple. This temple is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Kiyomizudera

Kiyomizudera is best known for its wooden stage that juts out from its main hall, 13 meters above the hillside below. The main hall and stage of Kiyomizudera was built without nails. The stage affords visitors view of the numerous cherry trees and maple trees below. During Sakura season and autumn, when the hills are covered in Autumn colours, Kiyomizudera is opened at night for spring or autumn illunination. The set photos of Kiyomizudera is taken from across the stage. Kiyomizudera is under renovation by stages. We were lucky that the wooden stage was not affected at the time of our visit. So before you visit, do check the status of the renovation to avoid disappointment.

The wooden stage of Kiyomizudera

Behind Kiyomizudera’s main halls is the Jishu Shrine, a shrine dedicated to the deity of love and matchmaking. Devotees write this wishes on wooden plates and hang them up.

Jishu Shrine, Kiyomizudera

The Otowa Waterfall at the best of the main hall is considered lucky. There are 3 streams for different wishes and devotees and believers drink from it. I did not try as there was quite a crowd.

After we left the temple, we walked back to the streets of Higashiyama. But at that time, the temple has closed to day visitors and the Visitors coming for the night time illumination was coming in. I felt like I was swimming against the tide. There were so many people in the streets, we just hopped onto the nearest taxi to escape back to our ryokan.

We went back to Sanga to collect our backs and walked about 5 mins to our next ryokan, Matsui Honkan. Upon arrival at Matsui Honkan, we were served a welcome tea and snack before being shown to our room. We were told that their a a public bath on the ground floor. Not a hotspring bath through. This is a small hotel style ryokan rather than family style. Thus less personal.

Welcome tea & cake @ Matsui Honkan

Our room was small but adequate and our little balcony had a pretty decorated zen garden. Even the bathroom has a window opening to a mini zen rock garden. Very nice touch. Bathroom came with a tub for Japanese style bath. I was too lazy and tired to get to the public bath and decided to soak in the tub in our room instead. It was heaven after all the walking that day.

Room with mini zen garden in the balcony @ Matsui Honkan

Dinner was served in our room. It was of course any multi-course Kaiseki dinner. Food was good and quite refine as I would expect of kyoto style Kaiseki. Not disappointed. After dinner they came to clear the table and set up our futons. They were very thoughtful and left an origami bird on each of our pillows. I slept so well that night.

Kaiseki dinner at Matsui Honkan

The post South West Japan Sakura Trip, Day 5 (Kyoto) appeared first on Mums Travels.

We woke up early again to go to the water front.  We had better luck that morning and had some blue sky.  Tomonoura was an old fishing port.   Up to today, it is an operating port town.  It is situated at a bay facing the Seto Inland Sea.  It is still an endearing old fashioned fishing townscape.

Tomonoura

The symbol of Tomonoura is Joyato Lighthouse which was built during the Edo Period.  The eleven meter structure stands prominently at the waterfront directly south of the town center.

Tomonoura.
Bottom right : Joyato Lighthouse

Then it was back to the ryokan for breakfast.  It was as usual, Japanese breakfast.  I love the dry seasoned fish that they served.  You heat it up over an open fire pot.  Yummy!  Since Tomonoura is a fishing port, they served a lot of dried and fresh seafood in their meals in Keishokan Sazanamitei.

Seasoned dried fish for breakfast @ Keishokan Sazanamitei

After breakfast, we took the first shuttle bus out to Fukuyama.  We had reserved our Shinkansen ticket from Fukuyama to Okayama the day before.  The Shinkansen ride to Okayama was about 20 mins.  At Okayama station, we deposited our bags in the coin locker and took the Higashiyama tram to Korakuen.  Tram ride was about 5 mins.  There is a short walk from the tram stop to the entrance of the garden.

Korakuen is one of the top 3 gardens of Japan.  Korakuen is a beautiful landscape garden and Okayama’s main attraction.  Sakura was at its peak in the garden that day.  It was a Saturday and we saw many young couples taking their wedding photos.  They were very sporting and even posed for us.

Couples taking their wedding photos under the Sakura trees

From Korakuen garden, you can see Okayama castle.  The scene with the castle in the background and cherry blossoms in the foreground was awesome!

Okayama Castle, View with Korakuen

Weather was beautiful and flowers in full bloom.  Many people were picnicking in the garden that day.  I chanced upon a lovely elderly couple having a picnic under the cherry blossoms.  I hope that DH and I will also have such opportunities to share such quiet moments when we grow old.  Aren’t they sweet?

An elderly couple enjoying Hanami @ Korakuen

Outside Korakuen there is a canal and the cherry blossoms along the canal were beautiful too.  Many people who did not want to pay the entrance ticket to the garden were picnicking along the beautiful canal.

Along the canal outside Korakuen

After the garden visit we went back to the train station to take our train to Himeji.  There was a queue to reserve the seats on the Shinkansen.  We should have reserved our tickets from Himeji to Kyoto later that afternoon too, but we forgot to do that and had to queue an hour later at Himeji station to do that.  The trains from Okayama to Himeji were so full that DH and I had to be seated in different carriages.

The train ride from Okayama to Himeji was about 30 mins.  We bought ekibento from the station and ate our lunch on the train.  Every Shinkansen station in Japan sells Ekibento which you can buy to eat on the train and each station normally has a special bento that is only available in that station. Okayama was the place of the folklore of the Momotaro Peach Boy.  So the special ekibento at Okayama station is in a peach shaped box.

Okayama’s special Ekibento in a peach shaped box

Upon arrival at Himeji, we deposited our bag at the locker in the train station.  We needed to move away from the entrance of the Shinkansen exit to find an available locker.  The lockers near the Shinkansen exit were all full.  As we forgot to reserve our late afternoon tickets to Kyoto earlier, we had to do it here.  Himeji was so busy, we waited up to an hour to do that.  I kicked myself for not doing it earlier and having to waste a precious hour here.  Our JR pass allowed us to take the Sanyo Shinkansen only.  That line stops at Osaka.  From Osaka to Kyoto, it is the Tokaido Shinkansen line.  So if we wanted to go on to Kyoto on our free pass, we need to change to the local trains at Osaka.  We didn’t feel like doing that, so we topped up for a Shinkansen ride from Osaka to Kyoto.  It cost about SGD70 for both of us (~¥3000 each) for that short section! I felt so good to have utilized my free pass these few days and having made my monies worth.  Without the JR pass, transportation cost would have been horrendous.  Anyway, after we have settled our tickets, we took a taxi to Himeji castle.  We did not fancy the 20mins walk up slope.
It was the first weekend that Himeji castle was opened to the public after it was closed for extensive renovation.  So the whole place was very crowded and full of people.  It was an amazing sight to see such a huge sea of people at the open space in front of the castle having their cherry blossom picnic that Saturday.  Himeji Castle is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Himeji Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

The queue to go into the main castle keep was very very long.  We must have spent more than in hour queuing to get in.  Frankly there is nothing much inside and I don’t think it is worth the time spent.  The garden of Himeji is very beautiful and I would have been better off spending more time there.  There are some side halls where there are no queues.  I suggest going there to have a look at the garden through the windows of those rooms.

Himeji Castle in Spring

After our visit we decided to walk back to the train station.  It was an easy downslope walk.  Probably faster to walk than take a bus or taxi as traffic was terrible.

At the station we bought a box of strawberries wrapped with mochi for snack on our ride to Kyoto.  The Shinkansen ride to Kyoto took less than 1 hour.

Strawberries wrapping in Mochi

At Kyoto station, we decided to take a taxi to our ryokan, Sanga.  This was our most expensive ryokan, but not the best.  We paid JPY56,0000 per night for room and dinner and breakfast.   It was one of the ryokans with rooms left when we searched and is located near a subway station, review was decent so we took it.  It turned out ok and good was quite good but definitely not worth JPY56,000.

And in case you are wondering, yes, our bags arrived at Sanga earlier that day before us and the ryokan owner had put it aside for us.  Luggage transfer service in Japan is really fantastic.  By the way, the owner of Sanga does not really speak English but makes an attempt to communicate with a translation app on his mobile.  But we managed somehow.  The young lady who served us during meals spoke decent English.

We probably paid for the most expensive room in the ryokan. That was probably why it was still available when we booked. It is on the second second floor and is not just one room but comes with a smaller ante room for dressing.  Our meals were not served in our room, but in a private room on the ground floor overlooking the garden.  Dinner was again Kaiseki.  It was good, but not as refine as what we had at Kinsuikan.

Kaiseki dinner @ Sanga, Kyoto

After dinner we decided to head out to Maruyama Park for the night time illumination.  Maruyama Park is a public park in the Higashiyama district well known for its giant weeping cherry tree.  The weatherman had forecasted rain the next 2 days so we wanted to go that night when weather was still good.

Giant Weeping Cherry Tree, Maruyama Park, Kyoto

Maruyama Park is one of Kyoto’s most popular Hanami sites during the Sakura season.  There are food stalls set up in the park where you can just get a snack and eat along the way.

Food stalls in Maruyama Park, Kyoto

For those wanting a sit down meal, they even have make shift “restaurants” with tables set under the cherry trees for you to enjoy your meal or drinks. Due to the popularity of the place, there is a min spent required.  The place is packed, but with some patience and watchful eye, we managed to snag a table and was able to enjoy our sake leisurely under the cherry trees.

Nighttime Hanami @ Maruyama Park, Kyoto

After our sake, we left Maruyama Park and took a short walk to the nearby Gion, hoping to catch some Geisha in action.  But alas, no such luck!  The Geishas were all probably at their parties already by then.  After a short stroll,, we caught a cab back to our ryokan.  We were dead tired after the long day.

Gion @ Night

The post South West Japan Sakura Trip, Day 3 (Okayama, Himeji & Kyoto) appeared first on Mums Travels.

Breakfast this morning was served in the same private room by the pretty Zen garden.  The usual items you find at breakfast, namely grilled fish, tofu, eggs and some pickles.  I like Japanese breakfast!

Breakfast @ Sanga

After breakfast we took a taxi to Kinkakuji.  We could have taken the train and bus but that would have taken us almost 40 mins.  As we have little time in Kyoto, we did not want to spend our precious time commuting.  Taxi cost was reasonable and we got to Kinkakuji in a jiffy.  Taking a taxi also ensured that we arrived early before the crowds.

Kinkakuji, also known as the Golden Pavillon, is a zen temple in northern Kyoto whose top 2 floors are covered in gold leaf.  It used to be the retirement villa of the shogan Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and according to his will became a zen temple after his death in 1408.  It is also the inspiration for the similarly named Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion), built by Yoshimitsu’s grandson, Ashikaga, Yoshimasa.

Kinkakuji is an impressive structure overlooking a pond.  You immediately take a left when you enter the garden to have the best view of the pavilion from across the pond.

Kinkakuji, The Golden Pavilion, Northern Kyoto

We strolled around the compound for a while and then left.  We took bus 59 from opposite the entrance of Kinkakuji to Ryoanji.  The ride was just about 5 mins or so.

Ryoanji is the site of Japan’s most famous rock garden. It was an aristocrat’s villa before its conversion to a Zen temple.  The garden consists of a rectangular plot of pebbles, surrounded by low earthern walls with 15 rocks laid out in small groups on patches of moss.  An interesting feature of this garden is that from any vintage point, at least one rock is hidden from the viewer.  It would have been a perfect place to meditate here if not for the constant stream of unending visitors.

Rock Garden in Ryoanji

We explored the grounds of Ryoanji and found it beautiful with the cherry tress in bloom.  There is a pond at the back with a center island which has a cherry tree is full bloom.  So don’t just leave after visiting the rock garden.

Ryoanji’s Temple Grounds

A few hundred meters from Ryoanji is Ninnaji.  Ninnaji is one of the many great temples of Kyoto and is listed as a UNESCO World Heriitage site.  The temple is also famous for a grove of late blooming cherry trees.  So it you visit a few days after the peak cherry blossom season, you can try your luck at Ninnaji.  Oh, and there were so many ladies walking around in beautiful kimono, I just had to take some pictures of them!

The grounds of Ninnaji, Northern Kyoto

The highlight of Ninnaji is the Goten, the former residence of the head priest.  Built in the style of an imperial palace, the graceful buildings are connected with each other by covered corridors and are surrounded by beautiful rock and pond gardens.  By now, I’m sure you will realise that I was attracted more to the the gardens than to the interiors of the temples and residences.  Somehow I find the interior of the residences very bare (typical of Japanese style).  I have poor imagination and can never imagine what it was like.

The rock and pond gardens of Ninnaji, viewed from the corridor of the former head priest’s residence.

From the nearby Onuro-Ninnaji Station, we could have taken the train to Arashiyama.  But again, lazy us decided to take a taxi to save time.  So we took a taxi directly to Tenryuji in Arashiyama.  It was near lunch time when we arrived at Tenryuji and by then it had started to rain quite heavily.  So we decided to get a simple lunch of Tempura udon and Tempura soba at a small eatery opposite the temple, hoping that the rain will stop by the time we are done.

Tempura soba and tempura udon for lunch @ Arashiyama

Luckily by the time we were done with lunch, the rain had stopped.  So we went to Tenryuji.

Tenryuji is the most important temple in the Arashiyama district.  It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The temple buildings of Tenryuji were destroyed by fires over the centuries, but its garden is still in its original form.

The gardens of Tenryuji

The north entrance of Tenryuji leads directly to the well known bamboo grove of Arashiyama.  The whole place is covered with bamboos growing close together.  Very pretty.

Bamboo Grive, Arashiyama

We took a short walk to the end of the bamboo grove, then doubled back in the direction of Tenryuji and Arashiyama station.  We walked along the main street of Arashiyama towards Togetsukyo bridge, and browsed the shops along the way.

Main Street of Arashiyama

Togetsukyo Bridge is Arashiyama’s most iconis landmark.  It is beautiful during the cheery blossom week.

Togetsukyo Bridge, Arashiyama

The riverside park next to the bridge had dozens of cherry trees.  Absolutely charming.  We stopped by a coffee shop for a cup of coffee before moving over to sit on one of the benches under the cherry trees along the river bank.

Chilling under the cherry trees @ Arashiyama

There were many rickshaw riders at Arashiyama.  DH was initially uncomfortable taking rickshaw rides as it seems cruel to be pulled by a fellow human being.  The rickshaw riders at Arashiyama seems to be mainly young men.  We were approached by many to take a ride.  In the end, it seems their way of making a living and they don’t seem to be forced to do the job, so we took it.  We did a short round along the side streets.  The side streets had quaint buildings and were full of pretty cherry trees too.  We ended our ride at the Arashiyama train station.

Rickshaw ride along the streets of Arashiyama

From the train station, we took the Arashiyama train and changed to the subway to get back to our ryokan.

Back at our ryokan, after a short rest, we were served our dinner in the private garden room.  That night, we had beef sukiyaki for dinner.  We were served sashimi as appetiser before our  beef sukiyaki.  The sukiyaki was delicious.  Beef was very tender.  I had never liked sukiyaki in Singapore where you just put your beef in a sauce pot to cook.  But here, it was done very differently.  The beef are fried over a hot plate and then the sauce which is slightly thick is poured into it.  Not too much, but just enough to flavour the beef.  The cooked beef is then dipped in a bowl of beaten raw egg before you eat it.  Now I know what authentic sukiyaki is!

Beef Sukiyaki for dinner @ Sanga, Kyoto

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