Being Allured By Honshu - Day 3

            Dragging myself out of bed at 4.30 a.m. and wrapping myself up warmly, I accompanied Derrick to catch the 5.17 a.m. train to Fushimi Inari Shrine. I usually do not leave my warm bed to follow him on his sunrise pursuits but I do not trust him to navigate his way to the right destination using public transport. Despite it being so early in the morning, there were already commuters making their way around Kyoto Station for their respective trains. And when we arrived at Fushimi Inari Shrine, we were not the only crazy photographers.
        The way in and up were lit up, which was handy so as to not stumble and fall. However, Mr. Photographer grumbled that it interfered with the natural light that he was seeking. Hence, his photos did not turn out the way he desired. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable early morning outing.

Mr. Photographer hard at work

        After the sun had come up, we returned to our hotel for some warm coffee and a snooze. Later, we crossed over to Kyoto Station to catch bus no. 17 to Ginkakuji Temple (The Silver Pavilion), alighting at the Ginkakuji-michi bus stop. We must have missed the turning to the temple as we entered the Philospher's Path instead.  This stone path by the canal earned its name when Nishida Kitaro, one of Japan's most famous philosophers, used this path to commute daily to Kyoto University and practised meditation whilst doing so. Feeling slightly peckish, we popped into Coffeeten Sagan, one of the many eateries along the Philosopher's Path.  Adorned with antiques and paintings, this cafe seems to be run by an old couple. We had some sandwiches and coffee, which were quite nice.

Queuing up orderly for the bus outside Kyoto Station

Requesting to stop at Ginkakuji-michi

Meeting bears on the way

And befriending the bears

Philosopher's Path

Brunch along the Philosopher's Path

        We later paid a visit to Honen-in Temple (法然院), a quieter yet charming Buddhist temple. It's unique because of its moss-covered gate and sand mounds. We did not linger long because we wanted to move on to the more famous Ginkakuji or Silver Temple (銀閣寺), a Zen temple built by the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa in 1482. It was his retirement villa but was converted into a temple after his death. There was an admission fee of ¥500. It was a small price to pay for such a delightful place, with stunning fall foliage.

Lovely autumn colours outside Honen-in Temple

Iconic moss-covered gate of Honen-in Temple

Stunning autumn colours at Ginkakuji

Tranquil spot at Ginkakuji in spite of the throngs of tourists

        Leaving the temple, we found many shops and food stalls along the streets to cater to the visitors. We shared some yummy custard puffs ( ¥500 for 6) as well as the most exquisite steamed premium Kyoto beef buns (¥450 each). The steamed buns or pau were so soft and the well-marinated beef slices were tender and juicy.

These custard puffs really melt in the mouth!

Got the custard puffs from this stall just outside the entrance of Ginkakuji

Nikuman or steamed beef buns

Keep your eyes peeled for this menu or you'll miss the tiny shop

        We caught the bus (no. 100) to Gion, Kyoto's most famous geisha district. We got down at a stop just outside the Yasaka Shrine but we did not venture in as we were in Gion for another famous landmark - the Yasaka Pagoda. There were several food stalls outside Yasaka Shrine and we were allured by the aroma of grilled beef. So we got ourselves a skewer of grilled beef with lemon sauce and another skewer with barbecue sauce (¥500 each). Yum!

It's all about beef!

Indulging in beef skewers at Yasaka Shrine

        It took some wrong turns but we finally located the beautiful five-storey Yasaka Pagoda, nestled protectively amongst many narrow streets. The entire area has been capitalising on tourism as many of the old houses had been transformed into shops, eateries and machiyas (traditional Kyoto townhouse-turned guesthouse). Wandering around the area, trying to survey for the best spot to capture Yasaka Pagoda, I really love this ancient area and the nostalgic feeling it lent. We also got ourselves burger boiled pork (stewed pork sandwiched between a steamed mantou) - ¥450 each. It was so hot that I had to juggle it from one palm to another to avoid burning myself, but it was incredibly tasty.

Look out for this street sign and turn left. 

After meandering around some small streets, Yasaka Pagoda comes into sight.

Stumbled upon this yummy burger boiled pork along one of the streets

Malaysian lovebirds and the Yasaka Pagoda

        After getting enough of the 49-meter-high pagoda and marking in our minds the spot to return to for the next day's sunrise photos, Derrick and I returned to Kyoto Station via bus no. 206. With that, we had almost fully exhausted the amount that was pre-loaded in our ICOCA cards, leaving behind a mere ¥10. We could, of course, top up the amount and continue using our ICOCA cards. But after some deliberation, we decided we were better off purchasing a one-day bus pass (¥600 each) for the subsequent day's use. We also bade sayonara to our Hello Kitty and Thunder Gods as we returned our ICOCA cards at the JR-West ticket office at Kyoto Station to redeem our ¥500 deposit. Whilst at the JR-West ticket office, we bought the Limited Express Thunderbird train ticket to Kanazawa for 30 November (¥6900 each). Reviews had said that the trains to Kanazawa were usually not full and it would be all right to buy on the day of departure, but we decided to play it safe by purchasing in advance.
        For dinner that night, we headed for Kyoto Ramen Koji (Kyoto Ramen Street) on the 10th floor of Isetan, Kyoto Station. Kyoto Ramen Koji is like a ramen theme park with different ramen varieties to delight even the most finicky eater. Everything looked good to us, but we finally settled for Bannai Shokudo, which served the Kitakita ramen, ranked 2nd of the 3 top ramen varieties in Japan. Their noodles are thick, chewy and curly, and their tonkotsu pork soup is flavoured with sardines and soy sauce. Derrick's choice (¥1420) was a large bowl of chashu ramen, broiled chashu pork rice and an ajitsuke tamago (soft-boiled egg marinated in a sweet and salty soy-based sauce) while choosing the Lady's Set (¥800) freed me from the hassle of deciding between goodness and more goodness. My Lady's Set consisted of a smaller bowl of Kitakita ramen with chashu and crunchy bamboo shoots, a tiny bowl of absolutely flavourful broiled chashu rice, an ajitsuke tamago and 3 pieces of tasty gyozas. Upon leaving the shop, I took note of the name of the shop as I was keen to give it a good review in TripAdvisor.

Derrick was in porky heaven!

My very tasty Lady's Set

Being Allured By Honshu - Day 2

        A good night’s sleep truly works wonders. The bed at Japaning Hotel LiV Ranrokaku was really comfortable and I woke up well-rested and rejuvenated. Derrick came back from his sunrise pursuit, happy with his shots of Arashiyama’s Bamboo Grove, and was ready to join me for breakfast that was provided by the hotel. The friendly receptionist soon knocked on our room door to deliver our breakfast boxes, which consisted of a medley of rice, tofu, tamago (fried egg), pickles, mochis (Japanese sweet rice cakes) and goodness-knows-what-they-are.

Literally having breakfast in bed

        We checked out early but left our luggage at the hotel so that we could still go out and explore Arashiyama. Tenryuji Temple and its beautifully-landscaped Sougenchi Garden were what we had in mind. The ¥500 admission fee was a small price to pay for the stunning momiji (Japanese maple trees) that offered endless photography opportunities. We were truly in autumn wonderland.

Tenryuji Temple (天龍寺) was built in 1339 and is now registered as a World Heritage Site.

Its gardens are beautifully landscaped and the vibrant autumn colours are a real delight.

Autumn Wonderland

I was behaving like a Happy Snappy Jappy.

        Our hotel receptionist helped us to call for a taxi (¥820) to take us to the Saga Arashiyama station where we made use of our ICOCA cards for the very first time. A simple tap on the reader at the entrance gates was all we needed to do; it certainly saved us the trouble of fiddling with the ticket machines. We soon found ourselves back in Kyoto Station (¥240 deducted from the ¥1500 amount in the ICOCA card). Although Kyoto Station is enormous, locating the right exit to get to our hotel was not difficult because of the homework I had done on the Internet beforehand.
        Hotel Hokke Club Kyoto is conveniently located just opposite of Kyoto Station and I’m really glad I decided to stay here after weighing many other possibilities. Although it was too early for us to check in, we could leave our luggage at the hotel and were free to start exploring Kyoto. To nurse our rumbling tummies, we headed for JR Isetan inside Kyoto Station. We were keen to try 551 Horai’s butaman (steamed pork buns) and shumai after reading about them in a blog. The stall is located in Basement 2, JR Isetan’s Food Paradise. Oh my! They were indeed delicious!

Long queues in front of this 551 Horai stall is a norm

Food replicas on the shelf to help customers point out what they want when language is a barrier

Derrick also ordered these amazo-dango (meat balls in sweet and sour sauce)

        From Kyoto Station, we made an 8-minute journey on the JR Nara Line local train to get to Inari Station (¥140 deducted from ICOCA card). We were there to visit the awe-inspiring Fushimi Inari Shrine, an important Shinto shrine in Southern Kyoto and was also one of the locations featured in "Memoirs Of A Geisha". It is famous for its 10,000 vermilion torii (traditional Japanese gate), which lead the way into the wooded forest of Mount Inari. Walking past these endless orange columns and climbing the 12,000 steps evokes an exhilarating feeling and can be equated to a good gym workout.

Fushimi Inari Shrine (伏見稲荷大社) is just in front of the Inari Station

Each of these torii was donated by individuals or companies.

This shrine is dedicated to Inari, the Shinto God of rice.

Lovebirds at Fushimi Inari

Tugging the bells

       

Sunset colours in the sky as we were leaving Fushimi Inari

        After we had our fill of the attractive gates, we headed back to Kyoto Station. Knowing that it's brimming with eateries, we decided to take advantage of that. We explored the 11th floor of JR Istean and finally picked Mollette for dinner. Derrick ordered an omelette rice paella with five kinds of mushrooms and two additional Vienna sausages, while I conveniently had a bit of everything in my Ladies' Set - salad, au gratin with small shrimp and bacon, sautéed salmon, fried scallop, omurice (rice wrapped in omelette, similar to Malaysia's nasi goreng pataya), dessert and drink. Our dinner came up to ¥3294 for both of us.

For people who have a hard time making up their minds on what to eat, the Ladies' Set comes to the rescue.

My omurice with seasoned cod roe sauce (¥1620)

Derrick's omelette rice paella

My yummy green tea cake and orange juice

        The two lovebirds strolled up to Kyoto Station's Sky Garden after dinner to enjoy night views of Kyoto and then descended the long flight of steps that were illuminated with Christmas lights, whilst enjoying the Christmas carols that were being played and the huge Christmas tree that was beautifully decorated. Christmas appears to be an integral part of life in Japan, despite Shinto and Buddhism being the two major religions in Japan.

Dancing lights on the steps

Seeing a Christmas tree always brings a smile to my face

Kyoto Tower all lit up

        Back at the hotel, we found that female guests are given the privilege of choosing 2 gifts from a wide array of Ladies' Presents. I chose 2 packets of Yuzu Bath Powder so that Derrick too could enjoy a relaxing soak in the bathtub. I really love these little luxuries that Japanese hotels provide. Hotel Hokke Club Kyoto also has a water dispenser at the lobby, from which we can obtain hot and cold jasmine tea, premium green tea as well as my favourite houjicha tea. Needless to say, that thrilled me to bits.   😍

Presents to delight the ladies

The water dispenser with my favourite houjicha

Being Allured By Honshu - Day 1

        Ohayogozaimasu! Our Cathay Pacific flight touched down at Osaka’s Kansai International Airport at 6.20 a.m. and our 2-week adventure in the Land of the Rising Sun began. Clearing customs and immigration was a breeze. Next, we made our way to the JR West Office located at the Kansai Airport train station. We needed to get our pre-booked ICOCA cards and discounted Haruka tickets (¥2000 for ICOCA and ¥1600 for Haraka). This was a very good deal; otherwise a Limited Express Haruka ticket from Kansai to Kyoto costs ¥2850

My sweet Hello Kitty  & Osaka Castle  ICOCA card...chose the Wind & Thunder Gods design for Derrick

Helpful info to assist travellers

After passengers alight from the Limited Express Haruka, cleaners get in to clean the carriages.

On board the Limited Express Haruka No. 6 to take us from Kansai Airport to Kyoto Station

The cold yet tasty pork cutlet sandwich

        Whilst waiting for our 7.55 a.m. train, we popped into a 7-11 kiosk on the platform to grab pork cutlet sandwiches (¥368 each) to be eaten during our 80-minute journey. And that was our simple, convenient yet tasty first breakfast in Japan. Punctuality is really something we Malaysians need to learn from the Japanese. The train departed right on time and arrived at Kyoto Station at 9.34 a.m., as scheduled.
        Instead of exiting Kyoto Station, we transferred to the JR Sagano-Sanin Line to board another train bound for Saga-Arashiyama Station. Our Haruka ticket enables us to travel all the way to Saga-Arashiyama for free. It seemed like Arashiyama was on everyone’s agenda because the train was packed with visitors headed there. The station and streets of Arashiyama were extremely crowded, making our task of lugging our luggage to our accommodation a rather difficult one. Fortunately, we managed to locate our Japaning Hotel LiV Ranroukaku, albeit with a few wrong turns. We were warmly greeted and it was a pleasant surprise to find our room ready for us even though we had checked in ahead of time. Unlike many Japanese hotel rooms which have hardly any room to swing a cat around, our room was spacious and comfortable.

Tourists exiting the Saga-Arashiyama Station in droves

        Trying to find a spot for lunch was also difficult as there were hordes of people milling around and long queues outside restaurants. We were drawn to a tiny cafe along a small side street. It sure was nice to sit by the counter and watch our yakisoba (fried soba noodles) and negisaki (a kind of Japanese pancake) being cooked.

Yakisoba, Japan's answer to our chow mien

Adding bacon to the negiyaki, a thin savoury pancake

Appetising yakisoba ready to be served to us

Our negiyaki with lots of bonito flakes

        After lunch, we wandered around Arashiyama, ooh-ing and aah-ing at the glorious koyo (autumn-coloured foliage). We just could not get enough of the vibrant colours, and were mighty glad that we had arrived in Arashiyama at the peak of the koyo season.

Red sky

My darling and I with the glorious autumn leaves

Blending in with the momiji (red maple leaves)

        Arashiyama’s famed Bamboo Grove, on the other hand, was a bit of a letdown. It was a struggle jostling among the horrendous crowd, and we could not wait to squirm out of it. Derrick returned the next morning before sunrise and it was way better. However, it still was nothing much to shout about.

The not-so-idyllic Bamboo Grove

Nonomiya Shrine near the Bamboo Grove

        We got ourselves some snacks and ice cream to eat whilst weaving around the streets of Arashiyama. I especially loved the houjicha ice cream. Houjicha is roasted green tea and its distinctive aroma has always been my favourite ever since I first tasted houjicha creme brûlée at Maiale in Ipoh.

Our crabstick and hotate being torch flamed on the grill

Really yummy houjicha ice cream (¥350)

         As it was late autumn, the sky soon turned dark (sunset was around 4.30 p.m.). So we crossed the Togetsukyo Bridge to return to our hotel. Togetsukyo Bridge or Moon Crossing Bridge is a landmark of Arashiyama and offers great views of the autumn foliage. Back at our hotel, I managed to persuade Derrick to shed his inhibitions and to try Japan’s famous public bath in his birthday suit. He loved it!

Crossing Arashiyama's Togetsukyo Bridge

        Finding dinner was a problem in Arashiyama as almost every eatery closes early. We ended up having some udon and light snacks from the kiosks outside Randen Arashiyama Station. As we were really exhausted from the lack of sleep whilst flying the previous night, we hit the sack early.

Being enchanted by the Kimono Forest at Randen Arashiyama Station