Grand Adventure 2017 Day 5: Don Kyoto
After a couple of amazing days in the beautiful city of Tokyo, it was time for us to venture a little further out. We spent a lot of time leading up to this trip thinking about whether we wanted to do a day trip outside of Tokyo. After a lot of research, we landed on going to Kyoto. And boy are we happy we did.
A couple days back we booked first class (what they call green car) tickets on a bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto. We woke up bright and early this morning (around 5 AM) and after a brief workout, we were off to the train station. Luckily for us, that's a two-minute walk. When we got to the train station a little after 7 AM we grabbed a quick coffee and biscuit (still amazing) at Starbucks and boarded our train to Kyoto.
Our cabin was only maybe half full and was silent for the over two hours to Kyoto. Our two seats were incredibly comfortable and even awarded us a brief view of Mt Fuji on the way into Kyoto. The ride in went by like a blur. It was so relaxing, enjoying our Starbucks and the beautiful morning here in Japan. When we arrived in Kyoto at 9:30 AM we made our way straight to the subway station (which connects to the train station) and off to Fushimi Inari Shrine which was two stops from the train station.
We boarded an insanely crowded subway car and a few minutes later were let out onto the first of hundreds of gates at Fushimi Inari Shrine. This spot is known for its thousands of gates that cover the path up the mountainside. Had we had more time we might have attempted to do the 3-hour hike to the top, but instead, we spent almost two hours climbing to the mid-point. Although the Fushimi Inari Shrine was crowded by the time we had hiked for 20-minutes we went from hundreds of people to a handful. It was a stunning way to start the morning, and I think Jenn took more photos here than anywhere else so far on the trip.
After about two hours at Fushimi Inari Shrine, we sadly had to get going as we had more to see and a limited amount of time to do it. From the shrine, we got back on a subway and this time headed towards Sannen-zaka one of the most famous shopping districts in Japan. On our way to Sannen-zake we found a restaurant called Kyoto Katsugyu, Kiyomizu Gojozaka or as the sign said, Japanese beef. When we arrived there was a queue of about 10 people. Sadly this restaurant is small (seats maybe 20) and so it took an hour to get a seat. I won't lie, we thought about leaving a couple of times but stuck it out.
Like many places in Japan, the English is limited to non-existent. Luckily their menu was pretty self-explanatory. When we finally were sat an hour later on the second floor of their restaurant we quickly pointed at the beef cutlet meal which came with miso soup, rice, cabbage, beef cutlets and dipping sauces. About ten minutes later our food was brought to us and we destroyed it. Both from hunger and their delicious food we ate up the meal. Neither of us has ever had beef cutlets before but now that we have I would 100% get it again. Everything was delicious. Before we left the entire second story had emptied out and the song unforgettable played on the speakers, and Jenn and I danced in this small restaurant Kyoto, having one of those moments that you just never want to forget.
After we finished lunch we continued walking up towards Sannen-zaka and Kiyomizu dera a Buddhist temple on the top of a hill overlooking all of Kyoto. Our first stop was to the Kiyomizu dera which was absolutely stunning. It was a little after 1 PM and the skies were crystal clear and it was a perfect 65 degrees. It made walking around and enjoying the Kiyomizu dera even better. We spent an hour walking the grounds and enjoying the beautiful afternoon.
On our way back down the hill and towards Sannen-zaka, we stopped at two small shops. The first was a small woodworking shop where I bought two pairs of chopsticks to use at home. The second was an ice cream/dessert parlor that had a picture of a cinnamon cream puff that I couldn't pass up. It was so dang good. I'm so glad we stopped at both places.
From there it was off to Sannen-zaka which is one of the most picturesque shopping areas I've ever seen. It's all pristine with gorgeous architecture, interesting shops, and pictures worth taking on every corner. There actually was a Starbucks in one of the beautifully restored buildings where we bought a Kyoto mug and a Christmas ornament. We probably spent an hour browsing through Sannen-zaka before making our way back towards the train station.
On our way back to the train station we had one more stop we wanted to make which was Gion District a famous geisha district. This was yet again another immaculately constructed neighborhood. The homes and shops that lined the Gion District were absolutely incredible, and like nothing we've seen in Japan so far. It was hard not to just stop and stare.
Sadly we had a train to catch so we took the subway from Gion District and got off about a mile from the train station. We couldn't figure out how to transfer trains to get to the train station so we walked the mile from that subway stop to the train station in an area of Kyoto that wasn't as nice as the areas we had visited all day.
Luckily we were able to make it back to the train station and at 4:30 PM we were off from Kyoto back to Tokyo. The journey back was as peaceful as the one in. Jenn worked on selecting our favorite photos for the day and I closed my eyes for a bit and listened to a podcast. The 2+ hour journey flew by and we were back in Tokyo before we knew it. At this point it was time for some dinner and so we went to a string of restaurants in the train station and landed on the Tokyo Rib Lab.
I'm so glad we went here, it was the perfect dinner after a long day. We started off with a beer for me and a glass of white wine for Jenn. We also ordered a corn dog appetizer that just looked so good on the menu that I had to order it. It was great. For my main I went with an assortment of ribs with fries and Jenn had fish and chips. It was a simple but delicious meal and a perfect end for the day.
After dinner we walked from the train station back to our hotel. Jenn passed out shortly after us getting back and I wasn't too far behind her. It can be tough to decide where to put your time on trips but I'm so glad after our day in Kyoto that we decided to make the journey there, it was quite the day.
