Kyoto (Kinkakuji – Nishiki – Kiyomizudera – Gion) – Japan September 2014

Third day in Japan was the Autumnal Equinox Day. It’s usually held around September 22 or 23 and this year it was on the 23rd. From my original itinerary, third and fourth day should be spent consecutively in Osaka because of the Amazing pass but unfortunately I won’t get much from the free entrance on different landmarks because it is a holiday and most are closed those days.  We (I) decided to head to Kyoto instead and  of course had a late start. We left Temmabashi around half past 8 in the morning and arrived nearly 10am in Kyoto Station. We took the Keihan line going to Tambabashi and changed line to the Kintetsu line going to Kyoto Station.

Vending machines at Tambabashi Station

We specifically went to the Kyoto station just to purchase the one-day unlimited bus pass (500 yen). The bus pass will allow us to ride Kyoto buses as long as we can. I think in Kyoto the buses are the much more ideal way of travelling (except for traffic) since the trains don’t have much coverage around the area. After purchasing the bus pass, we went to the Kyoto-jimae bus station and got a glimpse of the Kyoto Tower.

Our first stop was Kinkaku-ji because according to Trip Advisor, it is best to go to the Golden pavillion in the morning when there is less crowd. We took the bus 205 which stops at the nearest bus stop to Kinkaku-ji. I know we should’ve taken the Roku tourist bus but there was a long line at the bus station which made us decide not to ride it. I am not sure if we made a good decision or not but I think the ride was fine. There’s not much traffic anyway, just many stops.

The entrance inside the Golden Pavillion costs only 300 yen and I think it was one of my best money spent in Japan. My jaw dropped when I saw the temple. When I was looking at pictures of the temple on Flickr, I was already in awe but seriously seeing it in person was a different story. It’s beyond beautiful probably because of the authentic gold leaf around the two stories of the structure and also the fact that it is at a perfect position on a pretty landscape. I know it would be much more beautiful when all leaves are red at autumn but for me, it was already beyond perfect when I saw it. This is really worth a visit if you happen to be in Kyoto. This also belongs to the UNESCO World Heritage sites.

We spent around one hour walking around the temple grounds and then we head over to Senichimae.

Confirming our route going to Nishiki Market was quite a story. We asked an otosan (father) we saw in front of the gate of Kinkaku-ji on what bus we have to ride going to Nishiki Market. Apparently, we don’t know any Nihon-go and so English is our way of communication there. I’m already pretty sure that the same bus will take us to Senichimae. However, I still did ask just to make sure that my analysis of the bus route is correct. We showed the man with his wife and cute little kids the bus route map we got from Kyoto Station. He spoke a lot of Japanese sentences which we didn’t understand and from the looks of his face, he’s debating of which stop we should get-off. We had a pretty long conversation with the man without even understanding what we are saying to each other along with our “what were you trying to say” faces. Regardless, we were able to understand what he was pointing on the map though. So after like thirty minutes or so, we went to the bus stop and head over to Senichimae. While on the bus, we met some religious Filipinos who rode the bus with us. They asked if my friend is a Filipino and that if she also attended the anniversary mass of their church. Probably, one of also the best thing on a trip is the random small talk with friendly strangers. The bus stop information we got was correct and we arrived smoothly at the Nishiki Market.

Most shopping places in Japan is usually one long street and Nishiki Market is no different. I think it’s kind of like a wet market but not really. You can find mostly peculiar food. We only did walk and observed for a bit before we took our lunch. We had an obanzai at Ichiba coji. I do recommend this restaurant (not a food critic tho). It’s not that expensive but not cheap either. Meal starts around 1250 yen. I pretty much enjoyed the food.

We asked again how to get to the Kiyomizu-dera albeit I know that I have to ride the 207 bus. But this time, I think it was my worst decision that day. The cashier said that we have to ride the 207 bus so I confirmed that my analysis of the bus route again is correct. We were about to leave when the cashier approached me and gave a sketch. She explained that there are two 207 buses and that I have to cross the road from Nishiki and ride the bus stop there. I was a bit confused because I thought that the other stop will get us to Kiyomizu-dera faster. Then I made my worst decision, I followed her advice and wait for the 207 bus which will take us almost around Kyoto passing the Kyoto Station and then nearly the last route is Kiyomizu-dera. Ha! We spent like an hour riding the bus where it could have only been 5 or 10 minutes. I lost the chance of seeing the temple at the golden hour and wasted an hour of day sitting on the bus.

I wasn’t able to get a good picture but the walk going up to the temple was such an experience. It is another UNESCO World heritage site. We checked if it really the temple that has no nails but we found nails. I didn’t quite understood what they were referring to about the nails. The other temple was being renovated and so it doesn’t fit quite well in the picture. I will certainly need to go back here and I will make sure that it is when the leaves are red. It was already around six in the evening and we were already dead tired. I suggested that we head over to Gion which was the old Geisha district in Kyoto. We rode the bus again and got off at the Gion station. We were searching for a nice restaurant to eat dinner and we came across Hanamikoji-Dori. I still didn’t know that place before and I only realised it after coming back from Japan. We didn’t explored the street much and ended up going home to Osaka. Getting the correct bus was quite a struggle and I only guessed which train station we need to hop into to get back to Temmabashi. I only remembered Sanjo station that it has the Keihan line so we decided to go there. We rode the bus at Gion bus stop headed to Sanjo. Inside the bus, we still debated if we were getting the right station that will take us to Osaka. Then a local approached us that we were riding the wrong bus and so we got off at the bus stop which incidentally in front of the Gion-Shijo exit. The local get-off the same bus stop with us and told us instructions and then that’s when I saw the Keihan line sign on the Gion-Shijo exit. And it was like a miracle from heaven. We were able to go back to our hotel safe and sound.

Tip: If you’re not adventurous and not good with physical map, get the docomo wifi.

We wrapped up our day tired and exhausted again but really happy.