Sunday, October 23, 2016

Japan: Day 2 (Kyoto)

It was finally the day for us to explore Kyoto! As we were really dog-tired from the day before, we decided to have breakfast at the hotel that morning. It was a really simple breakfast and since I had not gotten used to the food there, I did not eat much.

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We first went to Kyoto Station to get all day bus pass which only cost 500 yen per day. As it will cost 230 yen per trip, it is really worth to get this pass and it can be used for unlimited rides.

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Our first stop was Nijo-jo Castle. It was only the way to Kinkakuji Temple. We decided to drop by just for a while for some photos and continued to our next destination. As it was already lunch time when we reached Kinkakuji Temple, we had our meals at one of the small shops we saw by the roadside – Gold Roll.

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They serve curry rice so, we decided to give Japanese curry a try. To be honest, I was truly surprised that it was really good. It was not spicy, of course, and the taste was flavourful.

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I had seen  a lot of beautiful pictures of Kinkakuji Temple online and they are not as magnificent as you see it right in front of your eyes. It is definitely one of the must-go places in Kyoto.

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I had also read that the matcha ice-cream at Kinkakuji Temple is famous. Hence, I had already set my heart for it even back in Malaysia. It was good but it did not cause any addiction. In my opinion, it is optional whether you want to have it or not. Not a must-have.

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Our next destination was Sagano Scenic Train Station. It is a sightseeing train line that runs a long a river – Hozugawa River. This train bought us through the mountains at a relatively slow pace, about 25 minutes from the station to Kameoka. However, it was not that cheap – 620 yen per trip. Therefore, it is 1,240 yen with return. Still, it was a nice experience. The boyfriend particularly enjoyed the ride even though it was freezing for him as we sat at the fully open car. As it was raining and it was getting dark when we got back to Saga Torokko Station, instead of continuing our destination to Ginkakuji Temple, we took JR train back to Kyoto Station which cost 240 yen.

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We had our dinner at The Cube Gourmet Street which is located on the 11th floor of Kyoto Station. There are few restaurants there, ranging from cheap to expensive. After our dinner, we went to hunt for my luggage as my luggage broke down when we first reached Japan. We ended up buying one at this random street when we were supposed to go to Nishiki Market. Why supposed? Nishiki Market was already closed when we reached there. We found out that it is only opened until 6.00pm. Hence, we walked into a cafe to chill before heading back to our hotel to call it a day.

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