Kyoto and Nara 2-Day Itinerary: Day Two

Read Day 1 here - Kyoto: Kiyomizudera Temple, Nishiki Market, Ginkakuji
Read Day 2 here - Nara: Nara Park, Todaiji Temple, Kofuji Temple

In the morning we left Kyoto (??) and took the train to Uji (??) which is famous for matcha. The ride takes 20-30 minutes depending on which train you take (rapid or not.) Our first stop was to Byodo-in (???) which was about a 10 minute walk from the JR station.

Byodo-In

I have been to Byodo-in before (post here) and it was just as beautiful the second time around even in the rainy weather. This time we went into the Phoenix Hall which only finished renovations recently. I suggest going into the museum to watch the video of how they revived the hall and the artifacts they took from the hall to display before going on the hall tour itself. Especially since I don't speak Japanese and the tour itself is all in Japanese, the visuals and English plaques from the museum really helped me to understand its history.

Matcha soba, rice, matcha jelly with red bean and mochi

After the tour we went to Nakamura Tokichi Honten (????) to queue for about 40 minutes. It is a very popular spot to eat matcha goodies and last time I was here I didn't have time to wait 1+ hour so I left. But this time I factored in waiting time into our itinerary because I really wanted to try it and it definitely did not disappoint.

Matcha dessert

We got matcha soba, matcha the drink and matcha jelly with red bean, mochi and matcha ice cream. It might sound like a lot of matcha but the flavours were so fresh and light that it left this matcha-lover very happy. I especially liked the matcha jelly and ice cream dessert.

Following this great lunch, we took the train to Nara (??) and then a city bus to Nara Park (????) to see the famous deer. There really were a lot and I thought I saw a lot of free roaming deer while in Miyajima (??) but Nara definitely outnumbered them. We also saw Todaiji Temple (???) in the area but did not go in.

Nara Park

Todaiji Temple

On our way back to Nara Station we opted to walk instead of taking the city bus to see more of the city. We walked past Kofukiji Temple (???) which were filled with tourists and high school groups like Kiyamizudera.

Kofukiji Temple

Departing from Nara, we took the train to Osaka Station (??) and then a train from Osaka Station to Rinku Town Station (???????) to the premium outlets which took about an hour. The style is very similar to outlets I have been to in North America and feature a lot of those stores as well. From the outlets there is a direct bus to Kansai International Airport.

Rinku Town Outlets

Read Day 1 here - Kyoto: Kiyomizudera Temple, Nishiki Market, Ginkakuji
Read Day 2 here - Nara: Nara Park, Todaiji Temple, Kofuji Temple

Kyoto and Nara 2-Day Itinerary: Day One

Read Day 1 here - Kyoto: Kiyomizudera Temple, Nishiki Market, Ginkakuji
Read Day 2 here - Nara: Nara Park, Todaiji Temple, Kofuji Temple

We started off the day heading to Kyoto Station (??). It was a Sunday and there were many tourists by 10am at the station. The first time I went to Kyoto I didn't see these booths but this time there were people dressed in the tourism board's vests giving information and selling the bus day pass. The day pass is 500 yen and allows unlimited bus rides in the city that pretty much go to all the popular landmarks except for Fushimi Inari Shrine (??????).

Kiyomizudera

After getting our day pass, we took the bus to Kiyomizudera (???). It is a very popular temple and there were crowds of tourists and high school student groups. Unfortunately one of the halls were under construction so we didn't get to see that.

School group at Kiyamizudera

Most people crowd at the platform to see the temple but if you continue walking a bit further (in a downhill direction) there is a much quieter and great spot to see the temple in full view. If you continue walking down the stairs, you will reach the spot where you hiked up the stairs to buy the entrance tickets in the first place.

Alternative view of Kiyamizudera

We took the bus to Gion (??) to eat okonomiyaki lunch at Issen Yoshoku (????). There is only one item on the food menu, their okonomiyaki. Life size female mannequins in yukata sit at your table and "dine" with you which could be funny or creepy depending on your humour.

Next we walked to the Nishiki Market (???) which is boasted online as being a great place to buy souvenirs. We didn't buy souvenirs but we tried some snacks such as a baby octopus stuffed with a quail egg inside to hold up its round, plump shape.

Snacks at Nishiki Market

We took the bus to Ginkakuji (???) which I expected to be silver in colour due to the kanji name since Kinkakuji (???) is actually gold in colour. The temple turned out to be just wood but there was a pleasant garden surrounding it. I enjoyed walking around this garden more than the Kinkakuji one due to the smaller crowd but the latter's temple is definitely much more impressive looking.

Ramen dinner

After a simple dinner at a ramen shop we went shopping at Teramachi Shopping Arcade (???) and called it a day. Continue reading Day 2 when we go to Nara and Rinkutown Outlet in Osaka!

Read Day 1 here - Kyoto: Kiyomizudera Temple, Nishiki Market, Ginkakuji
Read Day 2 here - Nara: Nara Park, Todaiji Temple, Kofuji Temple

Kobe 1-Day Itinerary

Kobe is very well known for its Kobe beef. Advertisements for restaurants serving the meat is everywhere in the city. We began our day checking that off on our bucket list.

We went to Steakland, which is a restaurant near to Sannomiya Station and started lining up at 10:30am. Lunch hour doesn't begin until 11:00am but there is always a long queue so we joined the 10 or so people who were already waiting.

At 11:00am an employee led us to the elevator to go up to the second-floor restaurant. To my surprise, most of the seats were already filled and there was another queue at the entrance. We wrote down our names and waited for another 10 minutes before we were seated.

Kobe beef teppanyaki style

We sat in seats surrounding a teppanyaki grill and the chef brought out the raw meat and grilled it in front of us. I have had high quality Kobe beef before that melted like butter in the mouth. This wasn't quite to that level but the taste was good and the meat was tender. It was good value for the lunch hour price.

Steakland lunch set. Not pictured: salad and coffee

Upon leaving the restaurant we were met with crowds of people waiting from the elevator to the front door. It was quite chaotic and we were glad that we queued even before it opened to avoid waiting like this in the cramped space.

After a satisfying lunch, we made our way towards Mount Rokko. We took a Hankyu train to Rokko Station, then the city bus 16 towards the Rokko Cable Car Station. The cable car ride was about 10 minutes long and brought us to Sanjo station where the observation deck was.

Rokko Cable Car

View from observation deck

It was a rather cloudy day so we couldn't see the cityscape very clearly. Next we rode the Rokko mountaintop bus to Kobe Shiritsu Rokkosan Farm. There were many farm animals from pigs to cows to horses. As well, the sheep grazed freely on the grassy hills. It was a good relaxing spot away from the city and some people brought blankets with them to lie down on the grass.

Rokkosan farm

Sheep grazing

We took the  bus back to Rokko Station and took the train to Motomachi Station where Kobe's Chinatown is. It is not that big but it is one of the bigger ones in Japan. There were food stalls in addition to many restaurants. We tried some food from the stalls and honestly it wasn't very good Chinese food.

Kobe Chinatown

The last stop of the day was to Harbourland. We took the train to Kobe Station then walked to the port to see the night view. I found it prettier at night all lit up than in the daytime.

Kobe Port Tower and Maritime Museum

This is quite a lot to pack into a day because transportation to and from Mount Rokko can be slow if you miss one of the infrequent buses. Otherwise, the spots in the city are easy to get to via train or subway.
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Update: I recently went back to Mount Rokko to see the famous million dollar view of Japan. We went to the Garden Terrace and it was very cold and windy in the early January weather but the view was worth it.

Night view from Mount Rokko

We went to a cafe at Garden Terrace and it featured tables all facing windows looking out on the view. It's a great place to keep warm and see the view if you're going in wintertime.

Cafe at Garden Terrace

We got a dessert and almond cream drink at the cafe and it was pretty good! Please note that the last bus from Garden Terrace to the cable car is at 8:45pm and the last cable car down is at 9:10pm. I was surprised that a place famous for its night view had public transport that finished so early.

Dessert at the cafe

Tottori: 1-Day Itinerary

We did a day trip to Tottori and it was more fun than we expected. At the tourist centre at JR Tottori Station, you can rent a taxi for 3 hours for 1000 yen per person if you show a foreign passport. It says that you should reserve ahead of time to guarantee a driver but it is possible to just walk-in.

We didn't need the taxi to get around but we thought we would try our luck. When we entered, there was a group of tourists who were travelling together and the employees at the tourist centre were so occupied with them that they did not even regard us. Until I asked where the queue actually was (since everyone was standing in clumps), did someone talk to me. His answer was, "We can't help you right now, we're very busy. Please just wait."

Tottori Sand Dunes

After waiting a few more minutes and not seeing any progress, we grabbed a few maps and left. Most importantly, we got a copy of the Loop Kirinjishi Bus schedule which stops at most of the sightseeing spots in Tottori. A day pass cost 600 yen per person.

Entrance to Tottori Sand Museum

There was a station just outside the JR station and we took it to the Tottori Sand Museum. It cost 600 yen to enter and is only open April to early January of each year because January through March/April is when they build the structures for next year's display.

The theme for this year was Germany and there were many symbolic sand structures from German castles to Einstein to Brother Grimm stories. I recognized Neuschwanstein Castle which I had the fortune of visiting this past June. Each work of art was detailed and amazing to look at. Be sure to go up to the second floor so you can see the work in its entirety because on the ground level you miss some of the details that you're not tall enough to see.

Featuring Neuschwanstein Castle in the middle

Next, it was a short walk from the sand museum to the famous Tottori Sand Dunes. There were camel rides here but most people opted to walk. I was glad I went in autumn because I cannot even imagine how hot it would be in the summer. It was quite difficult to walk up the steep slope to see the Sea of Japan because you'd slide back half a step every time you took a step forward. But the view was well worth it!

On this sunny day, the breeze from the sea cooled us down as the warm sun reflected off the sand. It was as if the sand dune was a gigantic beach when it was viewed next to the Sea of Japan. It was gorgeous!

Camels

Looking out to the Sea of Japan

Sea of Japan and Tottori Sand Dunes

Our last stop of the day was to Karo Port. There was a seafood market, crab museum, supermarket and restaurants there. We ate kaisendon (seafood rice bowl) for lunch and it tasted pretty fresh.

Kaisendon

From the port back to the JR station, it was less than half an hour bus ride. The bus is pretty convenient if you time it right because it does not come that often but it does go to the places you would want to visit.

Shikoku 3-Day Itinerary: Day Three

Read Day 1 here - Uzu no michi, Mount Bizan
Read Day 2 here - Iya Valley, Oboke Gorge
Read Day 3 here - Kochi Castle, Ritsurin Garden

We got into Kochi (??) in the evening last night but the morning of day three, we noticed that the temperature was warmer than Tokushima which was not that far more north. We didn't have much time today as it would be a long journey back to our town so we did not get to explore Kochi as well as we would like.

Kochi Castle

We took the tram from Kochi Station to go to Kochi Castle (200 yen). The tram went to Harimaya Bridge, then we had to hop off and transfer to another tram which took us to Kochi Castle. The castle opened at 9am and we were there about 10 minutes before so it was quiet and relaxing. Entrance to the castle cost 420 yen and there were some displays inside. At the top of a few flights of stairs was a panoramic view of Kochi city. This is the fourth Japanese castle I have been to after the ones in Himeji, Nagoya and Matsuyama. Unfortunately I would have to rank Kochi Castle as number four.

Displays inside Kochi Castle

Model of Kochi Castle

Panoramic view from Kochi Castle

Instead of taking the tram back, we walked back under the arcades (covered shopping streets). We passed by Hirume Market (?????) which had an assortment of food goods. I found a kinken shop (??????) nearby which is a discount ticket shop and bought my train ticket from Kochi Station to Takamatsu Station (3050 yen).

Taking the 11:13am train to Takamatsu Station (??), we arrived at 1:32pm. We hopped onto another train (210 yen) that departed at 1:40pm for Ritsurinkoen kita-guchi Station (???????). This latter train only comes every half an hour. The ride to Ritsurin Koen/Garden was only 5 minutes and it was another few minutes walk to the north entrance of the garden. Entrance fee was 420 yen each.

Koi at Ritsurin Garden

Tranquility at Ritsurin Garden

Boat ride at Ritsurin Garden

The garden was beautifully trimmed and the abundance of koi fish in the water brought colour to the otherwise largely green garden. Sunlight filtered through the leaves and made the green glitter. I really experienced what the Japanese call komorebi (????) here. It's a great place to slow down your footsteps and collect your thoughts.

Walking back to Takamatsu Station took about 40 minutes and there was a long shopping arcade on the way. Again I bought my train ticket from Takamatsu Station to Okayama Station (??) at a discount shop and it cost 1320 yen. We took the 3:40pm train to Okayama Station and the journey was about an hour.

Okayama Castle

We took a tram from Okayama Station to Shiroshita stop (100 yen) which was only a few stops away. From Shiroshita, it was about a 10 minute walk to Okayama Castle. We saw it from the outside because it was closed by the time we were there.

That is the end of our Shikoku trip and we even managed to fit one sightseeing spot from Okayama in the end. From Okayama you can take the Shinkansen or train to wherever is next on your Japan journey.

Read Day 1 here - Uzu no michi, Mount Bizan
Read Day 2 here - Iya Valley, Oboke Gorge
Read Day 3 here - Kochi Castle, Ritsurin Garden

Shikoku 3-Day Itinerary: Day Two

Read Day 1 here - Uzu no michi, Mount Bizan
Read Day 2 here - Iya Valley, Oboke Gorge
Read Day 3 here - Kochi Castle, Ritsurin Garden

For day two of our trip, we headed to another part of Tokushima Prefecture (???).  Yesterday when we arrived at JR Tokushima Station, we went to the travel agency located there and asked about tours for Iya Valley and Oboke Gorge. She recommended the Bonnet Bus tour. I found the Bonnet Bus tour online prior to the trip but since it required telephone reservation and I didn't have enough Japanese to communicate, I didn't make the call. The travel agent called and made reservations for us and we paid her on the spot. It was 7500 yen for an almost 6 hour tour including lunch. 

Bonnet Bus

The All Shikoku Rail Pass can also be purchased there for 6300 yen for 2 days of unlimited JR rides in Shikoku. It even allows rides up to Okayama for when you leave Shikoku. 

JR Tokushima station

In the morning of day two, we took the 9am train from Tokushima Station to Awa-ikeda Station (????). We arrived at around 10:15am and waited until 10:40am for the tour to begin. There were about 20 people in the tour and half were foreign tourists while the other half were Japanese. The tour itself was mostly in Japanese but they gave us a poster in English at the beginning so at least we knew the names of the places we were going to. The language barrier wasn't a huge problem as long as you knew how to tell time in Japanese so you can understand when the guide wants you back on the bus.

The bus was a small and old vehicle but it zipped through the narrow, often single-lane, mountains roads. In mid-October, the weather forecast said low 20C in the afternoon but it was much colder in the mountains so dress warmly! 

Iya Valley

Peeing boy statue

A 40 minute drive took us to the first stop, which was the statue of a peeing boy overlooking Iya Valley (????). Some parts of the tour had English recordings playing over the loudspeaker to explain the sights. I didn't quite catch the story behind this statue but in any case, it was quite amusing to see the placement of this statue. The valley was very deep from our height up in the mountain and that itself was great.

Lunch

The next stop was already lunch. I was expecting a simple meal because it was included in the tour fee but it was actually a nice meal in a restaurant overlooking the valley. We were served soba noodles, a grilled fish, rice, miso soup and an assortment of other side dishes. I was very full at the end of the meal. 

Kazurabashi

After a short drive, we arrived at Kazurabashi (????). The bridge was 45 metres long over the Iya River. I have been to a few other suspension bridges before but this one was pretty special. It didn't sway especially dangerously but the floor boards were wide apart such that my small feet could easily slip through. As well, it looked like the bridge was only held up by vine and some pieces of wood (I sure hope there was more reinforcement underneath!) 

Walking on Kazurabashi

Vines that held up the bridge

The Heike Folk Museum was next and it was a traditional Japanese house with different old items inside from baskets to money. Then we went to a rest area in Oboke (???) and a monster greeted us as we alighted the bus. The rest area had a monster mansion and since it was the month of Halloween, they had staff in costume roaming the area and also costumes for kids to wear and take photos in. 

Monster!

The last stop of the tour was a boat cruise down Yoshino River in Oboke. This was the first time where I had to take off my shoes to ride a boat. The floor of the boat was matted and we took off our shoes at the bow before sitting down. The ride was leisurely and we rode in a calm part of the river where the guide pointed out at rocks that resembled animals on the way. He did so in Japanese and none of the rocks looked particularly like animals to me so I didn't know what animals they were supposed to represent.

Yoshino River

Boat ride

Observing interesting rocks

We were driven back to JR Awa-ikeda Station by 4pm. Overall I think this tour was pretty worthwhile because it would have been difficult navigating the large area via public bus. As well, all the places we went to, except for the rest area, required admission fee and the tour fee included all of those plus a good lunch.

We took the 4:30pm train from Awa-ikeda Station to Kochi Station (??). The ride was about 75 minutes and cost 2820 yen.

Read Day 1 here - Uzu no michi, Mount Bizan
Read Day 2 here - Iya Valley, Oboke Gorge
Read Day 3 here - Kochi Castle, Ritsurin Garden