This is part of an ongoing travelogue. To start at the very beginning, click here. Day 7 in Japan, day 2 in Osaka! Today, our itinerary (as with most of our days here) was pretty ambitious. We planned to visit Osaka Castle, then go to Umeda Floating Garden Observatory (postponed from the day before), have lunch at the basement of Umeda Building, walk around Umekita / Osaka Station, Dotonbori and dinner at Ichiran Ramen (since we did not get to try it in Kyoto). We had initially planned for a day trip to Himeji & Kobe during one of the days in Osaka, but after much deliberation I decided to…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue. To start at the very beginning, click here. From Tenjinbashi, the plan was to take the subway to Umeda and take in the evening view from the Umeda Floating Garden Observatory. However, it was drizzling, and with the weather like that, it was obviously that there wasn’t going to be much view. So a quick change of plans. The problem here is that most places close at 5pm, except for malls and supermarkets that close around 8.30pm (convenience stores stay open until 10pm even in winter). But the one exception is Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, they open to 8pm through all seasons. This place…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue. To start at the very beginning, click here. After 5 packed and enjoyable days in Kyoto and Nara, it was time to move on to Osaka. Osaka is a much bigger and more modern city compared to Kyoto, it is in fact Japan’s largest city after Tokyo. Though bigger, it has an excellent subway system comparable to other world class cities, so we used them solely to move around. No more buses, then. From our Airbnb, we packed up and left for Kyoto Station to board the JR special rapid train (JPY 560 per person, 30 minutes). I had wanted to try the…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue. To start at the very beginning, click here. After lunch, it was just after 12pm, so it was right about time to set off for Ginkakuji. The plan was to start at Ginkakuji, walk along the Philosopher’s Path, and end up in Eikando for the night illumination. The temple opens their doors at 6pm, and tickets start selling at about 5.30pm. Reports say that the queue for tickets are extremely long, as Eikando is one of the more popular temples to have this night event. So we boarded the bus for another long ride across the city. Ginkakuji and the other nearby attractions…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue. To start at the very beginning, click here. Day 5 and final day in Kyoto! Early morning was our breakfast of ham and instant noodles bought from the nearby convenience store the previous night (we actually also brought our own cup noodles from Malaysia…). The itinerary for today was to visit Ryoanji Temple, Nijo Castle, Ginkakuji, Philosopher’s Path, see the night illumination at Eikando temple, and finally dinner at the famous Ichiran Ramen. We were supposed to visit Ryoanji the previous day together with the Golden Pavilion, but since it was late we moved it to today. Another ambitiously planned itinerary, so no…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue. To start at the very beginning, click here. After our lunch in Unagiya Horikawa, we took some time to walk down the main street of Arashiyama. This is a really busy tourist district – you can see the people packing the sidewalk. There are many, many restaurants and souvenir shops along the way. (Arashiyama is really crowded) Right at the bottom of Arashiyama, there is Togetsukyo Bridge. This famous bridge is popular for couples to do selfies, but we didn’t cross the bridge. Across there you can see part of Iwatayama Monkey Park. (Togetsukyo Bridge) Anyway earlier in the restaurant during lunch we…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue. To start at the very beginning, click here. Day 5 in Kyoto and Japan!! Today we are going to Arashiyama, then after lunch we planned to visit Kinkakuji (The Golden Pavilion) and then end our day with dinner at Daimaru. The original plan was to visit Arashiyama on my 2nd day here, giving it priority due to its popularity. But when I wanted to buy the Sagano Romantic Train tickets in Kansai Airport (when I first touched down), all the morning tickets were sold out for the next few days. The only available ticket for morning was for today. So I had to…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue. To start at the very beginning, click here. From Izuju, it is just a short walk around the corner to Gion. Along the way, there are lots of stuff to see (and buy). (lots of stuff to see and buy) (headless kimono people) Along the way, my daughter was asking me about Japanese writing, and was explaining to her Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana systems. Then we walk past this place. Talk about coincidences. (speak of the devil – kanji museum) Turn left on the first major traffic light junction and you will be in Gion. this geisha district is also a well-preserved heritage…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue. To start at the very beginning, click here. After Kiyomizudera, we planned to walk all the way to Gion for lunch, which is more than 3 km away, but with lots of stuff to see along the way. But before leaving Kiyomizudera, we spent some time shopping in shops in front of the temple. One particular shop is quite popular, they serve complimentary green tea and allow you to sample all the different snacks they have on offer. One item that was recommended to try was a large wheel of matcha-flavoured swiss roll called Baumkuchen. However, since it has to be eaten within…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue. To start at the very beginning, click here. Day 3 in Kyoto started earlier than usual, it turned out to be a cold day. Today, our plan was rather ambitious – we planned to see Kiyomizudera temple, have traditional Kyoto sushi at Izuju and visit Sannen-zaka, Ninen-zaka, Maruyama Park and Shoren-In en route there. After lunch, drop by Gion by way of Ishibei-koji. In the afternoon, while there is still daylight, we plan to visit Fushimi Inari. As I said, very ambitious plan, so that’s why we needed to start early. (clear weather but cold today) First thing was to take a bus…