Kyoto

Late rise as check in time wasnt until 11am. We got up at 9 went for breakfast packed and then ordered a taxi (as had 2 huge suitcases and didn’t fancy busy metro) to the main station of Tokyo! We got our bullet train at 12.33 and ate some amazing supermarket sushi and a bento box! Eating in public is frowned upon in Japan but a tradition to eat in the bullet train.

We managed to catch a glimpse of Mount Fuji on the way down although it was covered mostly by a cloud! Speed of the train was crazy and we got to see more of rural Japan on the journey down south! We arrived in Kyoto at 3.15 and instantly it feels more chilled than manic Tokyo! I heard before E that Kyoto had better food and was more laidback than Tokyo and it hasn’t dossaponted so far! We are staying with Hori who is a Japanese guy and has a traditional Japanese home which I’ve shown. The walls are all paper and the doors slide open. We are sleeping on the floor so far from luxury but a good experience and the shower is excellent.

When we arrived we had to put on slippers and exchanged rules through sign language. After we dumped the bags off we ventured to the famous Nishiki market which is 1 minutes from the flat! (Great location). The food there is crazy and it goes on for miles! Everything is fresh and vibrant, there’s loads of octupus , prawns, Waugu, beef, matcha etc! We had some nice pork gyoza and some octopus balls for just £5. Also had a shot of saki too wash it down.

After the market we deceive to get the metro to the amazing shrine that Kyoto is known for called Inari. It was great to see and we rushed to get the golden hour sunshine but just missed it! Behind it we could see some steps so decided to venture up only to see it was a 1 hour hike up 1000 steps! We arrived at the top sweaty and tired but worth it for the amazing view over Kyoto.

We waddled down from the top and then walked back into Kyoto for some food. Kyoto is very trendy and lots of young people and trendy bars and restaurants. Unlike Tokyo peole seem to speak in English here so not so alien. We ventured into a whiskey bar and ordered a high ball (whiskey mixed with a soft drink) unfortunately the whiskey we got was white horse which turns out to be a scotch rather than a Japanese whiskey!

After our drink we ventured into a random restaurant near the flat and had some garlic chilli pork with some rice and a Tsing Tao to wash it down. I’m getting the hang of chop sticks now finally and quite like them now. We went to the supermarket to get some supplies and now make in Horis home with an early start tommrow!Read more