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Babymoon 2024

March 2024
Japan: Osaka and Kyoto Read more
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  • TravelerBabymoon 2024
    Day 1

    Back at SYD airport

    March 2 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    It's three hours before and the queue to check in is massive lol. We didn't catch it when they opened but compared to the Qantas automated kiosks, this seems more manual.

    After some name scare when we realised Danny's name had somehow been flipped, thankfully rectified by helpful staff and a call to China support, we had some $29 fish and chips and chicken parmi at Mach 2. Obviously not worth it without priority pass but good thing we did because when we went airside, The House had barely any options for a pregnant person. Grabbed some fruit for Danny. Pumpkin soup was average. Roast lamb was old and ravioli has feta and ricotta.Read more

  • TravelerBabymoon 2024
    Day 2

    Beijing transit

    March 3 in China ⋅ ☀️ -2 °C

    We're at Beijing, which is a massive airport but this terminal has nothing much in terms of food. Some high end shops are open though, even though it's before 8am.

    The temperature outside is a bracing -5 to 0 C, but we can't really go out to feel it. The flight was fine but I was like a princess and the pea, so hard to find a comfortable position cos I can't pretzel as easily as I usually would. Plenty of legroom but I care more for sleep comfort! That said, the low sodium meals are surprisingly good (tomato both times) and the cabin crew kept us fed and hydrated. They did tend to run out of one of the food options so Danny got the chicken congee breakfast but he reports it was very tasty.

    About an hour before the next plane boards so we're just going to wait at the gate.    Read more

  • TravelerBabymoon 2024
    Day 2

    At Osaka airport

    March 3 in Japan ⋅ 🌬 9 °C

    I forgot discord and Google don't work in China, however funny enough I did get notifications from Google chat, I just couldn't actually access the app. The flight was like three hours, felt like domestic. Breakfast served had zero salt (and zero taste) for mine rofl.

    We're finally (back) in Japan! Withdrew a bit of money from a convenience store, where we also grabbed some food for the 1h train trip. I was tickled to find there was still some cat day items leftover from 22/2/24 when they ran Collab items with mofusando art on them. (I sort of wanted to keep the plastic wrappers but hubby said no..)

    We had tickets for KIX->Kyoto on the hello kitty haruka shinkansen for about 2200y each from klook, which was a pretty good price iirc compared to other options. And the train was super cute cos it was hello kitty themed! Only thing is it's a bit of a process to claim your tickets, and then reserve your seat. Just need to do it on a machine. But volunteers are around to help. On the way, saw a lot of suburban areas, and even a solar farm on the water.    Read more

  • TravelerBabymoon 2024
    Day 2

    Pretty good first meal

    March 3 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Ok so the hotel is kinda far from Kyoto station but quite honestly it was hard to find a place that has a nice bathroom. King bed is nice too. It's close to a bus stop at least! And the hotel is pretty new.

    First meal was a nearby place on our Michelin bib gourmand list. From our research as well I feel like prices in Kyoto and Osaka are a little lower than Tokyo; you can still get a fairly decent feed for 1000yen or lower whereas that's becoming more of a rarity in Tokyo. This did not disappoint. We got the (demiglace) tonkatsu, and sauce katsudon. Both had rather fatty but also super tender pork. The demiglace was a bit eh it was kinda like gravy but I quite liked the sauce which is more traditional katsu style. They had a yellow mustard condiment on the side that tasted like wasabi. Total for both, just under 2k yen so very very reasonable. (For some reason especially, some katsu places are becoming more expensive)

    Anyway, great start to our trip. We walked down south to a shopping mall, and also visited Animate nearby. Unfortunately we wouldn't make it for the death note exhibition (just off by one day). Spotted the discounted (500y) Uniqlo baby clothes but didn't have our passports for duty free so will have to return another day.    Read more

  • TravelerBabymoon 2024
    Day 3

    Kyoto botanical garden

    March 4 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    The weather forecast lied. It said it would be warm today but it was coooollld and cloudy. Poor Danny thought it would be warmer but at least I did get him to upgrade his jacket from a thinner one, though this is still not strong enough lol.

    Wore my maternity pants today to keep my bump warm and it's super comfy! Slept early last night but planned this morning to hit up roughly three spots. There aren't many food spots near the hotel but there's a ramen/chuka soba place that had a queue last night so we tried it out. It was clam which was a very nice sweet taste but my taste buds also got a bit fatigued after a while.

    Then it was off via bus to the botanical garden. This would have been stunning when the cherry etc blossoms were blooming but as it was it was mostly quite sad looking. We found a few early blooming trees and walked around though. They also had a small sheltered exhibit going on with what looked like purchased flowers.    Read more

  • TravelerBabymoon 2024
    Day 3

    Curry lunch and gyukatsu dinner

    March 4 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Lunch was a surprisingly-spicy curry place which offered a shot glass of mango lassi and side salad for just 50yen more. Wanted to go to Kyoto Gyoen but it was just massive grounds and the castle that it surrounded was closed for today.

    Then it was back to Teramachi, where we stepped into random shops. Randomly found Honnoji which is where Nobunaga Oda died. Most places have been pretty quiet so far, not sure whether we have just been a bit off the beaten path. Went for dinner at a random gyukatsu place which was just ok, probably cos we got the cheapest two cuts. I cooked the meat as dead as I could. ^^" we nearly went to the otter cafe but the seating area looked tiny, it was crowded near closing time soon, and you apparently can't touch the otters. :( we'll have a look at the Osaka one instead.

    Wanted to look at Nishiki market but it was late and stuff was closed, I was also heading up to my 15k step limit (it seems for this trip!) so we headed back to Kyoto station area on a night bus. Four bus trips x 230y taken today, just short of 1100y for a one-day bus and subway pass. The bus-only pass has been stopped which is a bit of a pity. Stopped by at yodobashi camera to get a visitor SIM. 2950y with iij mobile which was what we went with last time as well for one month/6gb limit, which should be fine for us. There was a cheaper option for 1.5/3gb but I think cheapest around $20 so at the low end not too much variation.    Read more

  • TravelerBabymoon 2024
    Day 4

    Rainy day

    March 5 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 7 °C

    It's a rainy and cold day today, max of apparently 9 degrees. We got up a little later than previous day today and after a quick breakfast at the nearby konbini, it was off to the Kyoto Aquarium. Entry is 2500y. It was alright, quite small overall. Warm inside but a lot of schoolkids, many very small haha. The penguin exhibit was funny, they came right up to the glass and oddly didn't smell. They had dolphins but we missed the performance at 11.30am by just about half an hour. Stayed for about 1.5h then it's off to lunch.Read more

  • TravelerBabymoon 2024
    Day 4–15

    Kiyomizudera

    March 5 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 6 °C

    Went to Kiyomizudera because apparently we didn't go the last time we were here, and also to visit the pagoda of Koyasu Kannon (for safe childbirth and to get a talisman). This place definitely has a lot of tourists even on a rainy day and it kinda ruined what should probably have been a solemn vibe. The area is very Kyoto though, for people who want to risk it. We went in the afternoon.

    Had some dessert at Chasen which was not bad. The matcha tiramisu was rather cheesy but the matcha jelly with matcha syrup was yum.

    Also wanted to visit Kodaiji but we are a bit too late and it had an entry fee. Ryozen kannon was also nearby and we could see the massive Kannon statue peeking out the top of the entrance; it was already closed.

    The trip out from Kiyomizudera was truly miserable. Waited about half an hour for a bus and it was lucky we were at a fairly early stop because the bus had to reject further passengers at a few subsequent stops. Cold wet and shivering even with the warm heat pocket pads. Perhaps a shuttle bus instead?? Must be something better.

    Dinner was an uninspiring overcooked chicken oyakodon from Isetan depachika (also pretty uninspiring on the whole) and I couldn't find something else i wanted to eat so we ordered gyoza kosho from Uber eats.    Read more

  • TravelerBabymoon 2024
    Day 5

    Fushimi Inari Taisha

    March 6 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Oh man I've been so lazy posting since we left Kyoto lol. Last day in Kyoto was at Fushimi Inari, which was crowded but not as cramped overall as Kiyomizudera. Wondered whether we should go/is tourist trap but maybe because of the diverse hiking paths it wasn't toooo bad. I couldn't go through much of it but we went through enough to have a good look.Read more

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