Kyoto, Japan’s former capital and jewel of the Kansai region, will impress you the second you arrive. A large number of people arrive in Kyoto by the train and wind up in the impressive Kyoto Train Station. It does blow your mind a little bit as many people perceive Kyoto to just be full of traditional Japanese architecture but the station is a complete contrast with its modern and futuristic decor and its unbelievable size! There are fifteen floors in total with shopping malls, restaurants, a hotel, a museum, a theatre and not to mention the observation deck and skyway walk. This station is truly epic!
First of all, Kyoto is beautiful and it would be easy to spend lots of time here. However, we were on a tight schedule so we had to fit in as much as possible but still enjoy the slower pace (once we’d left the station). The Kamogawa River makes for a beautiful and relaxing walk and you can end the stroll with a wander through Gion, the historic geisha district. Tourists love Gion with its traditional wooden houses, teahouses, restaurants and the potential to see giesha or maiko (geisha apprentices). It is a gorgeous place and beautifully atmospheric at dusk – a must for any visitor to Kyoto.
When researching Kyoto, we quickly realised that we had to be selective with the places we visited as we just did not have enough time to visit them all. Nijo Castle is extremely impressive and was actually used as an imperial palace before it opened to the public and was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. The Kyoto Imperial Palace is situated in Kyoto Imperial Park, which is a beautiful city park in its own right. Kyoto was Japan’s capital until 1868 when it moved to Tokyo taking the Emperor and the Imperial Family with it. Until then, Kyoto Imperial Palace was home to the Imperial Family and has recently opened its grounds to the general public rather than being exclusive to guided tours only. You aren’t able to go inside any of the buildings but nonetheless, it makes for a lovely couple of hours wandering around the grounds and gardens.
Shinto shrines are places of worship and homes to spirits and Kyoto is home to over 400 of them. With that in mind, choosing can be difficult but we opted for the Fushimi Inari Shrine to see the thousands of torii gates. To us, they were pretty extraordinary as their striking vermilion appearance line walking trails to make you feel like you are in a tunnel. As you make your way through the forest to the top of Mount Inari, the gates decrease in numbers but the whole walk continues to be stunning. If you have a clear day, this walk/hike is a brilliant way to spend a morning or afternoon. Please note though that it is extremely popular so pick your timings wisely.
The Arashiyama Bamboo Grove is another Kyoto hotspot and rightly so. A path takes you through the Grove with stalks of bamboo towering over you. We visited in Winter so they weren’t as green as they would be in Summer but this just made it feel even more atmospheric albeit a little bit eerie. Strolling through what feels like an infinite amount of bamboo is an experience not to be missed.
Finally, a highlight from our 2 days in Kyoto has to be the sake bar that we went to. Open Wednesday to Sunday, it only sits 10 people in total – 8 at the bar and 2 on a little table – and doesn’t take reservations unless it’s for when it opens at 6pm. We were short on time and desperate to visit so we reserved 2 seats for 6pm to play it safe and we are so glad we did as it is a very popular place. It is pleasantly, dimly lit inside which makes for a lovely, relaxing ambience and you are greeted by softly spoken Yoram. He talks to you about what you know about sake and what your tastes are. We were novices so he was brilliant at taking the lead and giving us his recommendations and telling us about all of the differences there are, considering sake is simply made from rice, water, yeast and koji bacteria. Yoram is so knowledgeable about sake and his passion oozes out of him as he chats to you and his other guests. For our final taster, we had the exact same sake but one was 40 years older than the other and all I can say is WOW! The differences are unbelievable as they taste like 2 very different drinks and I still don’t know how! Yoram is so passionate about what he does but he doesn’t over sell anything and gives you the right amount of space to enjoy your sake tasting with your loved one. We were in the sake bar, Yoramu, for about 3 hours and it is without a doubt one of our highlights of the 5 months away.
Kyoto is a wonderful city and any trip to Japan wouldn’t feel right if Kyoto was missed out!