Kyoto 2

Another Day, another Yen! (okay, okay, bad joke)

Actually, I'll start off this post with the rest of yesterday since I left you guys a hanging after the Plum Blossom festival. 

Tuesday

I made my way to the nearest bus stop and discovered that I wasn't too far from the Golden Temple (Kinkaku-Ji), and it was definitely on my list.  Fueled by chocolate banana and mystery food, I pushed onward.  (Side note, there are absolutely NO trash cans in Kyoto.  I walked around with leftover leek bun and half eaten chocolate banana for at least 20 minutes trying to locate one.  Don't tell anyone, but I surreptitiously stuffed it in a recycling bin next to a drink vending machine.  I feel guilty, but what was I gonna do?!) (Side, side note, why put a recycling bin next to the vending machine?  Do they really expect people to stand there and drink the drink? Okay. Rant over.) 

Newly freed of my garbage and with a little twinge of guilt, I boarded the bus.  500 yen later and I had bought my entrance ticket to the Golden Temple.  And IT WAS SPECTACULAR.  I was there at probably 3pm and the lighting was fabulous.  When they say the Golden Temple is Golden, they aren't joking.  It's plated in gold! You aren't allowed to go inside for obvious reasons, but it was beautiful to see from the outside.  There are also some nice gardens that you can peruse.  I could've stayed much longer, but I was tired from the Plum Blossom festival so I headed back to the hostel for a nap. 

At the entrance to the Golden Temple

Really, Really Gold.

As gorgeous as it was, I'm sure it'd be prettier in the autumn or spring when the leaves are turning or cherry blossoms are out in full effect.

No selfie for once!

Last night, I searched "things to do in Kyoto at night".  Most of the options were karaoke or clubbing, both of which I was most definitely not up for.  I saw, however, that the Gion district, famed for its Geisha, is particularly beautiful at night, so I headed over there.  On my way, I found a review for a good conveyor belt sushi place (Musashi Sushi) in the train station I would leave from, so I gave it a try.  Verdict - very good for what it was - cheap, fresh sushi with no frills.

I've been surprised, actually, at how inexpensive things are when I'd been warned that I'd be burning cash like it was my job.  I probably spent less than $10usd for my entire meal which included 6 plates of sushi and a beer.  Boom.  Also, I was seated next to an adorable older Japanese couple and the wife of the couple had to help me figure out how to dispense the hot water for the make-it-yourself Green Tea.  She chucked at me (in a very endearing way) and helped me out.  Again, friendly, awesome people. 

Musashi Sushi - cheap, cheap, cheap, but delicious.

After that, I headed to the Gion district.  I, by complete chance, got dropped off almost immediately in front of the Yasaka Shrine, which I had not heard of and had no plans to visit.  But it was so spectacularly lit up that I had to go and have a look.  I appreciated a couple of things about this shrine.  First, it was almost empty, but also, it had a serenity that I haven't experienced at other shrines.  Perhaps because it's off-hours and not jammed with tourists.  I spent probably an hour just wandering around.  I loved exploring it - and I'd definitely recommend going at night.  In fact, this was much better than the rest of Gion, which turned out to be a mild disappointment.

The front that drew me in.  So beautiful all lit up at night.

A pavilion with hundreds of lanterns around the outside. Spectacular.

A sub-shrine - lots of hearts with inscriptions on them.  Maybe praying for love? Who knows.

After that, I walked down the main road of Gion, Shijo Dori, but it was honestly just a huge tourist trap.  I decided to hang a right off of the main street through some narrow alleyways and that was a much more interesting experience. 

Very narrow alleys

There are loads of these nondescript shopfronts.  Occasionally, I'd hear a burst of laughter or music from inside.

Could be a Geisha house...I read that the Okiyas have the Geisha's names above the door like this.

Street Corner and traditional architecture

I enjoyed walking through the Gion District, though not as much as I thought I would.  If you're wide-eyed and idealistic like I was, you'll be expecting Memoirs of a Geisha to come to life, but sadly, the area has been gentrified just like a lot of other areas.  Though there are patches and a few streets of buildings in the old style. Here's an interesting tidbit - the old style houses were built to take up as little frontage to the road as possible, because in yesteryear, property taxes were calculated based on a house's frontage to the street.  Lots of houses extend far, far back, but have relatively narrow fronts.  So there's your bit of trivia for the day!

Wednesday

I have been so incredibly lazy on this trip, I'm afraid.  I slept in and didn't get a move-on until 11:00 this morning.  Nonetheless, I had a pretty packed day that mostly consisted of eating and pretending I was in Memoirs of a Geisha.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.

First up today was the adventure that I planned for yesterday and that is the Torii Gates.  Cliché, but true nonetheless, I wanted to see them ever since I saw Memoirs of a Geisha.  There is a scene where little Chiyo, bolstered by her meeting with the chairman and probable sugar-high from the shaved ice she eats runs through the gates enroute to a shrine (which I discovered to my dismay today) is actually not at the Torii gates at all, but across town.  Nevermind. The Torii gates were what I was really there to see, so without further adieu:

The entrance to the shrine.  So fabulous.  And SO MUCH ORANGE.  (I love orange)

 I was a bit disappointed at first because there were hordes of people, which dashed my dreams of getting photos of the gates without people in them. I walked on past the point where a lot of people seemed to drop of and there were ample stretches with no people to be found. 

 

 

Throngs of people on the way up, but peaceful on the way down

Each gate is inscribed with the name of the donor. 

This one was just being painted and hadn't had the characters filled in with black yet.

One of me! So happy!

Really, really peaceful.

Hopefully those photos give you a brief glimpse into the area.  I chose to do about half of the hike, which amounted to a moderately-strenuous 25-30 minute walk, ending in some steep stairs.  There is, however, plenty to see if you're not the stair climbing kind.  I turned around at the point where you can look out over Kyoto.  The weather was a little hazy today, so I didn't even bother taking pictures.  It was a nice resting place, though.

I had been craving some udon and after my nature hike, I was ready for something warm.  Omen Udon was one of the top-rated places in Kyoto and could be easily reached by the metro, so I headed that direction.  I was seated at a bar area and handed an English menu, which was really helpful.  I chose to order Udon with crab and sushi on the side.  It was a bit on the pricey side ($20 for lunch) but I was so excited that I thought the price was justified.

The sushi came, and I took one bite and could not eat any more.  It was a very strong mackerel with skin on draped over rice.  I am normally a huge fan of sushi, but the piece of fish was extremely thick and one of the fishiest tasting pieces of sushi I have ever eaten.  I felt terrible, but I could not eat any more of it.  The guy sitting next to me got his udon which included a side of tempura and I began to regret my decision.  My Udon arrived and it was not at all like what I was expecting.

Sushi that I regrettably had one bite of and could not finish

If you've ever had egg-drop soup in the Chinese style, you can imagine what the soup was like, in consistency, at least.  And actually, it did have egg in it.  The udon was really tasty and a good texture, but the whole thing left me underwhelmed.  I was actually coveting the guy's next to me.  His tempura looked delicious.  Oh well.

Udon noodles were great, but the soup was just so-so.

I spent a bit of time after lunch in the Pontocho district, another well-known Geisha district where I did see a Maiko Geisha scurrying down the street, presumably to get away from the throng of tourists who were stalking her.  It's a shame that people won't leave the Geisha alone - I mean, I understand the fascination, but they're people just like anyone else and being chased by crazed tourists is probably disconcerting.

I headed back to the hostel for my customary afternoon nap.  I have been exhausted this week, so it's been nice to have a place so near to JR Kyoto Station that is easy to get to for naps and such.

Tonight, I decided to venture up to one of the main shopping areas in quest for another of the top-10 rated restaurants in Kyoto via Trip Advisor, Gogyo Ramen.  It is tucked down an alleyway in the former house of a fairly famous Kyoto Geisha, so that was already intriguing.  But more so than that, this restaurant is famous for its Burned Ramen, both in Soy and Miso varieties.  The interior of this place is spectacular, and I would rate the ambiance probably near the top of anywhere I've eaten in Asia.  The bar area (which I would absolutely recommend sitting at if possible) overlooks an open kitchen where you can see the flames violently bursting up the sides of woks as noodles and other yummies are added to the pan.  Really an interesting experience and GREAT food.  I had the Miso Burned Ramen.  The flavor was incredible, but I could not finish the whole thing.  Some of the reviews said that it was a bit oily for them (the noodles are cooked in 300°C lard) and I would agree with this.  I had about half and I was done.  The Kirin Beer I drank with it was a great compliment as it cut through the oiliness of the dish. 

So delicious and really unique

Bar seating adjacent to the front door.  Sit here if possible for a great show!

Loved watching the chefs cook and the fiery explosion that would happen each time he added sauce to the pan.

From the outside.  Really great experience.

All in all, it was a great choice and I would say definitely my favorite eat so far in Kyoto. 

Alright, that's it for now.  Rain tomorrow, who knows what will happen??

Til next time,
-The Adventurer