Part of me can not believe it took four whole posts to cover this trip, since whenever people ask my answers are very brief, but here we are. If you have missed Part 1 (Osaka), Part 2 (Tokyo) or Part 3 (Kinugawa Onsen), there are all the relevant links for catching up.
Now on the train back to Tokyo from Kinugawa Onsen and then on the shinkansen to Kyoto. The girls spent the first hour of the train travel sewing the cute key chain kits that my homestay family had given them. They were pretty straightforward (even though the instructions were in Japanese). Rachel was sitting next to Steve, but with all her sewing experience, didn't need my help anyway, and Sophie gave it a solid go.
When we arrived in Tokyo, we got off at Nijubashimae Station, which Google Maps told us was a one min walk to Tokyo station where we had to get our Shinkansen. Unfortunately, we took the wrong exit underground, and with no signal in the tunnels, ended up walking south instead of east, and found ourselves at Yurakuchou Station instead. We had allowed for 40 mins from getting into Tokyo to when the shinkansen was due to depart, but that one minute walk had turned out to be more like ten and now we were at a completely wrong station.
Luckily, we recognised the JR signs and without hesitation, jumped straight on the frequently running Yamanote Line train back to Tokyo Station. Whew. Even with that crisis averted, we still needed to navigate the busy, crowded (even at 11 am on a weekday!), huge Tokyo Station to get to the right platform. I was also acutely aware that we needed to get lunches, or we would be on the train for two and a half hours with almost no food.
Once we found the platform, I ducked off to grab some ekiben (station lunches) and Steve took the girls to wait for the train. He figured if it came and I wasn't there, he would just get on with the girls and the stuff and I'd catch the next one. Good plan that we didn't have to enact because I did the fastest decision making on which of the 40 different bento to purchase for us that I've ever done and raced back up to the platform to join them with minutes to spare.
On the Shinkansen and zooming out of Tokyo, we managed one brief last look at Mt Fuji before we all settled in for the ride. I was a little mixed feelings to be heading to Kyoto, since on one hand, I knew it would be beautiful and fun, but on the other, it signalled the last stop on our trip.
Luckily, we had some really delicious lunches to eat.
We did a bit of sharing around, since I just grabbed four different ones with lots of variety in each. It was fun to eat and chat as we zoomed along.
Into Kyoto, we initially came out of the station on the wrong side and there was a bit of tracking back and forth to figure out how to get where we needed to be, but eventually we managed it. I think to people in Australia, especially Brisbane, coming out of the wrong side of a train station is nothing to worry about. Stations have two sides, you go out and notice, so you just go back and you are fine.
In Japan, it's a whole different ball game. Stations have so many different exits, lots of underground connecting tunnels and often department stores connecting things together on different levels and in different places just to add to the confusion. Suffice to say, we were happy to finally drop our bags at our accomodation and have a break from lugging them around.
We thought we might go out again that afternoon, since we got into Kyoto before 3, but Sophie was really not feeling it. Steve and I have learnt from past experiences and decided the wisest course was to settle in and enjoy some down time. We unpacked all the snacks, turned on the kotatsu (heated table with a huge blanket over it to tuck your feet under) and put on a movie.
After this, we put on some layers and wandered out into Kyoto to find some dinner. I think we had another food-court style dinner that night - It might have even started with crepes. Steve got a tasting paddle of some beers to try and we just had bits and pieces of food that we could nibble and share (think gyoza and karaage), though I think Rachel had something healthy and sensible.
We also ended up checking out Kyoto Tower, right on dusk when the lights were coming on. Since we hadn't been able to do that in Tokyo, it felt nice to do here.
Rachel was very proud of being taller than the tower in the info graphic picture.
The next day was bright and sunny and a warm over-twenty degree day, so the girls and I rejoiced and put on shorts for the first time. Honestly, to be out of jeans felt so good. Convenience store breakfast and a short bus ride to Nijo-jo was our first stop of the day. We were there right on opening time and the lines were already forming.
I really love this castle (which I consider to be more like a palace in that it's more flat and for people having meetings than being a defensible structure, but whatever). Everything about it is so well maintained and informative. Really shows off the splendid and lavish art work that the people in power had, not to mention the magical floors.
We wandered around inside, but the girls were quite fidgitity, so once the main building was over, we stuck to touring the gardens outside. Even more cherry blossoms to see and just generally beautiful flowers out everywhere in Kyoto now.
Kinkaku-ji was pretty busy by the time we got there. I think we could have stayed longer looking at the gardens, but the crowd just surges you along, and you feel the pressure of other people wanting to see things too, so you just keep moving.
The funniest thing here was the girls and Steve spotting the golden cockerel on top of Kinkaku-ji and declaring it looked like a Golden Chocobo from Final Fantasy. They had lots of fun with that. We also saw koi (carp fish) in the pond here and at Nijo-jo, even spotting a golden coloured one.
Our last stop for the day would be out to Arashiyama. Since Steve and I had been in Kyoto for our honeymoon, we wanted to make sure this time we saw something new, and Arashiyama was it. The bus out there was on the longer side. Busses in Kyoto are generally the way to go, rather than the train system, but they are super crowded now. Every bus we went on we had to push into and most of the time stand awkwardly close to other people.
We generally didn't mind it, but it is a thing.
I had grabbed us some bento from a little shop right near the bus stop for the Arashiyama bus before we got on, so when we got off right next to the river with the cherry blossom trees, it was perfect to have a picnic there. I was a little worried the girls would fall in the water and our day would be over, but no such crisis happened. They were happy to be out and free and enjoying the sunny weather.
We crossed the main bridge over the river, stopping to play Pooh Sticks on the way. Notice Sophie has no hat anymore? We have no idea where she lost it, but it was truely gone.
Over the bridge, we went straight to the Arashiyama Monkey Park, since we figured that would be the most fun for the girls. I was a little worried for animal cruelty (I don't love pretty much any kind of zoo), but it turns out the monkeys were just free range. Hooray! What we didn't know was that they were free range on top of a literal mountain. After we paid our entrance fee, we went in past a sign that said the monkeys were a "20 minute walk up". Little did we know just how up that walk would be.
The walk up had signs to inform people about the monkeys and their behaviours. Lots of warnings about their aggressive nature, which caused Sophie some worry. It was very steep, but that did mean that the crowds thinned as people's various levels of fitness changed the walk up paces.
You couldn't feed the monkeys outside, but you could go into a safe room and feed them from inside while they came to the outside caged windows. It was a bit the opposite of a a zoo, since we were the trapped ones. Rachel paid the 50 Yen to get a pack of peanuts to feed them.
The forest on the mountain was really different to the one we had been in at Nikko just two days ago too. Loads of maple trees here! It would be really beautiful on Autumn.
I was trying to get a photo in front of this red Torii gate to show my students at school when the girls jumped in to photo bomb me.
We went down the mountain and out into Arashiyama for a wander around. Our first stop was this "Kimono Village" which was a bunch of posts with beautiful Japanese fabric patterns inside them. Cherry blossoms there too, and this cool dragon fountain.
We wandered around trying to make sure we had any final souvenirs that we needed for home. I was wanting to buy all the snacks including the eight different varieties of some triangular pastry they had on offer but managed to restrain myself. We caught a bus back to our house and had some down time for the afternoon, including the girls having a go at a Japanese bath (kind of like a mini onsen).
We wandered out for dinner and this time went to the top floor of a department store near Kyoto Station. We were supposed to have dinner with one of our church missionary partners who is living in Kyoto, but she was feeling sick and had to cancel. Instead, we wandered around until I convinced everyone to try the omu-raisu (omelette and rice) restaurant.
Rachel enjoyed her kids meal - basic omu-raisu with little sausages cut like octopus, while Steve tried a omu-raisu with a hamburger patty and a gravy sauce. I had a basic omu-raisu and I can not remember what we convinced Sophie to try. Part of me remembers they had some pasta on the menu, but I could be wrong.
Since we were in the department store (and on the top level) we had to go down a few to get back out again, and went past a book store when I got to buy a few things for school, Sophie picked up a Pokemon hiragana book and Rachel got a DIY cow diorama kit.
The next day was our last full day in Kyoto, but we opted to take a train out to Nara for the day. Again, it was something that Steve and I hadn't done, and I thought that the girls would get a kick out of the deer.
The girls did love the deer. They roam around the parklands/national forest type area that is filled with lots of temples and other nature things. You can buy rice cake things to feed them (which of course we did) but they are other-wise free range.
It was pretty hilarious to see them just cruising down the streets like they own the place.
There were again, signs about animal behaviour and reminders that wild deer can be dangerous. They certainly were somewhat pushy about getting food if they thought you had it - Steve had to hold the rice cakes on top of his head so they were out of range. The girls loved being able to run around and explore the area, including this cool natural creek spot.
It was a really bright day again so when we walked past a souvenir shop with hats on the walls, I decided it was time to get the girls some. They were pretty delighted and super cute.
We didn't bother paying the money to go into Todai-ji (the big buddha temple) since the girls were happier roaming around outside and we'd seen a fair few temples at this point anyway. I would have liked to do more of the nature walks, but we were only there for a day, so it was a but of a stretch with the time we had.
Coming out of the area, we ended up taking a few back streets by chance and luckily walking past a second hand kimono place (which was literally set up in someone's driveway). I got another obi (so pretty!) and yukata and, at long last, a bolt of kimono fabric! I kind of couldn't believe I'd managed to get one after all. Could have easily stayed longer sorting through the kimono, but in the end, Steve and the girls are only really patient with me looking at kimono for so long (well, mostly the girls, Steve is a very patient guy).
We walked up and down the main street of Nara getting last min souvenirs (like tatami shoes for the girls) and looking at all the cute deer things you could buy. We had lunch at a family restaurant near the station. Must have been Steve's first time at a Saizeriya actually. I was keen for a doria (like a potato bake, but made with rice), while Sophie got a pizza and Rachel had spaghetti. We also had some pancetta and mozzarella and a green salad. The girls enjoyed the self serve, free refill, soft drinks.
We took the train back to Kyoto, and while we got on one headed in the right direction, we weren't 100% sure it would actually stop at our subway station in Kyoto, so we popped off at an obscure station to change. Might have delayed us five minutes or so, but it really didn't matter, and when the train came, it was super empty which was just hilarious, after all the packed out public transport we had been on in the last two weeks.
I got off the train at Kyoto Station and came home via a shop that I'd seen some kendama for a good price to get a set for school. Steve and the girls went via the convenience store to grab some dinner options. Back to our lovely little Kyoto house for one final time, the girls chilled, but I got a head start on re-packing everything we had for the next day. Then, we got the girls set up with their dinner and Steve and I went out for the night.
We took the train to check out Nishiki Markets together. Unfortunately, we missed the main street that we had been aiming for, but did wander up and down the other market streets instead. We had some okonomiyaki (Japanese cabbage pancake) and just enjoyed strolling around the Kyoto streets on a Saturday night together. We bought two sets of cute Japanese tea cups to bring home.
This was the hanging fabric in front of the door of where we stayed in Kyoto. We had splurged a bit here and had a little Japanese house. Downstairs was kitchen, living and bathroom, and upstairs was two bedrooms. floor space was about the same as our entry/study for all of this, so very small. The stairs up were pretty standard for Japan, but really steep for Australian standards and Sophie fell a couple of times on them.
The next day was our last day. Our flight out of Osaka was 9:45, so we needed to be at the air port after 6, which put us on a bus out of Kyoto by 4:30. We left our accomodation about 10 and carted all the heavy heavy luggage back to the station where we put it in coin lockers for the day. After sorting out our bus tickets, we set about filling our day looking around Kyoto Station.
We started with a coffee for Steve at Mister Donuts (thanks, you beautiful people) and then went up all the escalators to the viewing platforms and the skywalk.
Lots to look around at, especially on the otherside where there is a rooftop garden space, but unfortunately the day was quite bright and it was already midday, so we didn't spend too long there. Instead we went back inside to the department store and found a fancy restaurant to have our last lunch at.
Steve got some wagyu and we shared a bunch of yakitori (chicken skewers) as well. Then I took us down to the basement levels of the department store, which have various lunch box shops and a grocery store with fun things to look at. The girls were intrigued by the boxes of fresh flowers you could buy for cooking/eating and they loved pretty much everything in the lunch box shop section.
Sophie found some plain cucumber sushi and Rachel got a couple of squares of salmon nigiri to snack on.
We used the last of our cash money and what was left on our train cards to buy up as many snacks from the 7/11 as we could and then we were on the bus and beginning the long journey home.
The bus ride was fairly good, though a Korean family had their little (18mth old? 2yo?) get bus sick and throw up everywhere. I felt so sorry for them, hearing her crying and them trying to help her feel better. I must have been emotional leaving Japan, but I was feeling it.
At Kansai airport, Steve returned the wifi we'd rented for the trip, while I got this last photo of the girls and Naruto, and then we joined the line to check in. It was a long line and there were only three desks open for check in. After that, we decided to do dinner before braving the security line so we had our last Japanese ramen together.
Security was painfully slow, and easily took an hour of waiting to get through. Then it was straight through the other side, onto the shuttle bus to the boarding gate and then straight onto the plane. They'd already started boarding when we got there. Painfully though, we were delayed at least a half hour before we left because the check in and security lines had been so long and people were still being put through.
The girls were so super tired by this stage and when they finally dimmed the lights for taxi and take off (at 10:20pm) I was hugely relieved. Unfortunately, they turned everything back on and did a full trolley service half an hour later. Rachel was convinced to go to sleep on my leg, but poor Sophie had the worst time of it. Luckily Steve had a spare seat next to him, so she shifted over and was able to get a few hours there. We were all quite sleep deprived come 5am, but at least we'd had something.
Then suddenly we could see Australia. We ate the last of our melon pan, the chocolate chip bread sticks and the croissants and got ready to get off.
Happy to be back in Australia, and even though we were quite tired, it was smiles all around as we waited for my parents to come pick us up. Travel done! I honestly felt so great about our trip. When we were leaving Munich back in 2017, I could not wait to get home, but this time, I honestly feel like I could have easily done another two weeks.
We all had Monday off work, I washed all the clothes and unpacked the suitcases. We made sure to sit down and watch the two Bluey episodes that had aired when we were overseas. Steve and Sophie napped. I did a grocery list and shopped (very basic!) and we had pies for dinner. Good Australian pies. With chips.
So glad we were able to visit Japan and make all these great memories, thanks for reading along if you are still here. Can't wait to plan the next trip back again.
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