We left Kyoto in the late afternoon. Jasmin and I again went on the Shinkansen.
After we arrived to Tokyo station, we paused for a bit and had to figure out.
We went to where the Yamanote platform and looked at which stop was for Shibuya station.
After we got to Shibuya station, we went to our hotel.
We got up that morning and packed to leave once we get back from Kyoto. Soon, we headed for the Shinsaibashi station. We were going back to Kyoto to see a few things.
We got to Kyoto station and got on the bus. We were planned to see The Golden Pavilion, Fushimi Inari Taisa and others. After the Golden Pavilion, I think we were kinda worn out.
So instead of hopping on the bus or trains to go to other temples and shrines, we started shopping.
Fushimi Inari is one of those places you have to dedicate hours to if you want to go up the mountain. So we did not go.
When Jasmin and I got to Osaka, we went to our place of stay (not a hotel) and it felt awkward. First off, the sign on the building’s front door says no AirBnB services. Then when we got to our room, it wasn’t super clean (hair was in the bathroom, bed sheets and floor). Almost like they forgot to sweep.
I was content, but Jasmin wasn’t. So she called AirBnB. We mentioned the sign on the front door and they said take a picture. After they received it, they refunded our money and said that the host wasn’t being honest with them. This place was kinda further away from the things we wanted anyway.
Jasmin found a decent priced hotel on short notice (we were staying here for 3 days). Best Western Hotel Fino in Shinsaibashi!!!
Not only that, We were walking distance to Dotonbori!!! This is that really cool food district in Osaka!
Once we checked in and put stuff away, we decided to check out Dotonbori at night and boy was it active!!! Food places galore!
You have to have decent navigation skills and sense of direction because looking down each street… they look all the same.
I only took 2 Hiroden streetcars/trams.
They were back and forth from Hiroshimaeki Station to Hiroshima Memorial Peace park.
On my Wandering Leopard Pilgrimage, I headed to see the Saijo Inari Shrine.
As I was on the Momotaro line to Bitchu-Takamatsu station when I saw a huge Torii Gate.
This is the 最上稲荷大鳥居 or Mogami Inari Otorii.
This was another busy spot had tons of people that were not courteous. People would take too long for pictures, get in your way…
Anyways, sorry for that rant!
We got off the bus and walked up a street. We came to the entrance. As soon as you walk a few feet, you get to see this magnificent treasure!!!
At Arashiyama station, we explored Kimono Forest. It was late and we were tired from the long day in Kyoto. We covered many things and went from East to West Kyoto.
It was time to head back. I lost these pictures when I merged them on my computer and thought they were all the same (idiot move!). But we jumped on 3 systems to get back to JR Kyoto station.
Randen Arashiyama station is for the the Keifuku Randen tram system. The trams are Electric. The fare is a flat rate, I think of $2 or 220 yen. You can buy a ticket before or pay in change after.
These are historic and nostalgic since these are very few (I learned of only 2 tram lines left).
We started at Arashiyama station (A13) and needed to get Randen-Tenjingawa Station (A5).
Stock photo of Randen train
After getting off at Randen-Tejingawa station, it is a small walk to Uzumasa-Tenjingawa station (operated byKyoto Municipal Subway). While the tram is street level, once you get off, you’ll see a small building across the street that stands out because it is some kind of peach color. That is the subway entrance.
Here we boarded the Tozai line at Uzumasa-Tenjingawa Station (T17).
We would get off at Karasuma Oike Station (K8).
At this station, we would use the other subway train, Karasuma line.
As we were looking for a train station, we came upon Randen Arashiyama station. From the street (it was night time) we could see the light patterns on poles. Upon coming closer, it was the Kimono Forest! This is off the beaten path and almost like a hidden gem as Kyoto has TONS to see!
As we were coming out of the bamboo forest, there was a rickshaw driver.
The traditional rickshaw is a cart that the driver actually guides and pulls. http://ebisuya.com/en/index.html
We asked how much and he said for 5,000 yen a person for 22 minutes. He took us a few blocks and showed us the local hotel where celebrities stayed. We also went by the Togetsu bridge!
I’ll have to be honest, Jasmin put alot of thought into this trip. She was really the one who changed the way I travel. She looked up all these great spots that I would have passed over to visit a car shop.
One place I didn’t expect was the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. While it is just a “forest” trail, I have never seen bamboo like this. So it was an unique experience.
It started to get dark and unfortunately, I had my digital SLR, but no tripod. So my photos started to become blurry (beginner photographer if that).
