Japan Trip—Day 5

Breakfast. It finally became what should be the biggest meal of the day:

We stayed here for one night and the hotel came with dinner and breakfast.

Frankly, having so many assortments of dishes and knowing little about their culinary culture, we guessed when and how we should consume half of the things across our table. Nonetheless, not only was it a good meal, it was also a memorable experience.

That was a wrap for Atami. We then took the noon train towards Kyoto, where they house the famous golden-temple, the shrine of thousand pillars (torii), and much more.

Tickets to Kyoto ain’t cheap. Riding Shinkansen costs about $110/person. The speed goes up to 360 mph, and it would take around 2.5 hours to reach Kyoto from Atami.

Touch down.

Dad already met a babe, a geisha. She just doesn’t talk much.

A small pie shop in Kyoto train station.

…but the portion’s nothing near small.

In Kyoto, we’re staying in a hostel for the rest of our Japan trip. It resides in a suburban area, but just 20 minutes from downtown by feet.

The key feature of this hostel is its traditional Japanese architecture. It’s nice to experience the authentic lifestyle, except the house tend to be a bit short. I’ve bumped my head twice so far, and if it happens again, I’m seriously consider getting a helmet for the place.

Streets of Kyoto.

One of the well-known brands from Kyoto is the Ichizawa Shinzaburo Hanpu. They design and build canvas bags.

All of them were built by hand, and sold exclusively in Kyoto. Limited hand-made production and exclusivity typically means one thing—it’s expensive. Quality goods comes with a fair price. A typical medium size bag goes for around $100 US.

Variety of patterns:

They also expanded their product line to watches as well:

Just a couple minutes away, we swung by Chion-In. “It is the headquarters of the Jōdo-shū (Pure Land Sect) founded by Hōnen (1133–1212), who proclaimed that sentient beings are reborn in Amida Buddha’s Western Paradise (Pure Land) by reciting the nembutsu, Amida Buddha’s name. The vast compounds of Chion-in include the site where Hōnen settled to disseminate his teachings and the site where he died.”

Like I mentioned in the previous posts. Kyoto’s drastically different from Tokyo. Kyoto’s the city of traditions and arts; it’s soothing to engulf ourselves in such refreshing atmosphere.

Many came to wish for love and romantic relations:

MANY came.

Adjacent to Chion-In is Gion. “The district was built to accommodate the needs of travelers and visitors to the shrine. It eventually evolved to become one of the most exclusive and well-known geisha districts in all of Japan.”

The district is filled with tourists and we found many interesting souvenirs in their local shops:

One of the big things here is Chopsticks. They represents their upmost standard and deep culture for food. Shops carry in all shape and sizes. They run from $5 to $300 a pair. It’s incredible.

Speaking of chopsticks, time for dinner:

Before the day ended, we swung by a local convenient store. I found this:
Isn’t it awesome?!

Parents wanted to call of the day early for we’ve traveled quite a long way. Allen and I decided to take out the bikes the hostel provided and take a stroll around town. It was 9PM.

Saw the Kamo River. It was used as the main water source for the Kyoto residents back in the days, now it’s a walk around spot for tourist and…

…a romantic spot for lovers. 98% of the people I saw on the bank were couples (with 1% bromance and 1% others like us). And due to its low light environment, there’s a lot more going on than just holding hands.