We rented a traditional Japanese house while staying in Kyoto for 3 days and 2 nights. Our journey in Kyoto began after we got out from Uzumasa station after a long Shinkansen ride from Tokyo (there is another station really near from our house, but it didn't connect to the main Kyoto Station), which was located near our house for the next 3 days. We looked so confused an old lady was asking us if we got lost. It was so much fun yet tiring when we try to find the house, which was actually located in a quiet neighbourhood like I often saw in Japanese movies and cartoon!
We didn't meet our host, Hana, while we're staying in Kyoto, but she told us how to retrieve the house keys and provide everything we need while staying at the house. It was a really nice house, I could say. I fell in love with the interiors! It was a traditional house with antique furnitures, complete with any Japanese traditional house necessities; tatami room, shōji, kotatsu (Unfortunately we can't use it because it's summer), and futon beds!
Yes, we did a little photo shoot at this pretty little house. Hehehe.
We got up earlier the next morning for a walk at Arashiyama, a district located in the outskirt of Kyoto known for its historic sites and natural beauty. The location can be easily accessed via train and it took us approximately 2 minutes walking from our home to the nearest train station, Arisugawa.
The roads are still empty by the time we arrived at Arashiyama. This district is absolutely my favourite place to visit during my visit to Kyoto, due to its traditional atmosphere and old but beautiful buildings it has! The after rain weather that we experienced the time we went there making it nearly perfect!
Because it was still so early in the morning, we decided to take our first stroll to the famous Arashiyama bamboo grove located around 10 minutes by walking down the main street. The main street lead us to smaller streets which was surrounded by the beautiful, green, bamboo forest. We witnessed such a beautiful harmony between God and man's creation. It was breathtaking, yet so relaxing.
What makes the sight even more enigmatic was, for the first time ever, I saw a Japanese graveyard and its tombstones. I read a lot about Japanese traditions and rites, and I notice that Japanese funeral is one of the most unique process they had there in Japan. Summer in Japan is also known in popular culture for celebrating the deaths with a festival called Obon. Too bad Obon will be held in August, making me arriving a month earlier in Japan. I wish I could experience this iconic celebration in my next visit to Japan!
We also decided to took a glimpse of Tenryu-ji temple, known as one of the five best zen temples in Kyoto, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although we didn't manage to snap some photographs, but still, this place is a must visit!
After Tenryu-ji Temple, we went to another popular site, the one and only Fushimi-Inari shrine. The shrine was jam-packed with people, due to its popularity and people manage to visit the shrine to take photographs at the beautiful vibrant orange gates (the same circumstances as mine, duh). It's pretty easy to get to the shrine via train or subway. The nearest train station's name is pretty obvious and it's printed in a gigantic font size: Fushimi-Inari train station, or Inari Station.
We got off from Fushimi-Inari train station and it was a pretty long walk to get from the station to the shrine. But don't worry, there will be lots of souvenir shops and restaurants you can savour first! There were also lots of food stalls across the road that leads us to the shrine.
The gates were so much crowded than the base temple and we're desperate to enjoy the view, well at least for a short moment of time. How do we finally manage to escape the crowds and take good pictures? Simple. Climb the Inari, the mountain where Fushimi-Inari shrine is located. There are 5000 gates and it must be a long trail, the further you walk, there will be less people in your photos! Haha!
No good photos of mine, so here's Fushimi-Inari shrine featuring my cousin.
We continued our journey in Kyoto by taking multiple buses to the famous Higashiyama District, where we will be taken back to the past, walking in a street full of traditional buildings of Kyoto. We went in from Sannenzaka street, going all the way to Kiyomizu-dera, and then going back to the main street via Ninenzaka. Didn't take a lot of pictures, but of course we're saving the best to show them up here. Hehe.
We discovered a small shrine (I still don't get the name of it), which turned out to be super colourful because the usual wooden plaque used for people to make a wish was replaced with beanbags!
Kiyomizu-dera was, again, jam-packed with people from across the world. We didn't even manage to get a decent photo at there, but at least we can savour ourselves with tasty Matcha ice cream (Not pictured due to small Snapchat-sized photo)! Haha!
Our last destination in Kyoto was considered impromptu. I never heard or searched anything about this place before, but we're SO GLAD to find this final place. The place is Toei Kyoto Studio Park, a park that displayed quiet vast amount of sets that were used for filming, especially films that sets in the past Japan era.
There were LOTS of attractions we can actually do, but since it was around 4 PM already, we only manage to enjoy up to 2 attractions. First, we watched a show about the making of Japanese movies (which involves a lot of visual effects and tricks) starring a samurai and a ninja. Then, we tried a haunted house attraction which is super creepy because it's not a ride where you can sit down and close your eyes every time a ghost appear, but you should walk in a small group in order to survive. That gave me such a chill!
The journey ended shortly after we arrived at our home. It was such a fine day for us to explore the beauty of Kyoto. Once again, if I have another chance to visit Japan in the future, I would love to stay in Kyoto much longer. There are probably loads of places that I haven't explore yet, due to the lack of time in Kyoto. I never expect Kyoto to be this beautiful. Another place in this world keeps on surprising me with its beauty and memories. Thank you Kyoto.
Lastly, enjoy this legendary Sukiyaki that accompanies me during writing this post.
