Kyoto

Oh how we love this city!!!

For me this is my 6th visit to Kyoto, and for Erin it’s the 5th time around… and yet we are nowhere near exhausted with it.

The air is clean, the place is bustling yet feels small, and it is really the place where traditional Japan blends with modernization.

Kyoko has it’s own style of language. that is unique to the city,… people speak softer and slower. The same can be said about certain foods that are only found here. These are just a few things that keep pulling us back for more.

After having visited Kyoto so many times we have begun to assemble a number of haunts that we like to frequent in town. This time however was a bit of a short trip so we had to limit things just a bit. Renting bikes however was the best way to see lots and do it in the short time we had.

Naturally we had to stop by our favorite cafe for a morning set breakfast and to rekindle old memories. Funnily enough, even after 3 years the staff there remembered exactly who we were! Love this place.

The main reason for visiting this time was none other than the beautiful autumn colours that Kyoto is so famous for. We had a visit 3 years ago that was just a little too early for the fiery reds and vibrant yellows. This time we hit it on the mark! Check out Tofukuji Temple.

We enjoyed a great stone-grilled dinner one night and we ended up tipping a few glasses of Nihon-shu (sake) with a Japanese couple. Broken English and Japanese formed like voltron and we were able to communicate and have a good time. The chef was good fun too and had perfect English having spent the last 16 years in the states.

Of course, what trip to Kyoto would be complete without a visit to Nishiki market and the surrounding shopping arcades. Here small shops sell a pletora of delicious foods which will get any foody salivating! We couldn’t resist a couple fish-cake pops to nibble on as we roamed.

Days were ended in usual Japanese fashion with a bath. We were lucky because there was a sento (public bathing place) just around the corner from our guesthouse. Here there were about 5 different kinds of hot pools… 2 bubbling, medicinal, electo shock, and freezing cold. Sauna too! Just like the place I used to go to in Seki after those long days if teaching English. This time it was perfect for getting rid of traveller’s aches, pains, and grime.

We’ll continue this with two days in Beppu, where this city of onsens (hot springs) and sentos should have us fully sorted. See you there!