Kyoto
was a city that I really wanted to visit. It was my first time ever
to visit Japan. Since we didn't get to travel in the summer vacation,
we wanted to celebrate my husband's birthday somewhere nice and
inexpensive to get to. Flying on Peach air was very affordable. My
review of Peach air is coming soon in an upcoming post of the best
and the worst airlines I flew with.
We
flew to Osaka, Kansai airport and from there took the shuttle bus
from outside the terminal and got off at the train station. We took
JR rapid train to Kyoto central station. It takes around 80 minutes.
A one-day pass is 25$ per person for foreigners, you must show your
passport. You can buy the pass from the train station.
If
you arrive at Kyoto station at night the tourist information booth
will be closed. You can find a wifi spot and look up Google maps for
the place you want to go to on your smart phone or tablet.
Shocking
Things I Found in Kyoto:
1-
Not all ATMs there accept international cards. Most of the machines
didn't accept Mastercard. The post office has ATMs that accept all
cards which was nice after wandering around for 40 minutes trying to
withdraw cash. That was shocking because Kyoto is a popular
destination for westerners.
2-
Many places didn't have wifi, which isn't that important unless you
need to look up directions, which happened in our case.
Sleeping
in Kyoto:
There
are a lot of hotels near Kyoto station with different prices. Some
are expensive and some are affordable. Staying near the station is a
smart thing, as you would be near everything: trains, subway and
buses.
We
stayed at Kyoto Garden Palace. It's a nice hotel, pricey, more than I
would usually pay, but again it was my husband's birthday trip and it
was nice to stay at a good hotel. The room was fantastic, the bed and
pillows were comfortable, the bathroom had a bidet which I loved. The
room was clean and the staff were helpful. The only thing that I
didn't like was that the TV didn't have any English channels, they
all were in Japanese.
Things
To Do in Kyoto:
1-
Dress up like a geisha or a samurai and have a photo shoot. There are
studios everywhere for this kind of thing. We booked a package with
Shiki studio. You can choose which package you want to have. They
have different prices and some packages are expensive. The make-up
artists are very nice and professional. However, there are a lot of
hidden expenses that weren't mentioned in the website. For a example,
I chose a stroll package which cost around 80$ that should include
the Japanese socks. We went there and filled the form and there were
a lot of extra stuff they wanted me to pay for after paying 80$
already.
2-
Visit Gion neighborhood for some glances of the past and a walk
through the old and beautiful buildings. You might get lucky and see
a real geisha.
3-
While in Gion you can stop by Gion Corner theater to watch a show
about traditional Kyoto art and music. It costs 31$ but they had a
special price for tourists of 25$ per ticket. They accept cash only.
It worth watching the show. From Kyoto central bus terminal take bus
206 direct to Gion area, it takes about 15-20 minutes.
4-
Go to Fushimi Inari Shrine, such a beautiful place, free admission
and easy to get to. From Kyoto station take the subway and get off at
Inari station.
5-
Visit Kyoto Imperial palace. It closes on weekends, which we didn't
know, so we didn't get a chance to enter the palace. However, we
walked in the garden. It was beautiful and peaceful. From Kyoto
station take the subway for 4 stops and get off at Marutamachi
station and walk for about 5 minutes.
6-
Universal studios in Osaka. You might think it's hard to get to but
it wasn't. From Kyoto station take the rapid train to Osaka station
and from there take the subway to Universal City station, a few
minutes ride. I know many people would love to go there and that why
I'm including it on my list. As for me I found the studios very
disappointing and poorly managed. Most of the space was taken by
restaurants/cafes/gift shops, the space for the rides and theme parks
weren't as big, which meant very long lines for each ride. The
entrance ticket cost 65$ and that amount of money doesn't save you
from standing for an hour in a long line. They sell an express ticket
which cost 50$ extra according to a worker. This super expensive
ticket would actually save you from standing in unmoving line until
your back hurts. I didn't buy it because it's stealing. You know, you
pay a price and then you have two options - pay them more money or
stand for hours.
Eating
in Kyoto:
The
first thing you need to know about traditional Japanese restaurants
there is that most of them are hidden behind wooden doors and the
signs are all written in Japanese so you wouldn't even recognize the
place as a restaurant. Eating in Kyoto was harder than I expected.
I'm not talking about Kyoto central area.
Do
not eat at the Gion area if you are on a budget. The prices there are
very expensive.
Two
restaurants in the Shijo area in the back streets refused to let us
in and I believe it had something to do with racism. It was around
7:00pm we had long day walking around and exploring places. We got
hungry and we really wanted to have sushi. One restaurant was open.
We tried to get in and the waiter, who was standing near the door,
told us that the place was closed despite the fact that the lights
were on, the tables were set and the menu was outside. At the second
restaurant, which was a few doors past the first one, people were in
eating. Once we stepped in two waiters started shouting at us saying
“No, No.” We looked around and there were 6 available seats on
the bar and 2 available tables, we pointed at the empty places and
they answered that it was reserved but there was no sign whatsoever
say those seats were reserved. I hope they weren't racist to
foreigners but it sure seemed like it and unfortunately those two
restaurants' names were written in Japanese only, so I don't their
names. The second one had a Japanese title followed by the word Miki.
1-
Musashi Sushi: eating there was a treat. The best sushi that I've
ever had. Each plate had the price on it so you would know how much
you're spending.
2-
Eating in the Porta, which is underground in Kyoto station. It's a
sort of food court. A lot of restaurant with different prices, you
can pick affordable places or fast food places like a Subway branch
there.
3-
Cosme Kitchen Cafe in the Cube shopping mall, also in Kyoto station.
I want to recommend this cafe with good coffee, good service.
