5 Days in Kyoto🇯🇵 The Japan Series; Part Two🇯🇵
[Music] So, when you’re getting a ticket for the Tokyo to Kyoto bullet train, you can of course just turn up on the day and buy your ticket at the station. However, I would definitely recommend booking it in advance. And the reason for that is you can get a seat in the green car, which means that you have Wi-Fi and you have a lot more space. And if you’re picking your seats, always choose seat C and seat D because that’s the side of the train that you’ll be on. So when you look out your window, you’ll see Mount Fuji. Now guys, I actually don’t think you understand how excited we are. So basically, Mount Fuji is only actually visible 120 to 120 days of the year. They say that between November and February are the best months to get a perfect clear view of the mountain. So the fact that we’re after getting a view like this in April, I’m so so happy. Like look at that view. Not a cloud in the sky. So in case people are wondering how fast the bullet trains actually go. 270 km an hour. Let that sink in. Okay, so we just arrived to our Kyoto accommodation and it’s so cute. A lot more space than Tokyo, which Dean is very thankful for. Best part of this hotel. Wait for it. We have our own little onen. It’s actually really deep, isn’t it? Like if I was to sit in that, I feel like you wouldn’t see my head. How many hotels do you know who gives you a straightener? A haird dryer. Yes, but a straightener. All about that. [Music] Okay, let’s go explore Kyoto. [Music] This place is the spot to be for food stalls. Oh my god. We got like five different things and they were all amazing. I’d always be a little bit nervous of food stalls, but no, it’s a 10 out of 10. 20 out of 10. [Music] We’re going in now to fill our stamp up. [Music] First official full day in Kyoto. [Music] [Music] [Applause] Good. Good lord. [Music] A lot of places in Kyoto don’t open until about 11:00. So, if you’re starving and you want breakfast, come to all of these little food stalls cuz they have samples of everything and you can just keep tasting tasting it all. So, it’s a great way if you want a free breakfast and the stuff is actually lovely. How cool is this? This is a Starbucks, but they don’t let them turn it into a commercial shop, so they have to keep it traditional. Love that they’re not going to allow Starbucks ruin the vibe. That area that we just came from is gorgeous. It’s very like traditional old style Japan, which is amazing and such a nice change from Tokyo. But wow, does it get busy past 9:00 a.m. So, we done a little run around, but the plan is to go back at 6:00 a.m. when nobody else is to get up and we’ll get all the good shots. [Music] Okay, another tip, especially for Kyoto, what we found is any restaurants that are popular can have really busy queues. Like we went to one spot last night and people were queuing for 2 hours just for RAM. So, we came back to the same place today and it’s 1:00. So, we’re going to go to the same restaurant and just have it for lunch instead. And there’s only like four people ahead of us in the queue. So, little things like that make a big difference. [Music] Some of the temples actually light up at night time. So, if you’re getting a little bit sick of seeing temples during the day, definitely recommend seeing them at night because it just hits different. [Music] Another day in Kyoto Don on the way back now with our famous 7-Eleven as always. I don’t understand how 7-Eleven get away with being so cheap. We just paid €16 and you’d want to see what we got. We got three vitamin drinks, two two sushies, two sandwiches, a box of noodles, crackers, and then a liter of water. Make that make sense if we’re ever stuck. 7-Eleven. Good morning. It is another day and it’s actually 5:35 a.m. So, we have a very early start this morning going to Fashimi Inari Shrine. Um, I heard it gets absolutely packed from like 7:00 a.m. onwards. So, we are going to try and get there nice and early and try to beat the crowds. [Music] We need to take a pit stop. [Music] These stairs are no joke. More steps. More steps. This is never ending. In a good way, but you definitely need to do some stair master walk before you come to Kyoto because it’s a lot on the quads. [Music] I just got asked to do a photo shoot of some photographer because he said he liked my outfit and his model let me down last minute. Oh my god, I’m such a people pleaser. I’m like anything to make someone happy. I was like of course I think dude recorded some videos so I’ll insert them in. Oh my god, that was hilarious. Only me. [Music] We made it to the top. That was a struggle. What time is it? Half 7 and it’s already like 24 degrees and uphill walking in that. We deserve some good food after that. Oh my god. We have to tell you the best part about doing this is just watching all the couples have domestics. Some of our tested tested hard. I think some people have broken up doing this walk. The amount of fights because people aren’t getting the photos that they wanted to get cuz it’s just so busy. That’s great entertainment. Back down we go. Look at the difference. Just because it’s an hour later, 8:00 a.m. and there is crowds. It’s just like ants. So, you have to be here between like 6:00 and half 6 to avoid all this. I am the queen of finding the best coffee spots. So if you are in Fushimi Inari Shrine, 5 minute walk from there, you have this spot. Best French toast I’ve ever had. Hands down. Not even exaggerating. I’ve never tasted anything like that. 6 hours into the day already. Yeah. 10:00 a.m. We’ve been up since 4:00 a.m. We’re already on 14,000 steps. So, it’s time to put our feet up for half an hour and snoodles. Up half an 8 and time to go again. So, you get these incense sticks included in the entry ticket, which is a nice touch. It’s the only place, it’s the only temple that’s done that so far. The rest of them have to pay separate. We actually get this included. So, let’s go light it. Smells heavy. [Music] Hey [Music] hey [Music] fall out fall baby We fall out. We fall. We fall. We fallen. We fall. What just do at the cocktail bar. Made funny Tik Toks. Our official Tik Tok debut. Laughing at yourself. I’m worried that the Kyoto vlog is literally just going to be food and coffee because it feels like that’s all we’ve done. I feel like we go from one coffee spot to a restaurant to another coffee spot to more food. Kyoto food and coffee is just banging, isn’t it? Yeah. Oh, really? You don’t even need temples or anything. Just come for the food. It’s half 6:00 in the morning and we are just down here at the not the impersonation. [Music] 6:30 a.m. crew. Look at that space. Empty streets. Give this like three or four hours and it is bed packed with people. [Music] We’ve fallen. We fallen. We fallen. We fallen. We fallen. We fallen. We fall. How cute is this? In Kyoto Botanical Gardens, they basically have a stamp scavenger hunt where there’s all different locations and you go and find them and then you add it and it adds layers onto the stamp. I love things like this and it gives you a good reason to walk around the nice gardens. Such a cute little souvenir to bring home. We are back from another day in Kyoto. I just wanted to come on and talk about the train that we done today. It was very much a spoil the- moment thing and we didn’t have a whole lot to do on the itin today. We had a couple of hours to kill and we remember seeing on Tik Tok about this really fancy train that goes from Kyoto to Osaka. So, I’ll insert clips here of the train, but it’s honestly gorgeous. It’s so normal. Like the Japanese just get on it and it’s just like a subway train. Like it’s not extra or anything because it’s a fancy train. It’s just the same standard price. The only thing is is that it only runs at the weekends and on bank holidays. If you are traveling from Kyoto to Osaka on a weekend day, definitely just time it and see if you can get that train. It’s only like something small, but it will just make your journey so much more enjoyable. Also, while I’m here, can we just take a moment to appreciate how cute the stamp book is looking at the minute? Honestly, like we get so excited looking for stamps. It’s so so cringy. But we just love it. Every time we get somewhere new or you end up like at like a new station, we’re like, “Where’s the stamp? Let’s try find a stamp.” Like she’s actually filling up. I don’t know if you can see this. Can you? They’re just all things that we’ve done. And so cute. And this is our Giann book. Um I actually don’t know if I spoke about this. So one thing if you are coming to Japan is obviously the stamp book is a great idea. I’d still recommend bringing it, but when you go into all of the temples, they do these specific stamps and it’s like writing and calligraphy because it’s like a religion a religious sort of thing. And they won’t just pop them in a normal stamp book. It has to be put into one of these like religious books. But we’ve just been using this for all like tourist attractions, train stations, random things. But this we’ve been using for all the temples. I definitely recommend the first temple that you go to, buy one of these. If you’re someone that likes like memories and souvenirs, it’s so worth it. Like, look how cool this is. So, each page is a different temple that we’ve gone to see. How cool is that? Look how it opens up. These amazing two books as souvenirs for our whole trip. So, they are two things that I would definitely recommend having for your trip to Japan. Good morning. Another 7-Eleven pit stop done. Starting off the day right. Okay, so we are here at Arushima and it’s quart to 8 and it’s already packed with people. I’ve seen another place on Tik Tok and it’s only like a 20 minute walk from the main bamboo forest and it’s meant to be less crowded, less wellnown basically. So, it’s such a nice morning. So, we said we walked the 20 minutes. For some reason on Google Maps, it doesn’t tell you opening hours, but according to this, it’s not open until 9:00 and it’s quart 8. I’m raging. Okay, so that was a little bit of a fail. Kind of feel like we’ve done like two bamboo forests so far. So, we’re not really willing to wait 45 minutes just to see another one. So, get here for 9 is what we’re trying to say because you’re not going to be able to do a whole lot else before 9. We live and we learn. That’s why we’re here to tell you guys. So, when you come, you have all the information. Heat. Heat. [Music] [Applause] [Music] If you are coming to the Golden Temple, definitely come early. Like have this is almost one of your first things that you do because it gets crazy busy to the point where you can’t even get a photo cuz there’s just crowds. This is the difference when you come to a temple later in the day. [Music] 27,000 steps. I think it’s time we get a massage. I think I think we’ve earned it today. [Music] It’s time to leave the Kyoto Hotel and we’re really sad about it. It’s a very emotional time. I hate leaving anywhere. But we’re not saying goodbye to Kyoto just yet. We’re going to another hotel, which is an onen hotel. Cuz even just saying it out loud is like I don’t know if I’m going to be able to do this. But before we check out, I just thought I’d give a little bit of feedback and a review. Would definitely definitely recommend staying here. The location was perfect. Everything was like everything in Kyoto was pretty much a 10 to 15 minute walk. The staff were so lovely. Um, you have to like drop your key in every time you’re coming and going. So, you always get to like see the staff and they get to know you as well. Um, so nice, so friendly. The only thing is if you are staying here is that they do have a curfew. So, the hotel closes at midnight. Now, obviously for us, that didn’t make much of a difference cuz we’re not part of the animals whatsoever. But, if you are someone that likes to go out and have some drinks and be out late, probably wouldn’t recommend this hotel for you. stay shut until 5:00 a.m. Um, which actually suited us was perfect because there was a couple of mornings where we left at like 6:00 a.m. So, the hotel was open and you were able to leave. But like that, we were just so busy that we were home most nights by 9:00. So, the core view didn’t affect us whatsoever. Um, but if anything, it just shows how safe the hotel is. Sad to leave, but we go on to another spot now tonight and we’ll bring you along. It’s a tradition in some places in Japan to leave your shoes outside as it’s seen as a bad omen bringing negative energy from outside into a safer place. We had to leave our shoes in these lockers overnight while we were staying here. I mean, I’ve definitely had nicer looks, but these are the clothes that you have to wear when you’re in the Onson Hotel. Um, they’re actually quite comfy, even though they’re not the most aesthetic looking. They’re very, very comfortable. They actually also give you a little basket and it just has um socks for after your bath, slippers, fresh towel. But I mean, that’s cute. For anyone who doesn’t know, an onsen is a natural like hot spring. So, it’s like a pool basically, but it’s hot water. Um, but in Japan it’s like a cultural thing that they do them in the nude. So it’s all about being pure, cleansing your body, cleansing your soul. So it’s like fully nude. Now they’re obviously segregated into males and females. So I won’t be with Deian, which I’m a little bit nervous about, but at the same time, I’d rather be with a room full of women and not be with Dean instead of being with Dean, but be surrounded by men and penises. I don’t know if I could say that. Another thing as well to know about onens is that the majority of them um don’t allow people with tattoos. So they have these patches that you can get. Now some places do allow tattoos. I think places where you can get private on send. They don’t mind as much. But I just recommend checking with the place that you’re going just to see if they allow tattoos or not, but for the most part they don’t. They have unlimited free ice cream for after your bath. Um and you can just have them whenever. Like me and Dean haven’t even gone into the onsen yet and we’ve had like three ice creams and then at 9:00 they give you a free ramen to eat as well. So 10 out of 10 so far I have to say I will keep you posted on how the onsen experience goes. Um but obviously because it is new I can’t bring a camera, you can’t bring your phone. So obviously there’s no filming allowed. So won’t be able to bring us along but I’m sure you don’t want to see that anyway. Um, but yeah, here we go. Cheers to new experiences. If you’re a matcha lover, you will be sorted in Japan because every second shop is matcha coffee, matcha ice cream, matcha pancake. We’re not mad on matcha. I really don’t understand the hype. But I said I’m going to try it here because it is meant to be amazing. This is going to be a taste test. I just I don’t get it. And we just get people to say that they don’t like matcha. Like it’s not a crime. Like I’m drinking this and I’m like I like to follow trends but no I just I can’t jump on that matchup bandwagon at all. Another train, another city.
🇯🇵 Welcome to Part 2 of my Japan Travel Series – KYOTO Edition 🇯🇵
After the crazy buzz of Tokyo, we slowed things down a little and spent 5 magical days in Kyoto—a city that has it all ⛩️ and don’t even get me started on the food! I’m still dreaming about their ramen and gyozas – a foodies paradise🥟🍜🍱
Don’t forget to like and subscribe because Part 3 is coming soon—and you won’t want to miss where we go next!
Any thoughts or travel questions? Drop them in the comments! 💬
With love,
Grace 🌍
Kyoto Accomdation
https://www.booking.com/hotel/jp/wanosato-kyoto-musee.en-gb.html?aid=356980&label=gog235jc-10CAsodUIUd2Fub3NhdG8ta3lvdG8tbXVzZWVIM1gDaGmIAQGYATO4AQfIAQ3YAQPoAQH4AQGIAgGoAgG4ArWvnsQGwAIB0gIkMGUyODM5NGEtMTgxYS00ZGM1LWE0ZmQtOWZhNDYyNTNkMGI02AIB4AIB&sid=ef9e79234a92a50210000eb7fa84ee33&dist=0&group_adults=2&group_children=0&keep_landing=1&no_rooms=1&sb_price_type=total&type=total&
Onsen Hotel
https://www.booking.com/hotel/jp/onyado-nono-kyoto-shichijo.en-gb.html?aid=318615&label=New_English_EN_IE_20153704825-FYUwHK1Cx8hIZpAQIPOUJQS640874805295%3Apl%3Ata%3Ap1%3Ap2%3Aac%3Aap%3Aneg&sid=ef9e79234a92a50210000eb7fa84ee33&dest_id=5933351&dest_type=hotel&dist=0&group_adults=2&group_children=0&hapos=1&hpos=1&no_rooms=1&req_adults=2&req_children=0&room1=A%2CA&sb_price_type=total&sr_order=popularity&srepoch=1753716695&srpvid=b2306d284cd402ea&type=total&ucfs=1&
Stamp Book
Chapters:
00:00 – 01:44 Travelling to Kyoto & Accomodation
01:44 – 2:26 Day 1
2:26 – 6:01 Day 2
6:01 – 10:14 Day 3
10:14 – 13:44 Day 4
13:44 – 17:11 Day 5
17:11 – 21:43 Final Day
AloJapan.com