A Relaxing Day in Kyoto | Exploring Sannenzaka and Kiyomizu-dera | Japan Travel VLOG

A Relaxing Day in Kyoto | Exploring Sannenzaka and Kiyomizu-dera | Japan Travel VLOG

[ Kyoto : Kiyomizu ] Hello everyone. This is Wat and Umi. Today, we’re going to visit the famous Kiyomizu area of Kyoto. It’s quite late in the day now. We’re taking a public bus from our hotel to our destination. And it seems that the bus is really crowded along the way. Great. We’ve arrived at the bus stop. Let’s get off the bus. We’ve finally arrived at the entrance to our destination. It’s quite a sunny day, and Kyoto is looking very lively from this point. We’ve decided to walk down the main street as we really want to explore this place. And the first thing we’re doing is looking at this ceramics store. This store seems to have so many ceramic items. Each of them is so beautiful, like a piece of art in itself. Umi really loves matcha bowls, as she always makes matcha in the authentic way, which requires a special bowl. And in the end, we ended up buying two matcha bowls from this shop. After coming out of the ceramics shop, we decided to go into a side street to get to Yasaka-dori, a street with a great view of the old pagoda. Along this street, there are so many old Japanese houses. We also found a kimono rental shop with a very cute doll in front. We also found this shop, which looks quite interesting. This seems to be the famous custom ring shop that went viral on social media. But sadly, it was closed for visitors today. I hope that we’ll have a chance to come back and do the workshop someday. We’ve finally arrived at Yasaka-dori. We can see the iconic Yasaka Pagoda from here. And now, it’s time for Umi to go and look around the souvenir shops again 😅. This shop seems to sell lots of art painted on paper. Each of the products looks very colorful. We really enjoyed the art in this shop. In the end, we didn’t buy anything from here. While walking along Yasaka-dori, we’re really enjoying the nice little things hanging in front of each building. Hmm… Looks like we’ve found our first interesting dessert shop that sells a really unique pudding. The shop is really deep in an alley, hidden from the main street. Inside the shop, they seem to have so many choices of dessert to choose from. Oh wow, the ice cream also looks really tasty. And of course, there is custard available here. In the end, we ended up buying the fancy matcha ice cream. I really can’t wait to see what the real one looks like. Yay, we finally got our ice cream! Let’s see what it tastes like. Ummm… Yummy! We enjoyed the ice cream down to the last bite before we went back out to the main street. While walking along the street, Umi told me that she really wanted to go into this shop. Ah, I see now. She still wants to look for matcha bowls. The matcha bowls available here look really delicate. All of them seem to be handcrafted. Oh wow, it seems there are also lots of antique matcha bowls that are really expensive. Some of them are priced at a million yen! After looking around the shop, we decided to order an iced hojicha at the counter. We also bought some hojicha latte powder for us to make at home. The owner was also kind enough to give us instructions on how to make the hojicha correctly. Looks like our Iced Hojicha drink is ready 😃. And… it tastes really good. From here, the Yasaka Pagoda looks really beautiful. I really like the vibe of this street. While walking along the street, it seems that we’ve found a secret temple hidden away by old buildings. This is Yasaka Kōshin-dō. This is a small temple that is a captivating place of worship where vibrant colors and ancient traditions merge. Renowned for its unique customs derived from the Kōshin faith, this temple draws visitors from around the world. Established in the Heian period, it is dedicated to the protective deity Shōmen Kongō and his messengers. The core Kōshin belief involves outsmarting internal spirits, or Sanshi. It is believed that the spirits report on a person’s behavior to the heavens during a specific night every two months. The temple is famously adorned with countless “kukurizaru,” which are colorful cloth talismans shaped like bound monkeys. These represent the control of desire; visitors hang them up after writing a wish, signifying their willingness to give up a small desire in hopes of fulfilling a larger one. This practice transforms the temple into a stunning tapestry of prayers, offering a memorable cultural and spiritual experience in Kyoto. We are back on the main street, and we are now in front of the Yasaka Pagoda. It’s now time for us to look at other shops. The croissants in this shop look really colourful and yummy. But because there are too many people in this cafe, we decided not to go in. Hopefully, we can come back here in the future to try them out. We found another ceramic shop. And that means Umi is going to explore this shop too. 😅 It looks like this shop also has many products to choose from. Oh, wow, they also have a private zen garden here. And each ceramic piece also has a really cute pattern. There are so many products with a cat theme. It looks like we’ve found the secret entrance to the basement. And down here, there are so many beautiful ceramic pieces. There’s even an artistic ceramic daruma doll here. Wow, we are really close to the Yasaka Pagoda now. The pagoda seems to have a very long history, similar to many places in Kyoto. The Yasaka Pagoda, officially known as Hokan-ji Temple, is one of the most iconic and enduring landmarks in Kyoto. Situated in the historic Higashiyama district, its elegant, five-story form rises gracefully above the traditional wooden houses. The pagoda creates one of the city’s most picturesque and famous views. It stands as a powerful symbol of old Kyoto and is a must-see for visitors exploring the area’s beautifully preserved streets. The pagoda’s history is long and turbulent, marked by both its ancient origins and its remarkable resilience. Tradition holds that the temple was founded in 592 AD by Prince Shotoku, a pivotal figure in establishing Buddhism in Japan, who was supposedly inspired by a dream. Like many of Japan’s historic wooden structures, the Yasaka Pagoda has been destroyed by fire on multiple occasions. The current structure was rebuilt in 1440 by shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori. The pagoda has miraculously survived for nearly 600 years, enduring wars and disasters that have leveled much of the city around it. Today, the Yasaka Pagoda is far more than just a religious building; it is a cultural centerpiece designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan. Its presence defines the character of the Higashiyama ward, serving as a timeless reminder of Kyoto’s rich history and architectural heritage. We have now arrived at Ninenzaka, one of the most famous streets in Kyoto. There are so many people walking through this street. It looks like we’ve found the most famous Starbucks in Kyoto, and in Japan. This Starbucks is famous because it’s located inside an ancient Kyoto building. And because it is such a famous branch, there are so many people visiting. Because the queue was too long, we didn’t have a chance to buy any drinks. I have to admit that the view from the second floor of this cafe is very beautiful. 😀 We decided to go back out to the main street and found that there were so many people, we could barely walk. Suddenly, Umi said that she really wanted to have dango. So, we decided to find a dango shop, and then we found this one. They seem to have many flavours of dango to choose from. We decided to order the golden dango, which is the original flavour. Finally, we have our dango. It looks really colourful and delicious. Because it’s late in the afternoon and we haven’t had lunch yet, we are still hungry after eating the dango. And then we found on the internet that there was a restaurant still open in this alley. The shop looks very small but cosy. It seems that this shop sells refreshing ramen with lemon. Because we were so hungry, we decided to order two bowls of ramen. Because it’s famous for lemon ramen, the lamp even has a lemon design on it. It looks like the lemon ramen is almost ready to be served.

Hello everyone! In this video, Umi and I explore Kyoto’s famous old town, the beautiful Higashiyama District! We will be visiting some of the most iconic places and things to do in the city, including the stunning Yasaka Pagoda, the historic streets of Sannenzaka, and the breathtaking Kiyomizu-dera shrine. Along the way, we check out charming local cafes and shops to enjoy delicious Japanese food and traditional sweets. We’re so excited to share our Japan travel experience with you and hope you enjoy this peaceful journey through the ancient streets of Kyoto!

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