Kyoto Japan With a Baby (Everything We Did)

Kyoto Japan With a Baby (Everything We Did)

[Music] When you think of Japan, there’s a good chance you picture temples, tory gates, and really good food. This week, we’re discovering Kyoto, Japan with our baby, finding quiet corners of the city, and showing you what it’s really like to travel Japan as a family. Come with us as we explore Kyoto. [Music] Well, this is what 5:30 in the morning looks like on this street. This is what you made me get up at 4 in the morning for. I I’d say it’s worth it. It is very beautiful and very quiet. I have no idea what it looks like um later in the day, but I’ve heard that this place just gets insanely busy. Um so I think it’s worth it. So quiet. It is so quiet. There’s no noise. Just the birds. Are you becoming a morning person, Sarah? Slowly but surely, I think I am here in Japan. Feel like the baby kind of helps. Yeah, it’s true. That’s what she wants to do. She’s so chill in the morning. Yeah, just a sleepy gal. I’m finding it interesting how many no photography signs there are. Right in front of where Sarah’s taking a photo. Hey, not the one I took a photo. No. Oh, but I’m sure there’s people that just come and do photo shoots on these people’s front porch and just sit there for hours just totally. Yeah. So, it makes sense. It does make sense. I guess we’ll see later. Yeah. I mean, it seemingly there are a lot of people who actually live in this area. So, I personally would get super annoyed with people just taking so many photo. Yeah, please don’t take photos here. We’re doing this forformational purposes only. [Music] So, here’s the thing about getting up early to come to some places like this. Um, everything is closed. We wanted to get some matcha. We wanted to go to this temple. Nothing opens until like 9:00 at the earliest. At the ear. Most of the shops in that area are 10:30 or 11. And we got here at like 5:30. It’s now like4 to 7, but you still got to wait. So, what you’re meaning is I could have slept in. No. So, I’m right is what I’m hearing. Yes, dear. [Music] Camera eats first. Yeah, it’s so pretty. Believe it or not, this is our first matcha in Japan. I am truthfully not usually a fan of matcha at home. So, we’ll see if Japan convinces me otherwise. Are you supposed to mix it with this little spoon? I you know, you’d think you would because it comes with it. This is going to be really hard to do one-handed. [Music] It’s good flavor. Very strong green tea flavor. I still feel like the thing with matcha for me is is the texture. It’s very grainy. Like it feels a little bit like I’m eating grass, drinking grass. But it this flavor is really delicious actually. That’s good. We got those. [Applause] Ooh, we even get some incense. Cleansing. Mhm. A tribute to the unknown soldier. World War II. A monument to the Second World War’s unknown soldier was erected in memory of more than 48,000 foreign soldiers who perished on Japanese territory or on territory under Japanese military control. Very cool. That is far too busy. I like it. Get me out of here. [Music] Kyoto is obviously very busy, but we’ve been pleasantly surprised by how many families there are traveling here, especially now traveling as a family with baby Juniper. What I’ve been so surprised by is how much luggage everyone travels with here. Especially when we took the train from Tokyo to Kyoto, it was insane at the amount of luggage that people take. And I mean, we try to travel like fairly minimally, usually just having a bag each. We have to carry a little bit more now that we have Juniper. But we’ve been traveling with our Level eight luggage for quite a while now, and we love these bags. Yeah, we highly recommend Level eight for suitcases. They are sponsoring this video, but like Sarah says, we have been using them for a while now. We’re traveling with the Level 8 Voyager set for this trip, and I picked yellow because yellow is my favorite color, but they do come in many other colors, of course. I like the fact that they’re hard shell and the matte finish is super super nice. The greatest part though about these suitcases is that they have this wide handle. So when you open it up all the way inside, you don’t have the metal bars that run down the center and it actually saves you quite a bit of space. Plus the wheels are so smooth. I got to go get that. If you’re looking for some sturdy and stylish luggage, then you should definitely check out Level 8. We have a link in the description. And if you use the code Eric and Sarah 10, you can get 10% off your order. [Music] Wow. [Music] Incredible. So, I found this restaurant on Reddit. I was looking for the best food stops in Kyoto, and someone recommended this ramen place specifically for the curry ramen, which Eric ordered. I got miso ramen. But I knew it must be good because there was probably four or five responses to this guy’s comment about this restaurant that had come back since reading that and been like, “This was the best ramen I had in in Japan.” So, I had to try it. It’s very hot. That’s okay. You can wait. Don’t worry about it. Okay. Don’t burn your tongue just for the video. Ooh, that is so savory. So salty. I don’t know whether we’re early for dinner or if it’s just hot out or if no one really knows about this place at all, but we are the only ones in here. I’m not complaining. Cheers. Cheers. From the second we walked in here, it smelled so so good. Uh quite a bit like curry, actually. And I was looking this up. Sarah said, “Oh yeah, we’re going to go get curry ramen. I didn’t really think that was that common here in Japan, but it in fact is a very common type of ramen here is curry.” So, I’m excited to try it. Did I do this right? Yeah. [Music] That was a really hot bite. Oh, so so good. And you love curry, so that’s a good sign. Yeah, I’m I love curry stuff. Oh, it’s quite spicy. It’s good. I’m happy with that. Oh, that is so good. Wow. ground. [Music] Best thing about Juniper is this girl loves a good train nap. So, if we time it just right, then we board the train as she’s seeming tired. Then we arrive and she’s just passed out. It does get a little bit awkward when she cries on the train, though, I will say. Yeah, it’s true. It’s not ideal. But she doesn’t cry too much, so it’s okay. 1 thousand tour gates. This is We made it. So, so cool. Iconic Keyoto. Also a total illusion of no people here. Yeah, we’ve waited to get this specific shot. Look it. But if you just walk past the first corner, you know, most people are kind of lazy and just stop there. So, yeah. I heard someone say, “Oh, but it’s a hike.” It has not been a hike. Look how beautiful this is. The colors are just so amazing. And we came at sunset, so it’s a little bit cooler and the wind’s blowing and the colors, the sun’s just reflecting on them. It’s just so magical in here. [Music] You know, we talk a lot about trying to avoid crowds and we try to avoid like the peak crowd time. It’s not always a thing to completely miss out on people altogether. Um, but this whole area, Fushimi Inari, is so beautiful and it feels very peaceful in here. Everyone just kind of quietly walking, taking photos. It just feels very relaxed and yeah, just really beautiful. Lots of Shinto elements throughout and um yeah, just feel really one with nature almost. Cool. I think what’s my favorite part and that surprised me the most is how they’re not symmetrical. I was really expecting them all to be the exact same size and height, but they’re just different widths, columns. This one’s made of cement. They’re different heights. Like, it’s just I don’t know. I love that they’re just not all the same. [Music] [Applause] My absolute favorite thing about the cities in Japan is that they’re so highly populated. There’s so many tourists in certain areas, but then you can just end up in a neighborhood like this where it’s so quiet. All the yards are filled with plants. All you hear is birds and it’s just so peaceful. Can’t believe we’re just still in the middle of the city right now. Also, Japan is like the first country. I’ve said this to Sarah. It’s like the first country where I feel like everywhere that I look is like iconic. I know. you know, everywhere they look, it’s just like that’s so Japan, which is so funny. Countries that almost like the stereotype doesn’t match the country. When you go to visit, it’s like, I expected to look away. And you go there and it doesn’t look like that. Japan, it’s like exactly how expected to look. It looks like in a good way. It’s just so iconic. Japan. Yeah, it’s beautiful. I love it here. [Music] This is Adashino Nembutsuji Temple and there are 8,000 statues here each to commemorate souls or people who have died without any kin. [Music] One thing I can really appreciate here in Kyoto is everything that you go and see is tied to nature somehow. You know, like this temple is right in the middle of the forest. There’s moss gardens. There’s this beautiful, beautiful bamboo forest here. Yeah. We had no interest in going to the really popular bamboo forest. So, I’m really glad this one just had a little little secret bonus for us. Absolutely. Yeah. [Laughter] Oh yeah. Thanks. So cute. I want to take that one home with me and just have it like in my garden, you know? So cute. They’re created by everyday people who made a pilgrimage to learn carving under the guidance of Kocha Nishimura. He urged them to bring forth the unique and personal figures that were hiding in the stone. Some of these figures are posed in serious prayer, while others are smiling, laughing, or holding objects that hint at the carver’s hobbies and passions. So beautiful. [Music] I honestly wasn’t too sure about coming to this temple because it’s the middle of the day and I thought maybe it’d be pretty crowded, but it’s pretty quiet, not too crowded. And I think this might be my favorite temple we’ve come to, honestly, cuz it’s just so fun to walk around and look at all the little sculptures. They’re so cute. [Music] That’s a nice sound. You okay? I tried to dodge. Classic everything in Japan. You hit your head on. I’m like I think I like shrunk like 2 in just being in this country to be honest with you. You’re just slouching everywhere we go. Slouching everywhere. Oops. [Music] We’re walking through Nishiki Market now, which is the oldest market here in Kyoto at over 400 years old. We came here to try a little bit of Kyoto traditional food, but you’re going to have to subscribe to see that in the next video because we’re making a full tour here at the park. [Applause] [Music] It’s a Christmas tree. It’s a Christmas tree. This one didn’t like that. Teaching Juniper bad habits or how to have fun. Oh, give me a sec. Let’s see how good this lens is. You want Yeah, that’s right. You want to see how You want to do the You want to do the look at each other thing? Give me a sec. Uh, let me find the angle for that. Keep Keep looking. I love it. So much fun. The baby is not You’re the one that feels awkward and then you’re you know what you’re doing. Clearly, I’m much comfortable behind the camera. Hi, baby. Hey, baby. Okay. Thank you. Yes, of course. So cute. Famous baby. Famous baby.

Experience Kyoto, Japan’s ancient capital, in a calmer way. We explore temples, hidden streets, and peaceful gardens while avoiding the crowds — all with our baby along for the adventure. Join us as we slow down, discover a quieter side of Kyoto, and show what family travel in Japan really looks like.

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Hi! We’re Eric and Sarah, a couple of Canadians currently travelling full time and looking for the best experiences around the world! Our passion is creating helpful and inspiring videos that makes you feel capable and confident to explore places you may have never considered travelling before! And if you’re not a traveller… we hope our videos at least provide you a little entertainment and make you smile as you experience how beautiful the world is 🙂 Thanks for following along and please leave a comment to say hi!

FILMED MAY 2025

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