The adventure I have been waiting for had finally arrived, with a complimentary 6am start (oh how I hate early mornings). 7:35am trains are something I actively avoid but when it is a bullet train, it seems slightly more achievable. The first of two shinkansen rides took me from Hiroshima to Shin Kobe, where I enjoyed breakfast in my window seat whilst views of Japan zoomed by at 350km/h. Although I was sad that I couldn’t explore Kobe, I enjoyed seeing the city from the windows of the train platform. My second train, to Kyoto, was a short 30 minute ride on a very quiet train where I got my own seat on a dinosaur blue train. I arrived into a very quiet Kyoto station at 10am, I was expecting to encounter a crazy amount of tourists given the popularity of Kyoto on Instagram.
Sadly, it was 39 degrees and extremely humid so I jumped on the subway instead of walking to my hotel (air conditioning helped me to decide). I took two trains and found it really easy to navigate with a human and suitcase to contend with. The hotel I had chosen was in the Teramachi shopping Arcade area (to keep a certain photographer happy). Without massive amounts of planning I had found the perfect place to stay because it was within walking distance of many sites and was around the corner from a vegan restaurant (happy dance). As Japan experiences rainy season in the summer months I was glad to be staying in an area where the streets were covered. My hotel was wonderful but I decided I wanted to head out and explore straight away, I was just so excited to be in Kyoto.
I began with a short wander around the area my hotel was in and realised how different Kyoto is from Osaka and Hiroshima. The vibe of the city is really relaxed and I really like that, it is kind of like Miyajima but bigger. The heat was really intense and it really affected my photographer who tried to power through but in the end had to admit defeat. So we headed into a small restaurant for a well earned vegetable curry, I’ve heard rumours that eating spicy food helps you to cool down. I had a delicious vegetable curry with the biggest naan bread I have ever seen, it was absolutely delicious even if I ate my quota of naan bread for the next three years.
I chose to have a post lunch snooze in the backpack of doom whilst my photographer wandered around the shops but I did wake up in time to spot a couple of the animal cafes. Whilst I still think they are really cruel, the mini-pigs in the window were very cute but I couldn’t justify paying the entry fee and all of the extras, just to see a pig. Instead I went all out insta-dinosaur again and had another iced coffee from Koe, I just love how they have a hint of cinnamon in the mochas. As it was too hot in the sun, I chose to wander around the shops to see the kimono and beautifully decorated fans, the lanterns were all floating from the ceilings of the shopping streets because a festival was due to start a few days after I left Kyoto.
I thought the temperatures might cool as I had lunch but sadly I was wrong, instead the temperature went above 40 degrees. So I jumped back on the subway and headed across to the Nijo-jo castle, a beautiful world heritage site dating back to 1601. It was very quiet in the area surrounding the castle which surprisingly is near the city centre. I love how old and new buildings compliment each other beautifully in Japan. The entrance to the castle is an incredibly beautiful wooden gate decorated with gold which lies just past a small moat.
There are two palaces within the castle walls, with another moat separating them. However, the day I visited I was unable to go inside the palaces because they were closed for renovations. I was really disappointed because the photographs of the rooms are beautiful and I really wanted to learn more about the Shogun era of Japan. Instead I focussed on simply enjoying the castle grounds (and trying not to melt in the heat). From the Kara-mon gate, I passed the first of many buildings and aimed to find the Ninomaru garden which was created in 1626. The trees were a welcome site for a spot of shade, which I used to view the lake which has a turtle and crane island to symbolise longevity.
I headed further along the path and came to another bridge which crossed the inner moat, which was filled with giant koi carp. I love seeing these fish because they are all beautiful and look like they have been carefully painted. Honmaru-goten palace was moved to this site in 1893. The building was moved from another site and is now a uniquely preserved example of imperial architecture. The wooden parts of the building slot together without the use of glue or nails, so the building can be taken apart and put back together again, ingenious. Towards the back of the Honmaru garden is the base of a keep tower which was sadly struck down by lightening in 1750. I can’t believe how many Japanese buildings have been hit by lightening over the years. Taking the advice of a friendly Japanese human, I climber to the top of the steps (a huge challenge in the heat) to find a stunning view over Kyoto. It also gives a beautiful perspective of the castle buildings and surrounding mountains. I would have loved to stay there longer but my photographer was starting to melt, so once again we went in search of some shade.
The path along plum tree grove was rather shady and no one else was around except me and a few dragonflies. I walked to the furthest corner to find a patch of hydrangeas blooming under the southwest watch tower. Doubling back on myself I headed towards the Seiryu-en garden by following the inner moat past another ornate gate. This area of the castle is the most modern but it was by far my favourite area because it was the vision of the Japanese garden I have had in my imagination. The teahouse reflected on the pond perfectly, making the area very serene and still. The heat was making me hungry (no surprises there) so I wandered back to the rest area to enjoy some ice cream and air conditioning. Luckily Nijo-jo castle is a stones throw away from the tonkai subway line so I didn’t have to walk for miles in the incredible heat.
I headed back to check into my hotel to have a quick rest before heading out to do some more exploring. It’s not possible to visit Kyoto without spending some time exploring Gion, the Geisha district. The best time of day to spot a Geiko or Maiko, Geishas and their apprentices, is between 5pm and 6pm when they are heading to the teahouses. Sadly, you can’t take photographs of the Geisha and certain areas of Gion are off limits for photography too. I chose to respect the rules and fully immersed myself in soaking up the atmosphere. Geisha are beautiful and I was lucky enough to spot two Geiko and one Maiko wandering the streets. The streets were crowded and steeped in history so I made a note to return at a quieter time and headed towards the quieter area of Komatsucho, a park area with temples and a beautiful pond covered in lotus flowers. I spotted a Great Blue Heron (or crane as it is in Japanese) enjoying the cooler evening temperatures, it felt like a scene from a one of the sliding doors I had seen earlier in my adventure.
The park ends at the bottom of a hill which leads to Hōkan-ji Temple, the pagoda shown in all of the Kyoto photographs. In hindsight, sunset was the worst time to visit because the crowds were insane, I’ve never seen so many humans all attempting to photograph the same place. I enjoyed what I could see of the view but decided to continue further up the hill to see if I could see the whole pagoda. Turns out the road just kept getting busier as I was heading to Ninenzaka, a street filled with teahouses, traditional architecture and that really famous Starbucks. I was honestly happy to leave this street and I preferred the quiet residential houses on the way to the Yasaka-jinja shrine. I’d love to return to Kyoto and stay in a traditional house one day.
I’ve passed many Shinto shrines on my trip through Japan but this was the first one I had entered. The red main entrance gates are incredibly beautiful and guide you into a beautiful temple complex. I loved watching the lanterns floating in the breeze and I spotted a few names of companies and Geisha on the lanterns. The offering hall was popular with locals offering prayers to the gods, I enjoyed watching this because it is a huge contrast to the Buddhist ceremony I witnessed in Koyasan. There are a few red torii gates in the temple complex which gave the area a magical feeling. I love how shinto brings together nature and manmade buildings beautifully.
As it was getting dark, I headed back to the main road to see the lanterns lighting the way to the bridge across the Kamo river, another area I planned to return to explore. However, a hungry photographer reminded me we needed to find some food. So I headed off in search of some late night snacks before heading back to my hotel to plan out my route for a second day of exploring Kyoto.
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