We checked out from capsule hotel and headed to the subway station. We were going to Kyoto via Nippombashi - Tsuruhashi - Tennoji - Kyoto. When we entered the Nippombashi station, my parents were denied for entrance. The station operators tried very hard to explain that the IC card were "mistouched" with a combination of Japanese and English. On the other hand, we were trying our best to understand. After 10 minutes, I finally figured out what went wrong with the cards and we were advised to travel back to JR station to fix the card. What the hell? Subway station cannot fix the card if it was not properly tapped out at JR station from the previous trip.
We walked back to the nearest JR station which was situated 1.2km apart with our luggage. It was a long walk but at least it saved me a few hundred yen as we could go straight to Kyoto with JR pass from here. We arrived in Hostel K's House Kyoto about noon. We left the luggage and started our sightseeing in Kyoto right after.
Each room is equipped with card reader
Mini living hall outside rooms
Right after you flush the water is there for you to wash hand. The water is then recycled to refill the tank.
We could not use IC card for buses in Kyoto city, Hence we bought a one day pass which cost 500 Yen. We first visited Fushimi Inari Shrine. It is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates, which straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings. The trails lead into the wooded forest of the sacred Mount Inari, which stands at 233 meters and belongs to the shrine grounds. Fushimi Inari Shrine is located just outside JR Inari Station, the second station from Kyoto Station along the JR Nara Line. We came from the hustle bustle Osaka but we felt Kyoto was busier, probably due to weekends.
There was performance going on during that day. It was a culture shock to see rock singers dressing in traditional attire performing in a shrine.
As most shrines will have a water fountain with some ladles for washing your hands and mouth, you can find one here too.
Near the entrance of the shrine there was a stretch of food stalls where you can find a variety of food and snacks, most of them are over-priced.
This freshly squzzed orange juice cost 500 Yen
Crepe made from tofu and chinese yam (山药)
I at first thought these were squid balls so I did not mind to spend 500 Yen for a stick. After first bite I realized they were just plain chewy rice cake.
We then headed to Sannen-zaka to look for the famous Okutan for its tofu meals. Again, we were shocked to see how the street was packed with tourists. We took some time to locate Okutan. When we finally found it we realized there was a real long queue despite it was already closed to 3pm. I was disappointed for a while but I was determined to look for alternative restaurant. We finally came to this restaurant called Kamanza. They were very friendly and appointed a staff who can speak English to propose vegetarian dishes for my dad.
The meal consisted of
We had a tofu meal for 3 persons at about 5000 Yen.
The meal consisted of
1. Yuba
Delicacy made from the skin of gently boiled soybean milk. (Skin of soybean curd)
2. Namafu
Made from gluten, be formed from protein extracted from wheat. (A starch obtained from wheat). Since long ago, this is the precious protein source derived from the dietary restrictions of Buddhist monks.
3. Oboro Tofu
Half curdled soybean curd produced in the making of soybean curd. It has original thick taste of real soybean curd.
4. Yudofu
Tofu simmered in a clay pot with vegetables (example: dashi kombu, green onion, etc.)
5. Soba with soy sauce
We further walked around the old city. We were not sure how far we have walked. By late evening, I thought it would be good idea to walk back to Kiyomizu-dera temple. It is extremely beautiful enveloped in the red and brown colors of late fall. At night, when the temple grounds are illuminated with lights. In 1994, the temple was added to the list of UNESCO world heritage sites. Again, outside the temple there were a few lines of people patiently queueing up to enter into the temple. On the other half side of the entrace surprisingly it was empty. We thought this entrance probably only brings visitors up to a certain part of the temple. Since we did not want to join the queue so we just went in from here. We ended up entering into the temple just like where the queue was going without ticket, and we skipped the queue.
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