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Saturday, December 07, 2013

KYOTO VISUALS!

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Hello guys!! Finally my second last part of my Japan adventures up - KYOTO! :D

I had initially wanted to make this entry a 'Guide Post'.. but realised I couldn't do it cuz I actually didn't do much Sightseeing. In Kyoto, the Temples/Pagodas close at 5pm, so most people actually start their day early at 8am and end at 5pm. But lazy me always wake up at 10am++ and by the time we are out, its almost 12pm. So I couldn't explore as much as I wanted to~

But anyhow, I will still share with y'guys the places I went to! I visited more of the highly recommended ones since we were short of time! So if you're heading to Scenic Kyoto soon, here the some of the places you might wanna consider going :)


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There are a lot of ways to get to Kyoto.
Since we came from Tokyo, there were flights, bullet trains or coaches for us to consider. Bullet trains in Japan are ridiculously expensive so that's definitely out of my option. In the end I chose the Overnight Coach and it was surprisingly very comfy!
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{ DAY 1 }


We arrived in Kyoto at about 6am (gosh eyes were still like -_-)!
There are alot of restaurants at the Bus Terminal/Interchange so we settled at one of it for breakfast!
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We then slept inside the restaurant after eating till... 9am?? lol
Really no face but we were too tired to do anything!!


And what I like about Japan is that there are LOCKERS everywhere!
We kept our big luggages in the lockers and off we went to explore Kyoto! ^_^
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In Kyoto, the BEST way to travel is probably by BUS.
Other options include Taxis and Trishaws!
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We got ourselves this 'Kyoto City Bus One-Day Pass'. 
If I remember correctly, you'll break-even with the cost if you take the bus at least 3 times. And obviously.. you will definitely take the bus for more than 3 times. Lol


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FINALLY.... a shot with cute Japanese school girls!!
Always wanted a shot in Tokyo but I didn't dare to ask.. Lol


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Also, not sure what festival it was when I was in Kyoto (or is it the tradition???), but we saw alot of girls in Kimonos!


1. KIYOMIZUDERA TEMPLE
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This time round, it was the Jap students who wanted to take a pic with us!! *wah honoured* lol

Anyway, think there were a lot of school excursions when we were there so it was super crowded! You know like how back then when we had excursions to the Science Centre, Zoo, Bird Park?? Yup.


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Tokyo was super cold and Kyoto on the other hand, was SUPER HOT. Lol

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Kimono Ladies again!

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This is probably the highlight part of the Kiyomizudera Temple! The never ending 'Green' view!
Saw pictures of it recently in Autumn and its just.. MAD CHIO!! So pretty, all the yellow & orangey leaves!


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Getting my fortune stick again!
I mentioned right?? 9 out of 10 fortune sticks I had were all BAD/VERY BAD/WORST omens. Sigh. Jj on the other hand had 10/10 VERY GOOD sticks. Such is life~ Lol

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We really wanted to lepak here. They sell shaved ice here which is SO ideal for the hot weather!
But there were no seats and we didn't want to waste time waiting for it sooo..... :(


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Place for us to wash both of our hands and to rinse our mouth!
It's like a 'Must-do' in almost all temples in Japan!

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OMG *SQUEALS*
Super duper adorable Japanese kids!! Hahaha look at their yellow hat!!


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Okay left Kiyomi Temple to see this massive crowd outside.
Damn crowded please!!
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We walked around aimlessly... really like wandering around and settled at this random place for lunch!
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Food was pretty normal.


2. YASAKA PAGODA 
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There's actually nothing much about Yasaka Pagoda. We just happened to past by it!

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Trishaws ride!


3. YASAKA SHRINE
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From the Yasaka Shrine, it's just a short walk to a beautiful park called Maruyama Park!
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Letters tied onto the tree.


4. MARUYAMA PARK




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Everywhere in Kyoto is just super scenic please!!

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Love the small alleys and streets!


Soon, it was night time and we took a train to a quieter area of Kyoto, like the neighbourhood area!
We did Couch Surfing in Kyoto so we were waiting for the host to pick us up!
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Here's me all bored and cold cuz we waited for 30mins lol

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Finally!!
Our Couch Surfing host posing with his Bah-Kua we got from Singapore! Hahahaa

Anyway he damn cool?? He had to go to Tokyo for work last minute and couldn't bring us around. He just passed us his house keys, showed us around his house, how to use certain stuff etc and Boom.... HE LEFT FOR TOKYO. Leaving us all alone in his house! Cool... or cool?? Lol
He so trust us leh!! :)


This was the room we stayed in for 3 days!
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TATAMI ROOM!!!
So excited lor I had initially booked a Tataimi Hotel too cuz I wanted to experience it! So I was super happy to find out his house also uses the traditional Tatami!! :D


Also before he left, he introduced us to this cheap Sushi joint for us to have our dinner!
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Chu-chu train here to deliver our food!

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{ DAY 2 }


Day 2 was kinda wasted cuz I had to travel to OSAKA to retrieve back my phone!
Clumsy me left my phone inside the coach... luckily it was found! But the downside was that I had to head to Osaka la.. which was a 30mins train ride away. :(
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Osaka train station

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While we were there, we saw some Beer Fest/Carnival!
Too bad we were rushing for time!

Took back my phone and settled for lunch near Osaka train station before heading back to Kyoto~
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5. TENRYUJI TEMPLE
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So pretty!!!

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Day 2 in Kyoto was however... COLD. Jj was freezing all the time lol.

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Bamboo!

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Time was running out of Jj and I and we really had to CHIONNNG to our next stop!!
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Super pretty and breathtaking view!!
This is the Katsura River if I am not wrong!!

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What a candid shot even my bugs bunny teeth out! lol

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6. MOUNT ARASHIYAMA MONKEY PARK IWATAYAMA
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Luckily we made it in time! It would have been closed if we arrived 10 minutes later!

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Lotsa steps~~

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And lots of climbing and walking!

I was pekchek halfway cuz THERE WERE NO MONKEYS AT ALL!!
I mean I expected to see Monkeys while climbing the mountain.. but there was not a single one?! So I kept asking Jj what if we climbed to the top and still no monkeys.. waste effort and time. But I was so glad we continued the climb!

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FINALLY ARRIVED AT THE TOP!!
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And this super scenic view greeted us at the top! :)
Worth the 30mins climb? DEFINITELY!!!
The air was fresh and cool, view was good! What's there to complain? ^_^

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All the monkeys damn feeling-feeling. Keep posing!

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Then Jj and I went to feed the monkeys..
Gosh they were all so fierce and aggressive. Lol
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Chanced upon this street side stall and there was a queue so Jj and I joined in!
Lol very typical singaporeans~
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Saw everyone buying these 2 so we tried it as well.
Honestly, I have no memories of it so I guess it wasn't very good afterall?? Lol


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GEISHA!
Kyoto has the most number of Geisha throughout Japan!


And dinner back at Kyoto terminal~
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Hopped over to another restaurant for dessert!
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And karx joined us back for desserts!

Asked her where did she go for the entire day.. and all she did was SHOPPING. Lol?!?!
She didn't visit any temples or pagodas etc but was stuck in the shopping mall whole day long. Power!!



{ DAY 3 }

Started off our day with sushi again!!
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7. NIJO CASTLE
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Why the ponds all so pretty one!


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Brought Duffy out to play that day! :D

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Hot hot weather~

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Took the bus to our next destination!

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8. KINKAKUJI TEMPLE
(Golden Pavilion)
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Kinkakuji is like one of the MUST-SEE in Kyoto!

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Soon it was 5pm again and we headed back to Kyoto terminal for dinner!!
So as you can see.. I visited about 2 places only/day so if you really wanna explore more, gotta wake up at 7am and leave by 8am!! Lol. The day starts really early in Kyoto.


Had Macs for dinner, my first Macs in Japan!!
AND GOSH.. that was the FIRST time I felt like Macs damn healthy???
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The fries machiam no oil/no salt kind.
The Green Tea drink was really like... GREEN TEA BAG + Ice kind. LOL.


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You'll definitely see this in Kyoto Station!! so tempting hoh


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Took my OOTD outside a 'food souvenir' shop which we shopped at and bought lotsa goodies back!


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Halfway through the night, Jj and I were hungry again cuz the Macs didn't really fill us.
So we headed downstairs for supper!! The waiter was kinda fascinated that we were tourists and kept trying to communicate with us via 'Google Translate'. We stayed at a really neighbourhood place and tourists will usually not be seen here.
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REALLY GOOD SUPPER!!
Like.. one of the better meals we had in Kyoto. Lol! This costs us $20++?


Also, spent the night watching 'Sky Of Love'.. Karx and I were sobbing like mad and Jj was just "!?!? Girls you all cray??"


Next day, we lugged our luggages and took the train to OSAKA!!
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Last post of Japan adventures will be on Osaka!
Stay tuned, I can't wait to share more! :)


Xx

4 comments:

  1. hey babe really enjoyed your post cos i am also looking to go japan soon! and also really respect that u dare to like put up unglam pics of yourself lol, makes you more relatable and real alongside with all your pretty pics and that's why i love reading your blog ! keep blogging :)

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    1. Hello Anne!! Omg I feel so excited for you, enjoy Japan!! Thank you for reading/loving my blog too and for this comment, it really made my day!! :D

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  2. Hi shenny, can i ask whats the contact of the couch surf u stayed at in kyoto?

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    1. I don't have, it was my another friend who contacted him

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