Travelogue of a Mother with Two Kids on a Summer Trip to Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara (Part 2) - Kyoto Chapter

📍 Kyoto · 👁 1859 reads · ❤️ 2 likes

Just finished writing the Osaka travelogue on the 24th, and then I saw the news about 'Japan's discharge of nuclear-contaminated water into the sea' - I was really shocked... I can't express how I feel right now. So many of our fellow countrymen love traveling to Japan; it's such a shame. Sigh, I'm speechless. I hope everyone cherishes this Earth!

We departed from Osaka Station to Kyoto on September 9th afternoon via JR. This time we basically used cash to buy tickets, staying three days in each city, so we didn't buy any ICOCA or Suica cards. Buying tickets on-site at the station with cash is quite convenient. And since we mostly use WeChat QR codes back home, experiencing cash and coins in Japan is really nice. Even my eldest child bought a coin purse, sorting coins by denomination, and remembered how much money they had every day - pretty good financial management, a future budgeter, haha! We bought non-reserved seat tickets at the JR ticket machine. There were usually seats available, but you need to pay attention to the type of train arriving at that time. Regular trains have a triangle mark in front and stop at every station (don't take this one by mistake, or you'll be an hour slower to Kyoto). Express trains have a circle in front, often with the English word 'rapid' - pay attention when boarding, because they share the same platform (express and local trains on the same platform, different from China), so it's easy to get on the wrong one. But if you do, just get off, go back, and reboard a rapid train. (See picture below)

From Osaka Station to Kyoto is very fast, about thirty minutes. We stood for over ten minutes, then found seats, but arrived soon after. It felt faster than my commute by subway to work in Beijing. Also because transfers are convenient, we directly bought JR tickets to the nearest subway station to our hotel, 'Nijo'.

For sightseeing in Kyoto, we bought the Kyoto City Bus One-Day Pass. Kyoto has very few subway lines (since it's an ancient city, to protect it), but buses are very developed and can reach almost anywhere, so we got the one-day pass. Adult bus fare is 230 yen, the pass is 700 yen, so you break even after three rides. We went to two places each day, so at least four trips.

2. Accommodation in Kyoto

In Kyoto, we stayed at a place I booked on Airbnb (called 'Aiyi A' in Chinese) that allowed free cancellation before August. For three nights, there were two prices: free cancellation was over 2,000 RMB, non-cancelable was 300 RMB cheaper. I chose the free cancellation option. Then one day I tried searching on Ctrip and found the same house for over 400 RMB cheaper, so I switched without hesitation. The Kyoto house was a bit smaller than the one in Osaka, but had all amenities: clean towels, toothbrushes, a washing machine. Since my eldest was sweating a lot, we washed their clothes every day. It was called Nagano-ya (NAGANOYA), a one-bedroom apartment with a balcony. Three nights cost 2,298 RMB.

Check-in was also self-service, even more so than in Osaka - there really was no front desk. The day before arrival, I received an email with an email box password, and the email box contained the room key. The email box lock was a bit tricky, but fortunately another foreign guest in the building helped me open it. We got the key and checked in smoothly. On the third day, we checked out at 10 AM. If we needed luggage storage, we messaged the landlord, who told us the front desk had various locks (like bike locks) to secure luggage to a railing, and gave us a password to enter the building when we returned to pick up the luggage. Very convenient.

Arashiyama in Kyoto was a must-visit for me this time. For other places, we checked the Dazhong App, saw what looked fun, and used Baidu Maps navigation to find public transit. It would show specific bus routes, and we just went to the relevant stop and waited. Very convenient, but be careful not to take the bus in the wrong direction.

We stayed three nights in Kyoto, with two full days. On the first full day, we visited Nijo Castle nearby. The apartment was right next to Nijo Station, so we walked there. It was a sunny day, so we strolled around briefly. For detailed tips, you can search online.

After Nijo Castle, we went to the Kyoto Aquarium, which is next to the Kyoto Railway Museum. We planned to visit both, but after finishing the aquarium it was a bit late, so we didn't make it to the museum. The Kyoto Aquarium is also recommended. The kids went to the front desk to buy a stamp booklet - Japan is good at engaging kids with stamp collecting; they had a blast. The only regret was that we didn't pay attention to the dolphin show time. There was one at 11 AM and another at 3 PM. We were still wandering around at 3:30 PM, not noticing the show had started, thinking there were multiple afternoon shows. By the time we realized, it was over - a perfect miss...

There were a fair number of people, but fewer than in Beijing. The kids could see the marine animals, and people queued orderly. It's a must for family trips. For details, search on the Dazhong App; there are thorough introductions. It's different from the Osaka Aquarium - maybe smaller, but a different feel, with the addition of dolphin shows.

After the aquarium, we took the bus back to Nijo. On the way back to the apartment, we found a very tasty Japanese restaurant.

When in Kyoto, you must visit Arashiyama. I searched many online guides and they all said to ride the Sagano Romantic Train (small train). But since I wanted to sleep in the next day, I didn't book the train online. I planned to buy tickets at the station when we woke up. Also, the website was only in Japanese and English, and I wasn't sure about the exact ticket platform. So I decided to buy at the JR green window. It turned out the train is very popular - you have to book in advance. I arrived at the JR station green window at 11 AM and was told all tickets were sold out except for the 4:30 PM slot. No choice, I bought the 4:30 PM tickets and planned to go other places first.

Since the train was at 4:30 PM, we had plenty of time. At noon, we decided to go to Seiryo-ji Temple. I checked on Ctrip, and we took the JR to Saga-Arashiyama Station, then walked 15 minutes. On the walk, we stumbled upon a delicious dessert shop - a pleasant surprise, this is what city walking is all about, measuring the city and experiencing it.

After eating, playing, and visiting Seiryo-ji, we took the JR to Umahori Station at around 3 PM, walked 10 minutes to the Kameoka Station of the small train, and rode it to Arashiyama Station. Then we walked through the bamboo grove, strolled around, and returned to JR Saga-Arashiyama Station to take JR home. (Haha, it's a bit complicated - the city planner in me came out!)

We stayed two nights in Kyoto. On the last day, the 9th, we checked out, stored our luggage, and went to the Kyoto International Manga Museum (found on the Dazhong App). We also went to Cat Forest and Owl Forest, which was in a shopping street, very hidden. We managed to find it - it was a small shop with over a dozen owls. Paid admission, could touch some (but not the ones marked as not touchable). It felt a bit like animal cruelty - those owls looked pitiful, locked inside.

Our Kyoto trip from August 9 to 12 basically ended. On the afternoon of August 12, I wanted to visit the Kyoto Museum, but we ran out of time. We started heading to Nara at 6 PM, a bit late.

Next episode introduces Nara.

Travelogue Index

1. Opening remarks

2. I. Kyoto Transportation

3. III. Kyoto Sightseeing

4. Kyoto Arashiyama Trip

5. Kyoto International Manga Museum

Tourism Information

Hotel Index

Guide Index

Ticket Index

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