I arrived in Kyoto from Tokyo after taking the shinkansen. It was my first time on the bullet train and I first couldn’t believe how incredibly quiet it was when it pulled into the station?! That’s something that I’ve noticed here, how quiet transport is. Even the cars and buses are quiet. The metro is the loudest here.

I had come to Kyoto earlier in the year during a long weekend from South Korea which I had wrote about here (Day 1 and 2) and here (Day 3). So, I had new places in mind this time around.

In the afternoon after arriving from Tokyo, I went to a dessert place near my accommodation (of course!). It was warabimochi and something I had not tried before. It’s made from bracken starch (apparently from the fern family but nowadays potato starch is used due to the price) which is then covered with soy bean powder and often served with red bean and ice cream. The warabimochi is lighter than mochi and the kind that stretches out from your spoon. It’s an interesting texture and I really enjoyed it.

I took a walk along the Kamo River after which is one of my favourite spots in Kyoto. I read for a little bit on the banks of the river where many people were also sat. I did some bird watching before walking back to eat near my hotel.

Day 1

I was excited for today. Finally, I would be able to visit the Kinkaku-Ji (the Golden temple). It was about a 40 minute bus ride away but it was my first time in this direction and also the first time on a bus in Japan. How curious that they board the bus from the back door and then pay at the front when getting off! I’ve never been anywhere where this happens.

The Kinkaku-Ji stands out so much from its surroundings and is really one of a kind! This Buddhist temple dates back to 1397 when the villa here was bought and transformed into a temple. It has been burnt down previously so the one we see today was reconstructed in 1955. The building is covered in gold leaf which is said to purify against death.

There is a one way route around the garden and entry is 500yen. The grounds are not that big and there are many tourists but everyone keeps moving and you go around the temple so you can see it from more than one angle.

As this was located on the northern west side of Kyoto, it was a bus and train ride away from Arashiyama which I decided to go to afterwards. On my last trip here, I went to the bamboo forest but this time, the two places on my list were Otagi Nenbutsu-ji and the Monkey Park.

Otagi Nenbutsu-ji is a buddhist temple that has more than 1000 stone carved heads and is away from the crowds of tourists. It’s not that easy to get to but it was a very tranquil part of town to be walking through huge trees, old style houses and bamboo patches. I only saw a handful of people walking there. It was a 40 minute walk from Saga-Arashiyama station but beautiful.

Entry is 300yen but despite not being a very big temple- the stone carvings were worth the trip. Each carving had a different face on it and some even reflected the carver’s hobbies. Being moss and plant covered added to the peaceful aura of the temple.

While walking back towards the station to go to the Monkey Park which is back in the opposite direction, I stopped randomly at a restaurant along the main road. I was still a while away from the station so there was practically no-one around. As I was coming into the restaurant, a Swedish-Chinese couple had just gone in before me and they invited me to sit next to them seeing as though we were the only people inside.

This restaurant was run by a friendly Japanese grandma who spoke no English and we spoke no Japanese. I ordered an udon bowl (which came out as cold udon) but it was delicious and a great home made lunch!

Continuing on to the Monkey Park, there is a 600yen entry fee and then you begin your climb up the mountain. There are some stairs at the beginning but then it’s ramps snaking its way to the top. I would say it takes about 15-20 minutes of continuous walking to reach the top. Some parts of the ramp are slippery so take care! You’ll need to be somewhat fit but there are benches along the way if needed. The monkeys roam free here near the top and you are also rewarded with a beautiful view.

There is a feeding cage where you can buy some small packs of food to give them and feed them from inside the cage. Outside, the monkeys tend to keep their distance and are not opening your bags and stealing your contents as I have heard occur in other places. They are more concerned with their own territorial disputes and monkey business.

The park closes at 4pm so be sure you plan accordingly to include the walk up and down the mountain.

Of course the day is not complete without an afternoon dessert break coming down from the Monkey Park. Like a homing pigeon, I located the anmitsu on the cafe menu and ordered that before heading back into town.

Have you been to any of these places? What did you think? Are any of these places on your list??

To see what I got up to in Tokyo, the blog posts are here (Day 1 and 2) and here (Day 3-5).