travel tips for winter

finally i finished back dating those "travel guide" posts prior to my japan trip, next up i will post about my trip itself =) but before that i want to share some important travel tips especially when traveling in cold weather........

since i was born in HK, i experienced winter since young but HK winter will never go below 0degree so you dont need to prep up ALOT of thick winter clothing.... but this time we are going to japan & even up the mountain so weather is going to be really cold, i foresee sub-zero temperature which is why i bought down jacket for this trip...

tip1: buy winter clothes overseas especially during japan new year sales

hubby jacket, photo taken from here....

my jacket, photo taken from here...

i bought these down jackets.. personally i prefer longer coat which firstly can cover my huge ass & make you look slimmer, secondly is it can keep you warmer since it covers more..... our coats cost on average like 30SGD which i thought was a good deal but wait till you go to japan new year sales.... those uniqlo down jacket you see in SG cost like $100, in japan, you can get the same thing like 3999yen!!! that's like 45sgd!!! me god!!! half price!!! & you have many other affordable brands to choose from in japan!!!!

tip2: DONT bring too much clothes
being girls, we tend to over pack especially vain me always like to shop & want to wear nice clothes while traveling... perhaps in summer is ok to pack more since those clothes are light & you will perspire more... but in winter, dont bother.... cause most of the time you will be hidden under your big coat... so you hardly get the chance to show off whatever nice clothes you wore beneath.... but of cause i am not saying wear same thing for 2weeks, that will be gross even if you dont perspire that much during winter.... perhaps you will change the innermost layer everyday but the outer shirt you can recycle for afew days.....

tip3: bring febreze or other fabric freshener

febreze, photo taken from here...

as mention in the previous tip, you can recycle your outer layers.. so what we did was to febreze our clothes since sometimes it will be difficult to wash them.... you should also do so for the blanket sheets, pillow case & bedsheets... cause we have heard enough of dirty & stained bedsheets... some people will bring their own sleeping bed & pillow but that's too heavy so febreze to the rescue... i wont say febreze will kill ALL the germs but some is better than none....

tip4: apply moisturiser & keep warm
this is really REALLY important... we diligently applied body lotion everyday & really covered ourselves with layers of clothes but we still kena cold rash... ours are not very serious rash, mine is a bit more spread out than hubby.... my whole upper chest to shoulder area all kena rash & some parts of the back... at first i thought i was allergic to sake since i tried different brands every night from the convenient shops... but subsequent i ask those drug store staff then i realised is cold rash & it's very common in japan perhaps due to the weather....

lotion for dry skin

i bought this from a drug store in kyoto... when i first applied, it was abit stingy but after awhile it's ok & the rash gotten better... according to the staff, this lotion contain 20% uric acid & that's very good for dry skin... we were abit surprised since uric acid is a by product & abnormal level in our body causes problems... but anyhow, it solved my rash problem so that's good =)

tip5: do sufficient research on the places that you want to visit
that's mainly for  free & easy travelers like myself... do sufficient research & dont believe EVERYTHING on one website, do check the information on other sites especially for those not so commonly visited places... i had learn my lessons.... we went to quite afew places that were very different from the information i gotten online.... the site said like 30min walking but instead we spent like 1hr+.... you can also like confirm with the hotel staff about those places that you intend to go... they probably have a better idea on the time spent & whether they are accessible since many roads will be closed during winter

tip6: bring extra bags for handcarry/check-in luggages
i always bring an extra bag for check in or use as hand carry but for this trip, i bought just too much that the things didnt fit inside that bag & as a result i had to hand carry several small bags... it was manageable but really clumsy especially when you traveling on trains....

tip7: try to choose hotels close to big train stations
this is because not all the train stations in japan have escalators or lifts... i think the situation has improved compared to the first time i went to japan but there are still many stairs places around... so you wont want to carry your luggage up the stairs & walk long distance to the hotels especially in the cold.... i chose all my hotels pretty near to the station ACCORDING to the map BUT again.. it turns out otherwise.... some are further than it looks but more importantly you must come out from the correct exit.... eg, we went out of the wrong exit in kyoto train station so we d-tour to the other side & took up a good 20min walk... can you imagine??? i was panting & sweating while walking with heavy luggage.... i know it's tempting to choose those more remote hotels due to various reasons like cheaper price or nicer scenery but i think it's not worth the trouble UNLESS you travel light... if you just carrying a 20inch luggage then sure, stay anywhere you want... but with a 28inch & many other bags, you dont want to go up the bus or a super pack local train just to reach your hotel....

so yup... above are the important tips or lessons that i learn from my recent trips.... of cause these are just my personal views  =)

happy 2015!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!!! i know is like half the month late but still happy new year!!! just came back from japan yesterday & it was super packed 2week honeymoon trip =) we went to quite a number of places during these 2 weeks so we were always on the move & hence the tiredness. over the next few days or even weeks i will be back dating quite a number of posts on my wedding as well as the japan trip =) another thing is that i notice the number of viewers for my blog has hit more than 10k!!! i was like OMG when i saw the view count yesterday!!! really happy that there are people reading my posts & i hoped they provided useful information for all of you =)

Day 12: Kyoto

*back dated entry*

today is a busy day for us since we going to 3 different attractions at different parts of kyoto.... so first up we go to arashiyama.... since we gotten the kansai pass, we took the JR line to saga- arashiyama station... there are other train services which stop at arashiyama but is at a different place, the JR station is closer to bamboo forest....do take note which type of train you are taking

arashiyama stations map

JR arashiyama station

sign to bamboo forest

so once you come out of the station, you will see this poster on the fence saying bamboo forest.... along the way you will see other signage...

entrance to bamboo forest

shrine inside bamboo forest

so that's pretty much what you will see along the way.... bamboo everywhere.... it was drizzling that morning so didnt manage to capture any good picture.... i would say the bamboo forest is smaller than i imagined but still a nice place to visit....at the end of the forest, we took a turn to reach hozu/katsura river & togetsukyo bridge...

steps towards hozu/katsura river

hozu river

togetsukyo bridge

i was abit disappointed when i reached the bridge cause it looked quite different from what i saw online...

togetsukyo bridge in autumn, photo taken from here....

so different right??!?!?!? the colours are so different!!! but what to do.... we went during winter so we wont get the see different colours trees.... another thing is that the sagano scenic ride isnt available during winter.... i believed it would be much nicer if you can sight see the mountain on the train....

after arashiyama, we took train back to kyoto station to change bus to kiyomizudera...

view of kyoto tower from bus stop

1 day bus ticket machine

kyoto bus station is located just outside the train station & opposite kyoto tower.... at the stations there will be several machines whereby you can purchase 1 day unlimited bus ride ticket for 500yen.... we didnt buy the ticket cause we only going to 1 place & per trip cost 230yen... so the ticket is only worthwhile if you traveling to more than 1 locations.... dont worry if you not sure what bus to take cause there will signs on the bus saying where it's going, at least for the popular tourist attractions....

nice shops along the street

walk to kiyomizudera

up the stairs

entrance to kiyomizudera

is about 10min+ walk from the bus stop to entrance of kiyomizudera... there are souvenir shops along the way, i think is better to walk up quickly & slowly browse through the shops upon return...

entrance

surrounding

walking towards main temple

main temple

kiyomizudera main temple

another angle

view from below

 again, i felt the temple looks very different from what i saw online... it looks much more run-down in real life.... which explain the ongoing renovation work.... & the lack of colours during winter season probably makes the place less vibrant....

other than the famous kiyomizudera, there is another smaller temple inside the area which is mainly for love =)

some temple to pray for love/relationship

according to the description, you supposed to walk towards the rock with your eyes closed then will bring you good luck in your relationship or something...

some interesting paper thing that i saw

the paper thing but not sure what's that

along the way out of the temple, you will pass by some park & there will be small stores along the way which sell snacks.... can stop by & try out macha for yourselves =)

like all shrine/temple, there is always this holy water thing

stop by for a snack

nice pond

outside kiyomizudera

shopping arcade towards kiyomizudera

so that's marks the end of our second objective of the day.... you can find lots of green tea stuff along the shops in kiyomizudera area.... there are also shops which let you rent kimono, not sure about the price but i think is an interesting experience.....

the last stop for the day is fushimi inari.... the place is very near to kyoto station but do take note of the correct train to take cause not all the train will stop at the inari station....

train towards inari

control room of the train

inari station

another view of the station

again, there is another train service to go to fushimi inari, you will stop at different side of the shrine... for us, we took JR & i would say is the closest station to the shrine... the shrine is like almost just in front of the station

fushimi inari entrance

fox statue

map of fushimi inari

fox tail for every word

fyi, fushimi inari is the shrine with the thousand gates/tori....

start of the thousands gates

separate into 2 rolls of smaller gates

this is pretty much what you will see

scenery along the way

for us, we didnt go all the way to the top cause we were pretty tired rushing to 2 different places in the morning.... in the beginning there will be many people but after the mid point you can start to see people moving back..... i will probably visit the shrine again & finish the whole trail =)

after fushimi inari, we went back to kyoto station & it was still too early for dinner... so we decided to visit kyoto tower.... like all the observatory tower, the main attraction is to over look the whole city from high area...... so for kyoto tower i think is 100m high...

little "shrine" on top of kyoto tower

scenery from kyoto tower

"aurora" feeling

after kyoto tower, we went to some restaurant at the underground shopping mall....

dinner

really yummy dinner.... the katsu stuff you get in japan is a different level of what you can find in SG.... they always taste so nice there & all well drained so you wont get this greasy look on your food....

actually kyoto has more nice sightseeing spots around but due to limited time, we have to be selective.... i would say these 3 spots will be the most famous attractions in kyoto... of cause there are the ginkakuji & gion area.... but if you are really pressed for time like us, these 3 locations are MUST visit =)