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 =)