Japan Day 4 - Kyoto- Nishiki Market, Kinkaku-ji, Gion

Kyoto! What other place has dogs manning the cashier?

Took a day trip from Nara to Kyoto Station. We left Nara using Kintetsu-Nara station (which is not a JR line) and cost us 620 yen and took us about an hour. We arrived in Kyoto Central station and headed straight for the tourist information centre. From here you can get free maps of Kyoto and best of all, buy a day bus pass. This pass costs 500 yen and if you buy it from the information centre, you get a bus route map with your ticket. These bus passes are worth it as each bus ride, regardless of the distance, will cost you 230 yen. Also at the tourist information centre are handy notices telling you which is the best bus to take for certain attractions.

It was around lunchtime when we arrived in Kyoto, so onto the bus to Nishiki Market.

This market is one long covered alleyway, full of fish and pickles (oh so many pickles) and a great photo opportunity area. It was also a great place to get snacks to eat for lunch!

 Dried fish and bonito

 Lots of pickles for you to try. You use the tongs provided to place some pickles onto the palm of your hand to try. You can then use the wet cloth provided to wipe your hands.

 

 Ayu! A popular freshwater fish and is generally found only during summer. In Kyoto, they fish for the Ayu using ukai, or cormorant fishing. Where they use trained cormorants to dive under water, catch the Ayu and bring it back to the fisherman. Unfortunately, you can only see this from July to around September and we were here at the end of May. Cost us 800 yen for the two salt grilled sweetfish, and it came with some yuzu juice to pour over. The verdict, salty and fishy tasting but good. When it is grilled like this, you can eat most of the fish, including the tail.

 I couldn't quite work out what this was selling. The picture makes me think it was turtle soup...

Fried kamaboko, or fish paste, store. We bought some that had cabbage and onion and another that had quail eggs in it. Oily, but tasty :)

 Sashimi on a stick. It was ok, was actually still a bit frozen.

 We got some octopus and some sort of clam

 Grilled squid on a stick

 Time for some soy ice cream. Didn't really have a strong soy flavour, more of a vanilla flavour.

 When you get to end of the market, you will be greeted with a shrine

In here you can get get your amulets, including some Hello Kitty amulets

The market also intersects a very long shopping arcade. Small and big clothing shops, souvenir shops, some restaurants...it was so tempting to stay here, but we spent quite a bit of time in the market and we wanted to see some other sights.

So back on the bus again to see the Golden Pavillion. On the bus there is an LCD screen that displays the upcoming stop in both Japanese and English. Don't expect it to say Golden Pavillion though, it will say Kinkaku-ji. Which I wasn't paying attention to and we missed our stop. So we walked for a little bit.

After paying 400 yen, we joined the crowds of people and school students and got pushed along with the tide.

 And here is the pavillion

 The verdict...was a bit of a let down. This is pretty much what you get to see. You can't go in and the crowds of people were annoying us. Rooster on the roof? Or maybe a phoenix?

After the golden pavillion, you get to walk around the garden and try your hand at a coin toss game. You get your prayers answered if you get it in?

There were also some more of the garden to look at and the requisite stall selling charms and amulets. Overall, it was slightly disappointing. Maybe it was the large crowd, but it wasn't as spectacular as I would have liked it to be.

So back onto the bus to Gion! This is Hanami-koji street. Full of old buildings that house expensive restaurants. Also full of tourists. No sign of geikos

 Keep walking down and you end up at Kennin-ji temple. Here a a school is taking an outing photo

 Two people lost their shoes and pants

 Then we went west over the Kamogawa and into the Pontocho area. Follow the canal and you get to see lovely old buildings.

 This stork was as still as a statue. Probably waiting for us to leave so it can fish in the canal

As night fell, we looked around for a place to eat. And we came across a udon store. They offered an English menu so we headed in.

 It was an excellent, tiny little place. We sat at the counter and watched the chefs prepare our dinner.

Hubby had a duck udon, of course he had to have a beer. He picked one that was brewed in Kyoto.

 I had a seaweed one. Came with a giant ladle for you to drink your soup with! I was quite liberal with the shichimi togarashi, the little spice bottle on the counter which gives your soup extra flavour.

 After our meal, it was one last stroll around the Kamagawa river and a last look at the souvenir shops on Shijo street

Then it was back to Kyoto Central station. This time we took a JR train back, this cost about 710 yen but the hotel was right next to the station.

Giraffes didn't want to catch anything on the way back. You can buy these reusable masks in many places. This one cost 380 yen, but I think it was for kids! It was a little small..

 Oh yes, this was an awesome yoghurt. We got some for breakfast :)

Kyoto was so exciting that I was going to go back there the next day whilst hubby had to attend the conference. ;)