Miotosa

Hi! Welcome to my third post. In this third day in Japan, I travelled to Kyoto to visit some must-visit places such as Arashiyama, Kinkakuji, Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, Gion, etc. It's already my third day here and I felt so sad that time passed very quickly :(. But my joy and excitement covered all that because my first destination in the morning is Arashiyamaaaa... So I could still use my Hankyu Two Day Pass from yesterday to visit Arashiyama by train. The train to Arashiyama was very comfortable and beautiful with green colors and the view from the window is something very pleasing to my eye. I just loved how those houses on the edge of the railway seems to be placed in order and neat.

It only took around one and half an hour to get to Arashiyama from Umeda. When I stepped out of the station I could feel that the air is somehow refreshing. I was welcomed with a wide open street with river and mountain in background. The place was very amazing! If you would like to rent a bike for one day in Arashiyama, there is a bike rental in this station. But since I prefer to walk on my own I decided to move on!

My first destination is to find the tourist information center to get some infos about attractions in Arashiyama. The information center is located in another Arashiyama station which is more the center of the town so I have to start walking. When I was about to cross the Oi River, I saw the magnificent view surrounding me. It was as if everything was in harmony, The street, the mountain, the town, the people, the river and the birds. All just breathtaking.

 While I walked through Arashiyama I just admired how people seems to live a slow pace of life in a peaceful surrounding. I never once have liked the city living lifestyle so being in Arashiyama just made me really happy. No wonder people here lives a very long life.

When I arrived in Arashiyama Station, I realized that I could not possibly carry my heavy bag all around the town. So there is this baggage storage service called Kuro Neko Yamato where I put my bag for a day with a reasonable price (I forgot how much). So I arrived at the information center and I bought a one day pass Kyoto City Bus to go around Kyoto.


I also asked about recommended onsen experience nearby :). So after that, I walked to Oi River once again because I want to try the Boat strolling around the river. When I get there, there was no other tourist nearby who would like to share the boat ride with me. It was 3800 yen and could actually be cheaper if I shared that with others. But since no one seems available I just get on by myself :).


When the boat started to move, there will be a shopping boat coming near our boat. They sell traditional food but all is in Japanese and I could not read some of the word and they hardly speak English. So I only bought Dango which is a sweet rice cake. But it was more delicious when enjoyed in such place.


My boat guide named Yugo-san (If I am not mistaken). He speaks very little english but I really do appreciate his effort in giving me information about the area though some are unclear to me. So after the very relaxing boat ride in the morning, I visited Tenryuji Temple. Tenryuji (天龍寺, Tenryūji) is the most important temple in Kyoto's Arashiyama district. It was ranked first among the city's five great Zen temples, and is now registered as a world heritage site. I felt really lucky because I now I have visited two world heritage site where Borobudur is the first :).

Lovely toilet. I could spend hours in here.

So after the nice visit to Tenryuji temple, I walked to Chikurin - Bamboo Grove. I found that this place really beautiful in photos I saw on Google, but I think this place is so-so. Not very recommended for me. But yeah since it's my first time I think I just have to try it.

There is shrine inside the Bamboo Groove as well.

So, after spending time in Arashiyama and visited some places, I would like to go to Kitano Tenmangu Shrine and Kinkakuji The Golden Temple. I took the Kyoto City Bus to get there and I was amazed by the punctuality of the bus here. Well, while I was waiting for the Bus, there is this old lady who kept looking at me. I thought she wanted to talked to me and then I smiled to here. You know the next thing is she started to speak in Japanese. I already told here that I only speak English but she insist on having a conversation with me. Thank God I have this google translate on my phone. Her name is Numazawa Tatsuko and she is 84 years old. She lives alone in Kyoto and her daughter has passed away. no husband (I don't know why). She was on her way to Hospital by herself and I told her that I am going to Kitano Tenmangu Shrine. She told me that we ride the same Bus so she kept me company inside :). I wrote on my google translate " I love Japan" and showed it to her and she clapped her hand while cheering for me. :))))

She showed me her home address and I regret that I didn't take a picture of her address because I get the feeling that she want me to visit her house when I visit Kyoto again. I am very sorry granny :(. When she get off the bus she keeps waving her hand at me until my Bus is unseenable from her distance. When I arrived at the bus station, I walked and found this small food vendor selling some kind of japanese pancake but not the sweet one. The old lady who attend insist that I have to try some. Well It is hard for me to refuse an old lady request so I went in and tried the food. I had a conversation with the old lady and she was surprised when she know I am a Moslem from Indonesia (maybe the pancake has some pork to it and she felt guilty). as I indulge myself with the not-so delicious pancake, a young man came in to eat and sit right beside me. The lady and the young man then had a conversation and I knew for sure that they are talking about me. The young man named Hirota Shuzo could speak english a little and told me that he is also going to the Shrine to pray and I could walk with him. Well a chance of free guide and getting along with local that I could not refuse right? He told me that the deity in Kitano Tenmangu Shrine is known as the deity of knowledge so he prayed there for his study. So to cut short, I visited the shrine with him and also Kinkakuji The Golden Temple.

Before we part ways, he offered me to come to eat sushi which he said is very cheap but high quality in central Kyoto. I accept his offer and rushed to this sushi bar called Kappa Sushi. Now I have to say that this is my first time eating in a restaurant where the service is automated by computer system. I just have to sit on the stool and order sushi from the touch screen display in front of me. When the sushi is coming near through the rotating belt the alarm will sound. I ate like more than 10 plates because there are so many choices of sushi.

After sushi, we part ways and I gave him my Hankyu Railway One Day Pass so he could go home to Osaka without buying a train ticket. After spending almost the whole day, I decided to get back to Arashiyama to take my bag and it was already dark when I got there. Now there is this Kimono Path at the station which is really beautiful at night.

So... after I got my Bag.. it is time for me to check in at the hotel and get some rest. I took Bus again to central Kyoto where my hotel, Santiago Guest House is located. It is a mixed dormitory with a really low and reasonable price! I only spent around 270.000 rupiah per night.

SO THANK YOU FOR VISITING MY BLOG.......... domo arigatou gozaimasu..... see you on the next post... bai-bai!

Hi everyone, welcome to my second post. Here I would like to share my second day in Japan exploring the city of Kobe. I woke up early like at 6 in the morning and went out of the hotel in 7. My itinerary told me to go to Kobe so I went there because of that. Because Kobe is like very far from Osaka so I have to bought another train ticket. I went to Umeda station and bought the Hankyu Railway 2 day Pass to reach Kobe at the tourist information center. You have to show your passport to eligible for buying the ticket. Here is the ticket.

Umeda station is the first huge and busy train station I have ever seen. There are so many people and they walked like ridiculously fast! (why not chill man)... I almost got hit by the hordes of people many time.

anyway, the train to Kobe was surprisingly very nice. I meant the train. I really admired the Japanese for their obsession with cleanliness. It's hard to find something that is not clean and tidy here.

So... I have finally arrived in Kobe...