Streets up to the temples

The Darkness

The first full day in Kyoto started with a wander through some gardens and shrines before climbing a gradual hill through little shops filled with various Japanese ornaments and food. Some food places allowed you to try samples of things, mainly pickles, so obviously we tried as much as we could. The nicest thing I tried was a green biscuit with a white chocolate layer. It pretty much just tasted like white chocolate hence why it was so good. 

When we reached the top of the hill we arrived at a shrine. There was a queue for something below the shrine which we thought was maybe a Buddha. After taking off our shoes we walked down some steps before being plunged into total darkness. There was a hand rail which I didn't let go of the whole time. It was slightly terrifying, walking into the unknown. I couldn't see anything. After a minute of so a large stone came into view and I passed it by before returning to the darkness for a few seconds more. We realised afterwards that you're supposed to recite your truest prayer when passing the stone and it should come true. Not entirely sure but it was one of the weirdest experiences of my life. Mainly because I didn't expect the total darkness and I felt a little trapped not being able to see anything. 

Next we went barely 2 minutes from the shrine to Kiyomizudera temple. Surrounded by trees this temple sits high above the city. Unfortunately, it was slightly rainy and the visibility was poor so there wasn't much view to see, but the temple itself was beautiful old wood; against the green of the leaves it looked like it belonged. 

Making our way back towards the city centre we passed Kenninji temple. At 500 yen we were deliberating whether it was worth a visit. 500 yen isn't even £3. We went in. As with many temples in Japan, shoes had to be taken off. It was quite nice, many sliding screens with beautiful paintings were shown but the little zen gardens with covered courtyards surrounding them were idyllic. And the feeling of walking on wooden floors without shoes was quite liberating. Little red slippers had to be worn to cross over to the main hall where the ceiling was covered in a painting of Japanese dragons. All of the Japanese dragons look like mushu, the dragon from Mulan. 

By this time we were pretty hungry so headed towards Nishiki food market. Again, we sampled many different products but also bought some sweet potato, pumpkin and carrot cakes that were fried and put on a stick like a lollipop. Not bad. 

Towards the end of the day we paid a visit to Nijo castle. It wasn't as spectacular as other temples we'd seen but the garden was rather lovely and an elevated observation point meant a nice photo of the castle grounds could be taken. 

For tea we headed to near the river. We came across a barbecue place not unlike tapas. The Japanese know how to barbecue. Probably one of the best things I've ever tasted was beef on a skewer in garlic and some other magical ingredients. It was heaven. I could quite happily eat that for the rest of my life. 

We finished the meal with a drink. I went for green tea milk which was very refreshing but I'm unsure whether it was alcoholic or not. 

Dumplings

Not much to tell today as most of the day was spent travelling. It seemed like the quickest way to get to Kyoto would be to travel back to Tokyo and get the Shinkansen (bullet train). We stayed in Tokyo for lunch, finding a ramen place within Tokyo station. It was great! The food game super quick which I realised was because the noodles were fresh. I've gone off udon noodles a bit now as they're quite slug like but these were similar to egg noodles we buy at home. The stock they lay in was a tad salty but the spring onions and sesame seeds made it taste delicious. It also came with 2 slices of roast pork laid on top and some dumplings on the side which were like gyozas but tasted like vegetable spring rolls. 

With our bellys nicely full we ventured onto the Shinkansen. It was fast. You could feel the acceleration in the train as it sped up. And the leg room was very decent. 

We didn't make it to Kyoto till half 5 and had to catch a bus to our hostel. The organised people that we are, we obviously didn't have directions to the hostel but were told it was a few minutes from various stations so used our mathematical skills (common sense) to figure out a rough area of where it could be. Luckily, we managed to come across it very quickly so have had time this evening to wonder through the streets, passing what look like old tea houses, and grabbed some weird dumpling things from a market stall. They were like potato dumplings with a piece of squid in the centre and spring onions scattered on top. Not bad. 

Tea time

Bird of prey over Mount Fuji

I want to ride my bicycle.

I've decided that if I don't ride a bike for a few more weeks I won't be devastated. My bum needs time to recover. 

Today began with the hard struggle of choosing a perfect bike from the selection that the hostel had to offer. I chose one that I thought would be suitable, only a tad too small but with a lovely basket. Throughout the day this bike proved a little difficult. The brakes were pretty horrendous as they didn't stop me quickly enough but when I used them it took a while for the bike to get going again. It also had no gears. 

But before I realised all this, we set off to grab some bananas and oranges for breakfast alongside some bread and jam. After cycling for half an hour or so we stopped and ate our breakfast beside the lake. I should add here that we decided to cycle around lake kawaguchi, the largest of the Fuji five lakes. It took us another 10 minutes to reach the half way point though so decided to move on to the neighbouring lake. They're right next to each other but the road that links them has a steep incline. And it goes on for quite a while. I walked most of it but still ended up being beautifully sweaty at the top. Luckily the second lake was further from sea level so there were no more hills for the day. May I just add here that my bike had no gears therefore I was impressed that I even got a little way up the hill on it. 

The second lake (pretty sure it's called Saiko) was smaller but just as picturesque. We easily cycled half way before stopping at a bat cave. You are given a helmet and you follow a trail before entering the cave. It was a small circuit that you follow round the cave, the ceilings were even smaller. Watching someone who is over 6 foot struggle under the 2 or 3 foot ceilings was worth the 300 yen (less than £2). 

We cycled back towards lake kawaguchi after the cave, looking jealously on at the people camping on the beaches, wafting their barbecue smells our way. We swiftly then moved on to find some food after only eating bananas and snacks that I had in my bag. We found a cafe where I had a blueberry and vanilla ice cream whilst looking out onto the most spectacular view of Mount Fuji. The ice cream was a soft scoop so probably full of nasty things but it was pleasant enough. 

Passing our hostel, we went further round the lake, just cycling and occasionally stopping to admire the view. By this time I was very hungry so we went to a cute looking restaurant. When we walked in there was the choice of normal seats or cushions on the floor. Obviously we chose the latter. I went for tempura seafood and veg with pickles and rice and soup and a little bowl of what was like spaghetti coated in creme fraiche with cucumber running through it.  Quite refreshing really. I was so full afterwards the cycle back to the hostel was a struggle. The tempura overpowered the prawns and the squid but the whitebait and a white fish that tasted like haddock kept their flavours. I'm starting to love the pickles as well, even though I can't figure out what they are. The soup was a tad strange as it had crouton type things in it but they were soggy and I only had chopsticks so I didn't know if I should drink it straight from the bowl. I'm still not sure. But the day was relaxing and I grew a little fond of that shitty bike in the end. 

Tempura udon noodles

The Thomas train

Fish market

I shall have a fishy

Today began with an earlier wake up as we wanted to see Tokyo fish market. It took a while to get there as we got a little lost and bought a loaf of bread and a strawberry yoghurt drink for breakfast (I was craving bread), but by 10am we were walking round, taking in the fishy smells. It was amazing! The scale of the whole market (Matt's pun of the day) was one thing but the variety of fish and the freshness of it was the best part. Full of hundreds of different stalls, the market was overrun with Japanese men carting boxes of fish onto little wooden carts or driving them round on mini vehicles which looked somewhere between a golf caddy and a scooter. 

After saying a fond farewell to Fernando (the name has to be sung like the abba song), we headed to the station to move on to Fuji. It only took us 2 attempts to get on the correct train to Otsuki and then after a quick lunch of a sandwich (yes, more bread) and a ham and cheese pastry (too much bread and pastry) we took a Thomas the tank engine train to Kawaguchiko. Pictures will follow of the Thomas train. I'd also like to add details of the drink I had with my lunch. It was a peach flavour chilled herbal tea. I expected something like Lipton ice tea but it was quite different. I don't think the herbal tea contained any sugar which I feel made it more refreshing. Definitely one to have again. 

By this point, Mount Fuji was in plain sight and just as big and spectacular as expected. When we arrived at kawaguchiko there was a sign saying buses to the moss festival were available. Our first big spontaneous adventure. I can't remember the proper name for the festival but it's a load of pink flowers and a pond with Mount Fuji in the background. Very pretty and a perfect place to think about the late Dr Morrill. He would have appreciated it's beauty. 

The bus returned us to kawaguchiko station but we were too late to catch a bus to our hostel. There was the choice of phoning the hostel so they could pick us up but the cost of calling wasn't a nice thought. So I had the brilliant idea of walking. To be fair to myself, it was only 2 and a half miles but it was getting dark at this point. Whilst deliberating we got stuck into a bowl of noodles. I went for a tempura udon noodle which consisted of udon noodles, cabbage, carrots and other spring veg soaked in a broth with what I believe were tempura onions sprinkled on top. It wasn't the most flavoursome of foods (I'm starting to think no Japanese food is flavoursome except sushi) but it was still pleasant to eat. 

For the walk to the hostel, we luckily stuck to main roads and made it before I wet myself. First impressions of the hostel are okay but comparing it to the Tokyo hostel it in no way matches up. Free bike rental though!