Traditional Han Costumes with Sakuras in Kyoto

It might not be very apparent in this blog until recently but I actually travel quite a bit for someone who holds a full time job. I often get so caught up with life that I cannot fully share my travel journey on blogs and most of the photographic memories captured just stays in my Harddisk.

 

 

 

But I’m not here to talk about my backlogs really. I’m here to say I travel a lot. And if possible, I travel alone. And people around me often asks, why do I keep travelling alone? Why? Because I want to open up chances for beautiful encounters like this to happen!

 

 

 

I chanced upon Vicky and Qian in the famous Philosopher’s Path in Kyoto and little did I know we would end up connecting so well.

Cherry Blossoms @ Gion, Kyoto

Gion is a historical area in Kyoto that IMHO, serves as one of the most iconic representative of Japanese culture.

 

“ Gion (祇園^?, ぎおん^{[note 1]}) is a district of Kyoto, Japan, originally developed in the Middle Ages, in front of Yasaka Shrine. The district was built to accommodate the needs of travellers and visitors to the shrine. It eventually evolved to become one of the most exclusive and well-known geisha districts in all of Japan.”

Source: Wikipedia

 

 

 

Gion is famous for it’s large amount of traditional wooden houses (Machiya) which so embodies the image of traditional Japanese architecture. Gion has evolved into a highly prosperous district that is filled with restaurants, shops and Teahouses. Most notably, is the Hanami-Koiji street where there is the highest concentration of Ochaya (teahouses) and where the Geishas receives and entertain guests.

 

“ The most popular area of Gion is Hanami-koji Street from Shijo Avenue to Kenninji Temple. A nice (and expensive) place to dine, the street and its side alleys are lined with preserved machiya houses many of which now function as restaurants, serving Kyoto style kaiseki ryori (Japanese haute cuisine) and other types of local and international meals.

Interspersed among the restaurants are a number of ochaya (teahouses), the most exclusive and expensive of Kyoto's dining establishments, where guests are entertained by maiko and geiko.”

source: Japan-Guide.com

First experience at a Japanese Public Bath (Kyoto)

As most of you might know, I went to Japan for a short holiday (last last year. This is a VERY delayed post). In the last week of my CoFesta trip I went to Kyoto and stayed at Hostel Mundo. Nearby the hostel was a public bath which the owner of the hostel highly recommended. According to her, Choja-Yu (长者汤） is the second oldest public bath in Kyoto.

 
Address: 上長者町通松屋町西入須浜東町, 450上京区 , 京都府Japan
Tel: +81 75 441 1223 
 
 


 
According to Midori-san (Hostel Mundo’s Owner) , Choja-Yu Public bath operates till 12：00 midnight. But when i was there the public bath signage seems to say that it closes at 11:30 even though I did stayed till 11:45 pm =X.

Autumn Kyoto day 7 (Kinkakuji & Nijo Castle)

The 28th October 2013 marks the 7th day of my extended CoFesta Ambassador trip in Japan last autumn. I was invited as an Ambassador for CoFesta in recognition of my continuous work of sharing Japanese related content online. I extended the trip and made it into a 12 days trip from Tokyo to Osaka and Kyoto.

 

- Read about my CoFesta related travel trips here (Click!)

- Read about my Japan related travel blogs & tips here (Click!)

 

 

 

So yes, that Monday morning marked my first morning in Kyoto! I’ve been dreaming of a Kyoto flooded red with maple leaves ever since reading the grotesque and romanticised descriptions in Yami no Matsuei.  After a tedious and anxious day of rushing for my Shinkansen and lugging my luggage from Tokyo to Kyoto the day before, I woke up at 10am haha. By the time I got out of the Hostel it was already 12:30pm hahaha. This is why I like travelling solo; I sleep and rise according to my own wishes. 

How to travel on Buses in Kyoto (Japan)

So I went to Kyoto alone recently and experienced first hand how travelling solo in a foreign country is. I went on many wasted paths and had to learn everything by myself.

So I'm going to share everything I know about the Kyoto Bus systems with you guys, hopefully this is helpful to someone!

Why take the Bus? :

Compared to Tokyo, moving around is a very different ball game in Kyoto. In Kyoto, it's all about the buses and you can reach pretty much any attractions with the buses. For in-depth explanation about transporting in Kyoto, you can go to Kyoto City's website.

I'm going to briefly explain the bus system in Kyoto and then explain how to use the Kyoto City Bus Map.  I will also share some hands-on tips not found in other tourism website .