Kyoto is only 30 minutes from Osaka so we had a leisurely start, checking out at 11am. The last couple of days have been full on and it was lovely not to set the alarm.
We’re staying a couple of minutes from Kyoto Station which made short work of dropping off our luggage before re-tracing our steps for a train to Kyoto’s Botanic Garden.
Japan’s Railway stations are a bit of an enigma, some are signposted better than others, all seem to be over several levels and Google does not recognise levels. We managed to find the right subway, by accident, got on the wrong train, got off said train and travelled the rest of the way by bus.
Founded in 1924, Kyoto Botanical Gardens is the oldest and most comprehensive public botanical garden in Japan. It is home to more than 450 cherry trees and many Acers. Spring and Autumn colours must be fantastic. As it was, it was a wet gloomy October day.
We took the bus back to central Kyoto to visit Nishiki market, known as Kyoto’s kitchen, for a late lunch. The market was incredibly busy and it’s renowned for its fish market, small restaurants, street food and independent stores. The first wholesale fish shop opened on the site in 1310, more stores moved in and, slowly, its character changed from wholesale to retail.
It was dark by the time we surfaced and another bus took us in to Gion and dropped us off outside the grounds of the Yasaka Shrine. Construction of the shrine began in 656 and there is a dance stage in front of it, decorated with hundreds of lanterns, The whole area is famous for wooden machiya houses, exclusive tea houses and the traditional entertainment culture. The area provides an opportunity for tourists to don kimonos and dress like a geisha for the evening.
We found a local yakatori restaurant for dinner and lived life on the edge. The plate of five chicken skewers included thigh, neck, tail, heart and gizzards. We exchanged looks, took a deep breath and ate quickly. chicken gizzards are not to be repeated, we agreed we’d rather have eaten the chopsticks. Please don’t judge me for this – my tastiest skewer of the evening was Camembert! Matt’s was pork belly and we both loved the grilled rice balls with soy sauce and brown butter.
