Although Japan is a four hour flight from Hong Kong, about the same distance as the UK to Egypt, flight fares are remarkably cheap, I had a great deal on Hong Kong Express flights flying into Tokyo and out from Osaka Kansai.
After spending time trawling what left like the entire length of Tokyo, I headed to Kyoto for a few days, before spending one night in Osaka and flying out from there. One slightly annoying thing is that Osaka Kansai Airport is the Luton of Japan in its distance from the city it claims to be the airport for, its an hour from Nanba Station to the airport with no delays.
Kyoto is the old capital of Japan, and could be considered the Edinburgh of the UK - it is beautiful, and tourists are everywhere. I spent two full days exploring the 'must see' things in Kyoto, but there was so much more I missed. I was also very aware that, unlike my time in Tokyo, I very much stuck to the tourist trails in Kyoto (it is quite difficult not to), and I'm sure the city has so much more than temples, shrines and lantern-filled alleys - but what I saw blew me away.
I stayed in Gion, the fashionable downtown of Kyoto that is filled with hotels, restaurants, gift shops and geisha teahouses. Geishas are everywhere in Kyoto, some of the real (as you can tell by their white painted faces), and others are tourists, as there are many places offering rented kimonos for the day.
Just off from the modern main street in Gion are older, pedestrianised streets, strung with Japanese lanterns and offering Japanese cooking in restaurant after restaurant. The most lovely of these is the Kiyamachi Street, which runs alongside the Kamo river. Wide enough to reach out and almost touch both walls, it transports you to centuries-old Kyoto, and has some of the best food in town. The river could be described as the centre of Kyoto life, it flows through the city from south to north, and the river bank is full of families having picnics and people going for an evening stroll after the sun goes down. On my first night, I sat on a restaurant balcony overlooking the river, and later watched street performers do a fire show at the riverside.
Kyoto is the old capital of Japan, and could be considered the Edinburgh of the UK - it is beautiful, and tourists are everywhere. I spent two full days exploring the 'must see' things in Kyoto, but there was so much more I missed. I was also very aware that, unlike my time in Tokyo, I very much stuck to the tourist trails in Kyoto (it is quite difficult not to), and I'm sure the city has so much more than temples, shrines and lantern-filled alleys - but what I saw blew me away.
I stayed in Gion, the fashionable downtown of Kyoto that is filled with hotels, restaurants, gift shops and geisha teahouses. Geishas are everywhere in Kyoto, some of the real (as you can tell by their white painted faces), and others are tourists, as there are many places offering rented kimonos for the day.
Just off from the modern main street in Gion are older, pedestrianised streets, strung with Japanese lanterns and offering Japanese cooking in restaurant after restaurant. The most lovely of these is the Kiyamachi Street, which runs alongside the Kamo river. Wide enough to reach out and almost touch both walls, it transports you to centuries-old Kyoto, and has some of the best food in town. The river could be described as the centre of Kyoto life, it flows through the city from south to north, and the river bank is full of families having picnics and people going for an evening stroll after the sun goes down. On my first night, I sat on a restaurant balcony overlooking the river, and later watched street performers do a fire show at the riverside.
This street leads up to the Kiyomizu-dera temple, one of the most loved temples in Japan. Designed in the 1600s, not a single nail was used in its completion. One area of the temple was dedicated to the god of love and good matches around the Jishu Shrine. This area was full of tourists buying lucky charms, and trying to walk with their eyes shut between two stones, which (if you can get to the second stone quickly), means you will find your true love very soon.
From the temple, you are able to look into the hills to the east of Kyoto, and I loved looking at the autumn colours coming out, as well as the mist lying between the hills.
The Fushimi-Inari shrine proudly declares itself as the top listed 'thing to do in Japan' on TripAdvisor at its entrance, and it is we'll worthy of this praise. Red torii structures (that I would describe as gates to the shrine) snake up mount Inari, but almost nothing is more exceptional than those at the very bottom, where they are so tightly packed together they almost make a wall. Walking further up Mount Inari, which took me about an hour, the torii separate out by a couple of metres, but still create a beautiful trail to follow. A stopping point half way up has an amazing view across Kyoto and a good place to stop for a rest.
One thing I attempted to do and failed miserably at was Philospher's Walk. The path is named after one of Japans most famous philosophers, who would mediate on this walk to Kyoto University, and follows a cherry-tree lined canal with boutique shops, cafes and shrines along the route. Unfortunately I got to the start of the walk and was so rain soaked I had to turn round and squelch home. This walk is meant to be best during Cherry Blossom season, so maybe that is a good excuse to return to this beautiful city.
Osaka
Osaka, I've heard, is Japan's food city, and as the greatest food city amongst one of the greatest food countries, it really is spectacular. It's main tourist street, Dotonbori, is a gaudy, neon-lit affair that makes even Shibuya in Tokyo look classy. Along with the billboards and advertising signs popping out at you, a huge 3D lobster looks down from one of the restaurants and a cow from another. But escape the madness of Dotonbori and the main street Shinsaibashi (connected by a disorienting network of covered shopping arcades), and central Osaka has some really great streets that would make any foodie very happy. In particular, I loved the area of Ame-mura, the 'American' district and centre of Osaka's youth culture. It is an entertainment and shopping hub with smaller streets lined with cosy restaurants and bars.
In the short time I was there, Osaka didn't quite live up to Tokyo's distinctive personality and the charm of its quieter neighbourhoods like Asakura - much of Osaka seemed to be urban sprawl without any smaller centres or specific districts. This could be very unfair however, as I was only there for a short time at the end of my trip, and it didn't stop raining the entire time, preventing me from exploring a little further. Until next time, Japan.
