Leaves in certain Arashiyama temples look good today, mostly bright red and orange with only some green left.
The hills however still look more greenish than not.

It was absolutely packed today, definitely need to come earlier in the morning. When you see a long queue purchasing tickets to enter Jojakkoji, you know how bad it is.

Yup looks nice!

Start off at Kiyomizu and make your way downwards to Gion, that's how I did it wearing a kimono lolz!

Btw, the koyo condition for each place is shown below so for those going, can use it to plan around.



This post has been edited by Monya Meow Meow: Nov 22 2019, 11:43 AM

Pictures will come soon bro haha!
Busy on the road everyday!

My Kyoto/Nara portion of the trip has now ended and here are some of my tips/tricks & observations that can hopefully help those going in the future:

• Wake up early and hit the famous spots first. We did Kiyomizu, Fushimi Inari & the Sagano bamboo forest each morning before 8am and they were wonderful. Fast forward 2 hours later, they looked like a human zoo.

• Speaking of bamboo forests, there are 2 smaller versions of them in Kodaiji & Adashino Nenbutsuji. They may not have the grandeur of the Sagano one but there was almost nobody there so you'll be able to enjoy it more.

• Weather in autumn is nice and crisp. Can be a bit cold in the morning and at night so layering is the best strategy.

• The best warabi-mochi I've tried on this trip is in this place called Rakushō. It's in Gion on Nene-no-michi, near the entrance to Kodaiji. Melts in your mouth and oh sooo good!

• Try out a kimono in Gion and choose the silk ones especially during autumn/winter as they are warmer. We rented ours from Rose Kimono Rental.

• Coffee lovers, the % Arabica in Gion is less crowded and more pleasant than the one in Arashiyama which had too long a queue (unless you go early in the morning).

• The green tea desserts and coffee in Yojiya Cafe were one of our favorites. Do take note that the one near Ginkakuji is under renovation.

• Buses are much easier to ride than I anticipated. Instructions are clear and in English. They are less crowded and you can get a seat if you start your journey from outside the city center. For example, I took a train from Shijo to Kitaoji station and changed to a bus to Kinkakuji.

• The Starbucks in a Gion machiya house is overrated although the interior and exterior are unique.

• Take a bus to the nearest Kiyomizu bus stop and make your way up to Kiyomizu. From there, head downward to Sannenzaka/Ninenzaka and the Gion district.

• Kinkakuji at 4pm on a Sunday was less crowded and manageable. Not sure how bad the morning crowd is although I've heard horror stories.

• If you have a Nara bus pass or Kintetsu Rail Pass, take the bus from the station to Kasuga Taisha and make your way anticlockwise to Todaiji. More downward sloping than the other way round.

• Yoshikien in Nara is free to foreign passport holders! Show them your passport to gain free entry into this beautifully manicured garden.

• Many people skip Naramachi and only visit the park for the deers. I like Naramachi and spent a few hours wandering around the old neighborhood, even visiting a traditional machiya called Koshi-no-ie.

• Finding rubbish bins was a pain so bring a spare bag for your trash especially if you're like us who snack a lot.

• The special edition Coke bottles are much cheaper in Bic Camera/Donki compared to the vending machines.

• When purchasing towels or hankies, look for the Imabari branded symbol as they are of high quality.

• Most products are genrally made in China but normally in a store they have a separate section for made in Japan goods. The price is higher but so is the quality.

• If travelling from city to city, use the luggage forwarding service to save you the hassle.

Bonus for onsen & seafood lovers:

• Kinosaki Onsen was LOVELY. Very worth visiting and spending the night in a ryokan. 2.5 hours from Kyoto and close to 3 from Osaka, the express train is covered by JR Pass.

That's it for me now, will see how my remaining trip goes and see if I have time for a concise trip report when I get back . Feel free to tag this post on the first page if it helps sweet_pez.

This post has been edited by Monya Meow Meow: Nov 23 2019, 09:23 AM

Osaka is kinda too crazy for me, definitely prefer Kyoto

That is unfortunate indeed.
The Qantas Lounge in Narita really needs a revamp, very underwhelming.

We decided to skip Miyajima this time as I really wanted to see the torii gate so we're gonna have to make a trip back sometime in the future.

Hiroshima though, definitely worth a visit and one of our fav cities not only becasue of the Peace Musuem but generally the crowd levels and calmness of the area.

Yeah most of the time 6 or 6:30 have to be awake.
No choice due to the crazy crowds and also shorter daylight as you mentioned.

I slogged it out for 6 months, time to enjoy haha!
You'll get there for sure mate.

Thanks mate, I'll put up my trip report once I get back and include it as part of the tips I already posted.

Absolutely, makes the playing much more enjoyable for sure when you have the money to spend haha!

No, I was actually staying in a hotel just beside Shijo Station, makes getting around the 4 directions quite easy.

Not that much expensive when compared to EU & US. It depends on your home currency also of course.

You just need good planning transportation wise and have your meals in decent places that costs less than ¥1000 per meal.

Stay in Airbnbs to help with the costs, we just prefer hotels due to the convenience of luggage forwarding and breakfast.

Now that I've done Tokyo, Nikko, Fuji 5 Lakes, Kofu, Kinosaki Onsen, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Okayama, Himeji, Hiroshima & Okinawa, think I'll take a break next year especially with Olympics.

2021 seems like a good year to visit the lesser known areas of Japan. Kyushu or Tohoku maybe.

This post has been edited by Monya Meow Meow: Nov 27 2019, 09:01 AM

Left cloudy Osaka to a rainy Tokyo this morning.

The weather in Tokyo now looks... shockingly bad and wet.

Cheers for that and no worries!

Can I say, those are some fantastic pictures!

Wow nice...
I've seen a video review of the 7* train, pretty pricey!

Haha yeah, definitely takes a lot of patience and cash.
That's why RC is the sifu, he's been on one lolz!

I can't remember who it was but to the person who asked me if TeamLab is worth it, my answer is YES!

I went to Planets today and it was so unique and amazing. Not many visitors and didn't feel cramped at all. Can enjoy your own personal space.

I am the reverse, I felt that Tokyo was colder haha!

Wow $5400 for 4 days, really daebak...