Travels by Bus
See the world on bus, ON foot & on my own.
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MULTIPLE JAPAN
One of my favourite countries in the world.
10
days
10
days
12/1997
18 - 26/05/2013
Having been to Japan before, I knew that my mum will be happy here because it is a beautiful and clean country AND everything works.
We flew into Kansai International Airport on Jetstar and took the airport bus because if the trains were crowded, I might not be able to cope with our luggages. Besides, the buses can be found just outside the airport terminal which is very convenient. You need to get a ticket from the ticket vending machine but it was rather straightforward.
Japan has 43 prefectures and I have been to 2 prefectures Nara and Gifu, two urban prefectures - Kyoto and Osaka and one "metropolis" (都) Tokyo. Each is interesting in itself and Japan kept drawing me back.
Day 1: NARA
I chose Nara because it is halfway from Kansai airport to Kyoto. I thought it would be nice to break the journey for my mother. Besides, Nara is well known for its deers who are known as "heavenly animals, protecting the city and the country". But we saw a sign of aggressive deers so they are not so docile afterall.
We also met up with Johan and Tomomi who speaks Mandarin so my mother can join in the conversation, and their lovely young children.
We stayed at a B&B, Cotton 100% which is a very neat place. It is also within walking distance to everywhere. After dropping off our luggage, we had a stroll up the stairs past Kofuku-ji and Nara Park where we came across many wild deers before coming to the famous Todai-ji.
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Shot of a passing pull-rickshaw running by
This little pond kind of separate Nara and Naramachi, the old Nara.
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Day 2: Naramachi
Naramachi is a great photo-opp for me because the traditional residential buildings and warehouses - some from the Edo Period and some machiya i.e. long, narrow "townhouses" - are preserved and some of them are turned into cafes, shops and museums. Since my mother cannot walk too much, I was glad that I went out in the morning and took photos without any tourists in sight.
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Day 2: Kyoto
Nara to Kyoto: ¥610 per person on Kintetsu Limited Express (train)
There are so many kinds of trains in Japan. From Nara Kintetsunara Station, the easiest and cheapest was the Kintetsu Limited Express. It takes only 35 minutes to Kyoto Station, direct. You can easily plan your trip around Japan by looking up the Hyperdia website.
Everyone was very quiet on the train, either reading, playing with their phones/ tablets or sleeping. The train personnel (you see him at the end of the carriage) would make some announcement occasionally. At one stage, he came up to my end of the carriage, opened the door to the other carriage, turned around and BOWED at us! I was shocked. I have never seen a train personnel (or anyone in service) so polite before!
The bus system is very unique. You board at the back and you should take a ticket when you board because as the bus travels along, a digital fareboard indicates the fare that corresponds to the number on your ticket. When you alight at the front (next to the driver), you will know how much to pay - according to what is displayed on the digital fareboard. If you do not have loose change, there's a money changing machine on board that accepts even ¥5000 (USD50) note. On one occasion, I got an extra ¥100 from the machine.
When my mum came to visit with me, she cannot stop admiring the polite bus drivers. Unlike our crude bus drivers, Japanese bus drivers made announcements to the (next) station and THANKED everyone who alight from the bus.
The first time I went, I went there from Tokyo and noticed that people in Kyoto are nicer and they like colourful clothes. I was a student back then so I stayed in a guesthouse called Uno Guesthouse near downtown Kyoto. It's a grotty wooden house - the most authentic place in Japan that I've been. A low sliding wooden door leads to a very narrow walkway, which then leads to the reception, the kitchen and dining area. Toilets and bathrooms are behind.There are dormitories on this floor and more up a narrow and steep flight of stairs. It cost only ¥1,650 a night for a futon on tatami mats.
Now, Japan is more international. There are signages in English and the train counters have staff speaking English. This is a big change to years ago. The Best Western in Kawaramachi, Kyoto is the best hotel we have stayed in in our entire holiday. It is modern, new (or maybe well kept) and they cleaned the room everyday. We booked the Twin-Bed room which means each of us had a Queen size bed. The bathroom was big enough and the amenities were adequate. We were even given pyjamas so I'm happy that we booked 4 nights here although in the end, it is a bit too long for us. Like the other guests said, it is within walking distance everywhere.
My mother doesn't like temples but the Nishiki Market, the fresh food market. Great! It is a long shopping street lined with more than a hundred food-related shops and restaurants.They sell fresh seafood, produce, seasonable foods and pickled stuff. We tried some of the samples which were very interesting. There are also small eateries here and these cooked food like these cuttlefish and meat and carrot sticks were very good. We are very impressed that it is so clean, dry, well organised and not smelly considering they sell fish and raw meat. I cannot stop clicking away.
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Kiyomizudera 清水寺
Although it is possible to walk, we took a bus to Kiyomizudera (清水寺, literally "Pure Water Temple") in the Higashiyama District.
From the bus stop it was a walk up a steep hill, past some residence and cafe but as we got closer, the street was just lined with souvenir shops after another. There were kimono-clad girls walking around too but they were just tourists from Taiwan or Hong Kong trying on a Japanese costume.
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In Chinese it is pronounced as qing-shui-shi. Even though they are pronounced differently, it means the same: "Pure Water Temple". There are many similarity in the Japanese kanji and the Chinese hanzi. And because of that, we were able to make out the meaning of places and things in Japan which was really helpful.
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Kiyozudera is one of the most celebrated temples of Japan. In 1994, the temple was added to the list of UNESCO world heritage sites. It provides a panoramic view of Kyoto city.
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When we passed by the Yasaka Shrine, I'm most enchanted by this school girl's (prayer) actions. I wonder what she asked for.
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Kyoto Imperial Palace
Kyoto Imperial Palace used to be the residence of Japan's Imperial Family until 1868 when the capital of Japan moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. To get in, you need to join the guided tours held by the Imperial Household Agency. However, Japanese can only visit the palace on special occasions. On the website it says that advance reservations are required. It was a really hot day and we didn't really care if we got in or not but I was surprised that all we need to do was to register our names, passport numbers and personal details at the Agency and viola, we got ourselves a "slot". The tour starts at 2 p.m. so we had lunch and came back to join the tour.
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All I ever remember of the tour was the use of red colours on the doors and columns. This is to ward off evil spirits.
The South - Jomeimon Gate - leads directly to the Shishinden, the Hall for State Ceremonies.