Gonna wrap this Japan (Kansai) Dairies! Continuing our journey, we moved to Kyoto after a short two (and ½) days in Osaka! Most of the places on our itinerary were in Kyoto, so we thought it would be better if we moved there instead of traveling back and forth (like most people did based on our research). We had kids in tow, so it was ideal that we didn’t need to commute a lot!

Our 45-minute train ride from Osaka brought us to Kyoto, where much colder weather welcomed us! We dropped off our luggage at our new hotel (Bon Kyoto) and had a very quick lunch. We rode the bus to Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺)! It was super majestic! And the golden temple was much brighter and shinier because we went there during golden hour! The (almost) sunset just made it more beautiful!

The next day, we went to another theme park! Toei Studio Park! Yes, that Toei, famous for One Piece, Sailor Moon, and Dragonball! It’s popular for filming period dramas! It was really cool; it had that old Japan feel! My sister and her son rented traditional clothes! It dramatically upped the experience by a notch! There were plenty of locals here (not a lot of foreigners), and most of them were cosplayers! They brought professional photographers—the whole shebang! It’s fascinating to watch! Luckily, they had a special event for Blue Lock! So what did I do? Fangirling of course, haha! There was a lot to see, but we had to move on, so after half a day in the theme park, we rode the train towards Arashiyama (嵐山) to visit the popular bamboo forest! Again, amazing! And to me, who only saw this on IG before, it just felt surreal to be in there! Along the way, we ate dango, then visited Kimono Forest and Togetsu-kyo Bridge (渡月橋) (which we didn’t see much ‘cos it was almost nighttime).

Monday morning, another long train ride to Nara! To see the famous deer park! It was the coldest morning yet! It was raining, but it was a very quiet train ride. Just like Osaka to Kyoto, Kyoto to Nara took less than an hour. When we got there, we were bummed out that it was still drizzling, but we literally weathered through. My older sister lost her leather gloves (she was really upset, and that wasn’t the day you could go gloveless—it was really that cold). Anyway, we got to meet these charming deer! And yes, like you see on social media, they bow before getting treats! It was so cute. By late afternoon, we went back to Kyoto and did some very short shrine & temple hopping! We saw Gion (祇園) at dusk, and it was hauntingly beautiful! With no crowds and just dark alleys lit by lamp posts and store lights, there was something mystical about it. And before we capped what was supposed to be our last night in Japan (but it wasn’t; that’s my next story!) we also dropped by Yasaka-jinja (八坂神社), then off to Miyako Ramen for dinner! Again, I think it’s good that we went there at night! It was a completely different experience!

Before we left, the next morning, we’d decided to check out Fushimi Inari-taisha (伏見稲荷大社) (which was just one station away from Kyoto Station), then we ate lunch, and then by late afternoon before we left Kyoto, it started to snow…

…and that’s another whole ordeal we faced, and a new story for another time! The last one of this travel series, promise! Stay tuned!