Loving this report and your enthusiasm! Making me wish I were in Japan right now.

You've got to try the Kobe beef in Kyoto. Misono's is a good place to try it if you have the time and the money. Its right in the heart of the Pontocho area
Misono TSC Tower, 5th floor, Takoyakushi, Kawaramachi Ph# 075/255-2981

Don't short change the Kyoto station area! The most shopping stores and eating restaurants(close to two hundred) in one place in all of Kyoto by far! There is an excellent French/Japanese restaurant on the 15th floor of the Granvia called Le Fleur which was divine and has with the seldom seen views of rural southern Kyoto.


Look for sometimes free Saturday and Sunday concerts right in front of the station area starting around 10 am if you are there on the weekend

Too bad you missed the cherry blossoms. It gives you something to plan for your return. Save some money,lol

Aloha!

Thanks for the info Auntie Queenie. I don't think we have missed the Cherry Blossoms. TOday is our first full day in Kyoto so we will see. Have a very full day planned. Will report this afternoon.

I meant HT, my Aunt is also Hawaiian, I am getting you mixed up!

HT is right on about Kyoto station area,the station itself will take all day to see.

I have never seen any train station like it.

Will check out Kyoto Station tonight.

What a fantastic report on Tsukiji, down to the nitty gritty details. Thank you for that! I missed Tsukiji when I was in Tokyo (go figure) but have it earmarked for a future visit. I am enjoying your trip report!

bkk95: Tsukiji was a big highlight for me. You might not be quite as obsessed with it as me, but very easy to access definitely worth a trip.

HT and pops was right, Kyoto station is absolutely stunning. I still prefer Shijo for eating. Less expensive I have found after scoping Kyoto Station menus and more smaller mom and pop restaurants which we like. Will have a nice meal at Kyoto Station tomorrow night. HT, besides the Kobe Beef and French Restaurant any suggestions?

We liked Izusen for lunch. You have to like yuba(tofu) in order to appreciate this place.

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/kyoto/D38787.html

We also loved,
Manyoken 48-Motoyoshi-cho, Yamato Ouiji Shinbashi, Kyoto Ph# 075/525-5101
We had to have the hotel concierge make this reservation for us and took a taxi to the Gion district but it was worth it. Setting is an old Meiji period house renovated to a small restaurant. French and Japanese cuisine is exquisitely done and the setting is one of a kind.

Here is a list of places from the "other" site, lol

http://www.frommers.com/destinations...80_inddin.html

Aloha!

Oh btw, there are quite a few mixed(male and female together) rotenburo in onsens throughout Japan. We have been to a few of them. Most are in the most beautiful, serene places where they don't want anyone missing out on that special setting. You just have to know where to look

<i>there are quite a few mixed(male and female together) rotenburo in onsens throughout Japan. You just have to know where to look.</i>

And where not to look, as well.

April 25, 2009
“moving at the speed of light…or at least it feels like it”

We left our Ryokan at about 10am. We got driven to the train station and used our 2 Day “Free Pass” we purchased the day before to get the train to Odawa. That is where our Shinkansen awaited us.

When we arrived inside Odawa station there was a massive rumble, Kirsten turned to me and asked if it was a small earthquake. I thought for a minute and then realized it was a Shinkansen making a pass through upstairs. I immediately got very excited.

Like little kids we ran up the stairs and checked in to our gate immediately. We wanted to catch the next Shinkansen that went by. Two minutes later we were not disappointed. We heard it first and then it appeared, slick, white blur coming right at us. When it passes you the ground shakes and if you blink it is gone, it is that fast. We clocked it blow by the 400m strip at 6 seconds. Its so fast that my wife had to take the front end and back end pictures as it passed by with two different trains because by the time the camera reset for another photo it was gone!

Just incredible. Too see something so big, moving so fast is unbelievable. I have seen You Tube footage but it does not do it justice. The sound, the wind and the sheer speed is astonishing. You cannot even make out the passengers faces on board as they go by. It is all a blur.

It is such a handsome looking train as well. Very futuristic, something straight out of Star Trek, it looks like a horizontal rocket ship. I can see why they call it the bullet train.

The best part is the ride. It is so smooth, so luxurious. For moving at speeds up to 300KM you don’t notice, not even slightly. Train makes little to no noise, very smooth ride. Can’t say that enough. Its like driving your beater car as a teenager and then your Dad hands you the keys to his Benz. The difference is indescribable. If I had to draw comparisons to cars, the Shinkansen is a Bugatti/Bentley and the rest are Ford Escorts 1987 Models. If Japanese engineering created Shinkansen’s I can see why their cars are so great.

Is there anything cooler than a Shinkansen? I have one more ride on one tomorrow from Kyoto to Tokyo. Can’t wait. Got my seat on the Fuji side as well (thanks for the advice HT) so hopefully (fingers crossed) we have a really clear day and Fuji-san comes out to play!

Got in to Kyoto around 2pm. It was pouring with rain. It was raining so hard that we didn’t even notice the beautiful and polished look of Kyoto Station. We were too worried about finding our hotel. I had vowed that after my first 900 YEN for 3 minute cab ride experience in Tokyo and 1000 YEN ride in Hakone that I would not cab here again. So there we were pouring with rain trying to locate our hotel, 2 large backpacks, 2 small backpacks and 1 pully in tow. No problem, finding the hotel was easy. Took the Karasuma Line subway for two stops Kyoto-Gojo-Shijo took exit 20 and our hotel (Toyoko Inn Karasuma Shijo) was ten paces to the left right ourside our exit. Great location, thanks Dad, and of course with some help from locals (one guy GPS his Iphone for us, one guy walked us to our hotel from exit 20).

After we checked in we walked around the area for a bit. There are two really great indoor strip malls and the restaurants and retail stores are countless.

Side Rant: All of the Western type retail stores here love to play Chris Brown. Don’t these people know the guy is a wife beater and back in North America he gets no play. If they really want to get in to our culture, maybe stop giving that ring piece play. Also why is it so damn expensive to buy Urban Clothes here? Back at home the same stuff sells in Stiches for Free.99 but here the gangster gear is super expensive! I don’t get it. Hip hop is definitely the most expensive fashion statement in Japan.

We had dinner at a wannabe Tuskiji Fish Market Sashimi restaurant, there are two of them here that I have seen, don’t do it, it was ok, but not really that great.

April 26, 2009
“rain, rain go away”

We woke up to more rain and very cold weather. Not sure if this is unusual or not but Kyoto has been freezing and lashing with rain. Not very nice at all. We even sent our hoodies and winter jackets home in HK but sure could use them now. I can see my Dad with the I told you so grin on his face as he is reading this. Oh well, better a bit cold than too hot like in China or HK.

First thing on our agenda was Nijo Castle. It was not my wifes first choice but we thought we would check it out. It was cheap enough, $500 YEN entrance fee. It was ok. Nothing spectacular. I am sure if the cherry blossoms were out we would have loved it way more, not to mention the weather was terrible. All in all we were still glad we went. It was decent. Nothing to write home about for me.

Next we decided to take the Philosophers walk in hopes that we would see some cherry blossoms. HT was right, we missed it. Its weird though, they were everywhere in Tokyo.

Checked out the Nanzanji Temple first. It was right outside of the subway station. It was really cool. There is this stone wall there that makes for great pics and the stream running through was flowing pretty heavily that day creating a great sound. We explored all around the outside but felt it unnecessary to pay any entrance fees to go inside the actual temples. The jist from the outside was good enough for us. You can actually explore all over and there are many little trails you can take. It was a very nice walk in with April showers.

Next we stopped at a coffee shop at the south entrance of the philosophers walk. We had the best Spaghetti there, that’s right Spaghetti. You can’t miss it, there is sign outside that literally says Coffee and Spaghetti LOL. We walked in because we were starving and it was packed with locals. There were two pics on the table, Spaghetti and Curry. We went Spaghetti. It was great. I think it was noodles stir-fried with tomato sauce, Japanese soya, garlic, bell peppers and pork loin. Pork loin is a very popular ingredient over here. My buddy Allen would love it, bacon just un-smoked. I am sure he would just pick all the loin out of all the dishes, ask for two pieces of bread and make a sandwich LOL. Glad we hadn’t heard about Swine flu yet LOL.

It was really good. That combined with the fact that we were cold, wet and starving it was just what we needed before our walk. The philosopher’s walk was really nice. I bet when the cherry blossoms are out it is just amazing. Nevertheless it was nice just the same. There are all sorts of restaurants and gift shops all throughout. It is a nice walk. After the walk we took the bus back to Kyoto Station. The bus was packed, very small and very uncomfortable.

Question: One thing I can’t understand about buses in Asia is why do they have people get on the back and then leave through the front, collecting the money as people get off. I have racked my brain to figure out why they would do it this way but no dice. Anyone out there have an explanation?

At night we went and checked out Kyoto Station. It is something that has to been seen to be believed. A marvel of modern architecture. My Dad and all other travel blogs on this pace was right, you could spend hours exploring all the walks, climbing the thousands of stairs and riding the very long escalators. Best part, FREE as it is a train station. There is great small set of Ramen restaurants at the top of the station as well. This is also where the Kyoto Info Center is located.

We decided to have dinner at our first conveyer belt Sushi restaurant. It was good. Nothing too special. It was the same as most of the Genki Sushi’s I have been to in my life. Gives you a sushi fix but at a quarter of the price. $1500 YEN later we were stuffed. We decided since we had saved on dinner we would splurge on dessert.

We went to this modern looking place (will get the name later) that specializes in sundaes. These sundaes range from 500 YEN to 10000 YEN! From the moment Kirsten saw this place she was in love and I knew a trip would be in order. At the front window there is this monstrosity that sells for $10000 YEN. Of course I joked to the host that we I would “have two please”. Wonder if he has heard that before? It must have 5 Gallons of ice cream in it, along with a cantaloupe, a tub of mara cherries, 8 liters of whip cream, all the chocolate sauce in Japan and more in this thing. We figured it was a gimmick and that no one ever orders it. We were wrong.

We were sat next to table of about 10 Japanese locals that had been brave enough order this thing. It was hilarious. They were half way through when we got there and then they began forcing it upon each other. They were all screaming a mile a minute in Japanese (due to the sugar rush I am sure) and I don’t speak it, but I am sure they were saying things like “no one leaves till we finish”, “here I will just whip-up the rest and you can slam it down” and “ I can’t believe we just ate all of that”. It was a hilarious scene. My wife and I were not so brave.

She had the strawberry cheesecake parfait and I had the chocolate banana. It was good. Nothing special. No different than a good blizzard at DQ in my opinion and DQ is a quarter the price. But watching the locals tackle the big boy was priceless.


April 27, 2009
“its almost over”

We woke up with the intention of going to Monkey Mountain and checking out more temples, along with a bit of shopping. We always squirrel away some extra shopping cash from the trip (by sharing coffees, staying in cheap hotels, walking instead of bussing, stuffing all the buns at the free buffet in our backpacks and living off of them for days on end LOL) so we have something to bring home for ourselves. We went to the Kyoto Visitor center where the guy was a bit smug, but we got the info we needed and an English map, which helped a lot. My wife is an expert map-reader. Her instincts and map reading abilities are incredible. We never get lost. GP What? She picked out a wonderful temple for us to visit.

Kinkaku-ji $500 Yen per person, is hands down my favorite temple of the ones I have seen in Kyoto. There is beautiful immaculate gold temple built right on a pond. I love waterfront and I love GOOOOOAALLLLD. The landscaping is just incredible. So simple, yet unique and very beautiful. We plan to use the same typr of design for our garden back home. I love the use of rocks (low maintenance), flowing water and Japanese shrubs. It definitely has a sense of order and Zen. I often find North American gardens over the top and gaudy.

The only thing that somewhat ruins it, is all the cash grabbing at the end. Light this for this much, or burn this for this much. How about no thanks, I will skip the pricey prayer session and instead use the money for a delicious green tea ice cream 250 YEN (it was tasty). There was a religious statue previous to the cash grab area that had a steel bowl that resembled a wishing well. The idea is to try and hit the bowl with your cash. I couldn’t resist. $100 yen worth of 10s later and no good karma for this guy, couldn’t hit the side of a barn LOL.

After the temple we were going to attempt Monkey Mountain but we didn’t bother. It was lashing with rain again so we decided to call it a day. We were tired of being wet and cold (having sent our winter gear home, again I can see my Dad laughing LOL) and took half the day off. It was nice, went back to the room and just chilled. It had been a while since we had done that. Forgot how wonderful it is. We were keeping our fingers crossed for better weather and Monkey Mountain the next day.

Your observation of Japan as a place of opposites from China...does that hold true for busses too? In through the back and out the front to pay as you exit! What an exciting narration of a very special trip! What's next?!The courtesy of the general public in Japan is world-famous. If you are a traveller and looking confused, people actually offer to guide you back on track, and are not trying to sell you anything, eh?!

Hi Jc, an aussie here, planning a trip to Beijing in July and thoroughly enjoyed your report on that city. Thank you so much.
Sandra

Hey jayc are you home yet? What happened?

HT, he's home, safe and sound.........he is busy with work and they are also moving to their new house.

HT I will finish my report soon I promise...It's amazing how far behind you get when you are away for a month!

Paging jayc...fantastic report. Informative and entertaining! I hope you are able to come back to finish soon.

April 27, 2008
“that’s not a monkey that’s me!”

I call it Monkey Mountain as that what travelers have dubbed it in touristy Arashiyama. I had done a lot of research on this as I am a monkey (on the Chinese calendar) and feel a real kinship to these animals. If I were a wizard I am sure my patronus charm would definitely be a monkey.

The research on monkey mountain is confusing. Very much love it or hate it. There is this one great article:
http://users.cihost.com/ata/monkey.htm
that I read that was hilarious but also planted a seed of anxiety and excitement in both my wife and I that set the tone for a pretty exciting day. This article paints a picture of you being surrounded by 1000s of monkeys, all screaming at you just waiting to rip your face off or throw feces at you at every turn. I know it was an exaggeration but damn, I figured there had to be some truth. Here is my story:
We arrived in Arishima about 8:30am. All we had to do was take the Hankyu JR Line with one transfer at then arrived at Arishima. It took 20 minutes and 210 YEN per person. The park opened at 9:00am. We always like to get to tourist attractions right before they open so we have them to ourselves. Worked for the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tsukiji Fish Market, all the really important sights to us on our trip. Nothing ruins a tourist attraction experience more than tourists LOL. This time we weren’t so sure we had done the right thing.
After a 10 minute walk following the map posted right outside the train station, we started seeing monkey cartoon pics everywhere directing us. It was easy to find. Upon arrival my wife started to get really nervous. Going to the zoo is one thing, but going to a place where 1000s of bloodthirsty monkeys roam is another. We entered the park and the only trace of another human was the lady at the ticket booth. It was eerie and creepy. Not a soul around. Had the monkeys eaten them all? We entered the park and began our ascent. At this point my wife had her full bodied rain jacket on (it was a beautiful sunny day) zipped up, hood up, face buried in my arm, finger nails implanted in my hand as we walked.
I asked her if she really wanted to go (secretly inside I was nervous myself and was hoping she wanted to turn around) but I guess the jacket armour gave her enough courage to carry on. We started ascending up the mountain. There were all sorts of noises along the way and each time there was a sound or a bug touched my wife she yelped and buried her head further into my arm.
The best part was that she had her full hood up so she couldn’t see at thing. I had to take advantage. Every few steps I would yell “MONKEY” and she would jump. It was really funny. She finally got wise and decided to put her hood down.

After about 5 minutes of slowly walking I saw my first monkey turd and knew that this was for real. I knew we were close. We picked up our pace and by this time my wife was cutting a bead like it was third overtime. Gortex rain jackets are not the best to wear when hiking up a mountain when it is 20C outside and you are scared.

Then we saw one. It was grey and sitting in a tree with it’s back turned to us. Then another, then another and then another. They were everywhere. I thought Kirsten would start freaking out but a funny thing happened, the moment she saw them her fear dissipated. Much like the time she wanted to go swimming with dolphins in the wild and I told her no way I would jump in, but the moment I saw the Dolphins my fear subsided and I jumped in immediately.

We had arrived at the feeding station and were immediately greeted by one of the rangers. Now we felt really safe. The monkeys were everywhere. Big ones, fat ones, baby ones, mommy ones, everywhere! First thing I did was head in to the feeding station. The way it works is that you cannot feed them outside, but there is a cage that you go in to where you can feed the monkeys. They sell bags of peanuts and apples for $100 YEN each. I grabbed a bag of peanuts and off I went.

You learn so much about the monkeys by feeding them and realize how much we have in common with them. After observing them in this setting I know we came from monkeys.

For one thing when you feed them you don’t put it in their mouths, you hand it to them like you would a human. I never thought about this before but it is really amazing to have an animal have hands just like yours.

Secondly they all have different personalities, more so than any other animal. The young teenagers are greedy and mischievous like human teenagers. They want it all, and they want it all right now. When I was feeding the teenage monkeys they would grab the nut shove it in their mouth and in the same motion be sticking their hand out for another. The resemblance to human teenagers is uncanny.

The mothers act as all mothers act. They are gentle, and allow their children to run around them taking all the food before allowing herself to finally have some.

The Alphas are the best. They camp out on the cage undisturbed, with no other monkeys around. They calmly, sternly stick their hand out demanding you give them food and you feel you have to oblige. Then they slowly eat it before asking for another.

The children, little guys, have to grab a nut and then run for it before the teenage bullies take it from them. Like losing their milk money in school. It was a riot.

We had picked a great time to go. Once again the early theory proved successful. It was us three rangers and a fellow I have dubbed Monkey Man. He was obviously a regular that goes there quite often as he was not a ranger but had many of the monkeys eating out the palm of his hand, outside the cage no less.

Then the real monkeys showed up. 40 Japanese kindergartens arrived on a filed trip. I thought to myself, this should be interesting. The kids were wound up, screaming, laughing and terrorizing these poor monkeys, but a funny thing happened, the monkeys became very calm. In fact when the ranger started talking to the children, classroom style, all the monkeys gathered It was a great scene.

We walked back to the village had some lunch and then headed back to Kyoto.

April 28 – 30, 2009
Tokyo

The last three days we didn’t do too much. We wanted to make sure we took it pretty easy so we wouldn’t be too burnt out when we got home. Not much to report.

“Its Over”

As I finish this report and look back on my notes I must say it was a fantastic trip. China and Japan are both fascinating places. If I could do it all over again, I would have been a bit more aggressive in day trips from Tokyo and Kyoto. I would say we probably left 2-3 days where we got a bit bored trying to take it a bit easier. Also when we landed in Vancouver, BC, Canada and looked out the window and saw the Olympic Mountains, I felt silly for trying to chase Mt. Fuji down in Japan. Hakone was beautiful though, no regrets, it was a definite highlight. We did China perfectly except maybe 1-2 too many days in Beijing but we loved Beijing. I would not hesitate to return. What a great city.

So I am signing off, we are off to Spain/Portugal for a month in April 2010 so I figured I better complete my report before moving on to another one. I had been hanging on to the last installment for almost a year!

Before I go I do want to thank all of the Fodorites for taking their time to help us with our trip. Hawaiian Traveller, Rkkwan, rizutto, samuell you guys gave great advice just to name a few. I don’t even think of travelling until I seek advice from Fodorites LOL. Indian Couple I have been all over your trip report in planning our trip. If anyone out there wants my notes or advice regarding China – Japan, feel free to e-mail me [email protected]. Spain here we come!