Category: Japan

Japan 2014: Mata ne, Kyoto!

It’s time to wrap up my blogging spree on the glorious city that is Kyoto. It’s also an excuse to take a break from going through the tons of photos I took from my recent trip to South Korea. 🙂 In a nutshell, Kyoto is one of those places that can frustrate you. Because you thought you saw a lot of it already, only to realize you haven’t even scratched the surface. I tell ya, that type of frustration is something that makes me wish I can hop on the next available flight and go there again.

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JapanEats: Okonomiyaki Kiraku (Kyoto)

Since our lunch-in-kimonos at Mimikou at around midday, Peach and I haven’t had a bite to eat, and we’ve been wandering all afternoon around Ginkaku-ji, then early evening in the Gion area (looking for a place to eat, incidentally), then bumping into Hazel, She and Jas, and heading off to Kiyomizudera instead. So it is a given that, by the time we parted ways at close to 9pm, the two of us were already starving. So we (yet again) did more walking through streets leading towards our hostel, looking for any open food place. At that moment, we were so hungry even a food stall will do. AND THEN. We came across Kiraku, which turns out to be one of the most recommended okonomiyaki places to eat in Kyoto. HUZZAH, cheered my empty tummy.
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Kyoto, Japan 2014: Fushimi Inari Taisha Pt 3

As much as I would like to say that “I am back”, I couldn’t, at least not entirely, since I think I left part of my soul (and heart, I kid you not) in South Korea. 5 and a half days are barely enough to get my fill of SoKor, and I hope to go back to explore more of it. I’ve soooo many stories (and photos!) to share, but I resolve not to do that until I have finished my Japan travel diaries. And this is the last in my three-parter on Fushimi Inari Taisha.
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Kyoto, Japan 2014: Fushimi Inari Taisha Pt 2

I have a love-hate relationship with the month of August. Hate stems from the fact that it is the month where there are soooooo many deadlines. It’s bad enough that my line of work means I have deadlines to deal with on a monthly basis, but August just piles them right on. But I also love it because of a couple of long weekends, which means trips and travels. OH YES. But I’m getting ahead of myself. This post is all about the AH-MAAAAY-ZING Fushimi Inari Taisha, which I’d love to go back to in the future. Take a walk with me?
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Kyoto, Japan 2014: Fushimi Inari Taisha Pt 1

And so we have come to my favorite among the many Kyoto attractions we visited during our short stopover in Japan’s old capital: the Fushimi Inari Taisha (Shrine). I loved it so much that I am devoting more than one post for it. Yes, because it turns out I took so many pictures, and I didn’t want them to go unshared! It’d be such a waste, don’t you agree?
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JapanEats: Nakau (Tennoji)

There is a downside to finding yourself with a little bit of free time on your hands: you don’t know what to do with it, and yet you can think of so many things you want to do but, for some reason, you can’t. So you end up doing what you did not really intend on doing. (Did that make sense so far?) Take right now, for example. Weather’s foul outside, I am in between writing projects, and there’s a bit of a window where I can opt to not work. So I clean up my hard drive, and stumble upon photos that I forgot existed. Like these ones taken of the fastfood/restaurant, NAKAU in Osaka. Continue reading “JapanEats: Nakau (Tennoji)” →

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Kyoto, Japan 2014: Fall Illumination at Kiyomizudera

I have one complaint about Kyoto: there are simply too many places that are worth checking out that, for someone like me who has a limited number of days to spend in the area, it’s almost tragic. While mapping out where we want to go, it was with a heavy heart that we had to slash many of them on the list. Kiyomizudera was one of those places that we had to let go of. But, one evening, while walking around aimlessly in the Gion area looking for a place to eat, Peach and I bumped into Sheryl, Hazel and another new friend, Jas. And plans were changed.
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Kyoto, Japan 2014: Maruyama Kouen

This was not really a part of the itinerary. In fact, we weren’t even aware of it. But walking around and following paths aimlessly always leads somewhere, and Maruyama Kouen was where we found ourselves in when we followed a road leading to the back of Yasaka Shrine. And, yes, we were just looking for a place to have a leisurely walk in (and by that, I mean LESS CROWD) while dressed in traditional kimono. Haha!
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Kyoto, Japan 2014: My Kimono Experience

One of my disappointments when I visited Gyeongbukgong in Seoul was missing out on the hanbok experience. I wanted to try wearing their traditional clothing, even for just a few minutes, but the hanbok place was already closed by the time we were done touring the Palace. And then, weeks before our Japan trip, my friend and I were exchanging emails as we polished our itinerary and, out of the blue, she suggested trying out wearing kimono. And you know what they say… “when in Kyoto….”
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Kyoto, Japan 2014: Nijo Castle

I could not help but look at my now very long list of backlogs… travel posts to make, photos to upload… and I start to panic. But then when I calm down a bit, I think to myself, “all in good time, eh?” It’s already the 2nd half of May, and I think I’ll be lying low for a bit. Catch up on some ZZZZs, recharge my batteries, recoup losses, replenish travel fund… y’know, normal, ordinary things. At least, MY kind of normal & ordinary. For now, though, I’ll take you to another Kyoto jaunt: the NIJO CASTLE.
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Kyoto, Japan 2014: Kyoto Imperial Palace Pt 1

Right now, I’m far from home again, this time with friends-slash-colleagues, and we’re hitting the scene down south. Of course, it is primarily for work, but you know me (and my crowd, haha!). Somewhere in there, we’re squeezing in some fun non-work times. But that’s not what this post is about. This time, I am taking you inside the Kyoto Imperial Palace.  Continue reading “Kyoto, Japan 2014: Kyoto Imperial Palace Pt 1” →

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Kyoto, Japan 2014: Kyoto Gyoen National Garden

Due to an unexpected visit of the Imperial family, I was not able to enter the Tokyo Imperial Palace when I was in Tokyo, so I made a mental note to myself that “you must check out the Kyoto Imperial Palace, then!” when I got to Kyoto the week after. I thought, going in, that I can just enter and see the Kyoto Imperial Palace immediately. It turns out to be just a small part of a larger area, which is the Kyoto Gyoen National Garden.
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