Today was a very productive day. We started early with breakfast at the house with foods from a convenience store so we could catch a train out west to see as many things as we could today to try and catch up on seeing sites on our list.
The train ride was an experience, clearly in the middle of rush-hour morning traffic with barely any room to stand on the train. T started to feel a bit nauseous by the end of the journey but kept it together. Once outside the train, we took a short break outside the station, sitting in the shade to apply sunscreen before starting the 20 minute walk towards the bamboo forest.
The walk was full of local sites starting in a smaller town just outside Kyoto.
We first encountered the Honen-ji Temple where we walked through a garden before coming upon a larger temple with some amazing views.
After exploring the temple and garden, we continued our journey west into the bamboo forest. The views on the short walk were incredible and ended with a view overlooking a train station for the “romantic, sightseeing train”.
The walk back was at a brisk pace as DD was trying to make up some time so we didn’t miss anything on our list, however Lola was able to get a watermelon smoothie from a small, local street vendor in town. The train ride back to Kyoto was less full and everyone was able to get a seat.
We arrived back in Kyoto and had a 20 minute walk to Nijo Castle for our next adventure. The weather is definitely getting warmer here than when we first arrived in Tokyo over a week ago.
Nijo castle was amazing. It was impressive to see the size of the castle that is in the middle of the city of Kyoto. In fact, the castle grounds are to be used as an evacuation area if there are major fires in the city.
The castle itself was originally built in 1626 but like most of the wooden temples and castles in the region that were destroyed by fires in the 1600s and 1700s, however the reconstruction is equally impressive. One of the best views is from a castle tower that overlooks the main temple and gardens.
After touring around the castle, it was time to get some food in bellies as everyone was getting hungry after walking around 10,000 steps already at 12:00. Lola found Mo’s Burger which appears to be a local fast food burger restaurant. The burgers were quite good and Lola was able to get a gluten free bun with her kids burger and kids hotdog.
While everyone was finishing their lunch, AA took a quick detour to the grocery store on the main floor (beneath the restaurant) to get some coffee and tea for mornings as well as a drink for Lola for the afternoon.
With everyone cleaned up from lunch, it was time to venture out and take a city bus to Kinkakujicho - a golden temple. It was a fairly short bus ride but was pretty full with locals and tourists looking to make the journey to see the site. The temple was surreal and was well-worth the trek.
It was approaching 2:30 and everyone was starting to get tired - rightfully so since Lola was approaching 18,000 steps already. It was decided that the gang would catch a city bus back to the Airbnb to relax for a little bit and find somewhere to go for supper.
After disembarking the bus, it was a short walk to Family Mart (another Japan convenience store) to get some drinks and breakfast items for the next day. It was another short walk to the Airbnb where the kids played some long-awaited video games while the adults rested their sore legs and feet and searched for somewhere to eat.
DD found a good restaurant at the Kyoto Station(in the Porta Dining area) which was again a short walk away so the crew made the walk shortly after 5pm. DD was excited that everyone could get to try some local cuisine. The kids even took part in trying some exotic dishes, T always resorting back to his beloved “safety rice”.
After paying the bill, the team wandered around Kyoto Station for a bit, talking the numerous escalators up to the roof which provided some pretty neat views of Kyoto. The kids enjoyed walking down all 174 stairs before they had to take the final couple floors down on escalators.
Once back at the house, the kids went to bed pretty easily - the stairs must have tired them out. The adults played some video games, enjoyed some drinks and snacks and finished the night off watching the SpaceX Starship test flight. DD was extremely excited.
Tomorrow is another adventure day with an earlier start to hopefully get everything completed on the agenda.
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