Japan 2025 - Day 9: Kyoto to Tokyo

It was our last morning in Kyoto, and the weather was beautiful (if a bit cold), so we went for one final walk. After breakfast, we packed up and checked out of the hotel, locking up our bags in the luggage-storage area for a few hours.

Just around the corner from the hotel, at a park near a retirement home, we came upon a rousing game of (what I think was probably) Gateball.

You really can't throw a proverbial stick without hitting a temple in Kyoto.

This one had a stone rendition of the famous badger.

We were walking to a large, nearby temple that's a UNESCO World Heritage site: Kiyomizu-dera. Sarah and Michael had explored up the hill in that direction yesterday, in the rain, but hadn't actually gone into the temple.

It's an easy one to get to, with a large parking lot just down the hill full of tour buses. The street leading up to it is also an old/preserved historic lane, now full of small shops and cafes. It was probably the most kimono rental shops I've seen in a single walk; this correlates with the increased number of white women (and a few men) walking around in kimonos, too.

All of this to say: it's clearly a popular destination, and was somewhat crowded. 

Some of the street food is... unusual.

Some of the outfits are also unusual.

Tanuki the badger made some more appearances; in this case, also with his lady friend.

We couldn't figure out what exactly the sake Kit Kat was. It's an odd one.

Did you know there were at least a dozen different Kit Kat flavors in season right now? I sure didn't. I'll save you the trouble of reading about the history of this... the short version is that the name resembles a phrase about having good luck, in Japanese, apparently: "kitto katsu".

Eventually, we fought our way through the crowds and made it up to the temple.

The gates, shrines, and pagodas in this temple are painted much more vibrantly and intricately than most of the others we've seen. I guess that UNESCO funding makes a difference.

It was a clear day, so the view of the city was impressive.

We paid our 500 yen each and joined the line of people going into the temple. Inside, there are a number of buildings and other opportunities to spend money.

For example, one could pay to get a Goshuin stamp, or some handwritten kanji. It's complicated. I think Sarah got a book, and has been getting the (free) stamps in it.

One could also wait in line and pay a little bit extra to enter a shrine and sometimes ring a large bell. Many of them also sell souvenirs, too. It's all quite affordable, but if you were to do all of these things at multiple temples per day, for a week or so, it would add up quickly.

The main route of the temple involved a walk along the hillside, out to a viewing platform with a smaller pagoda.

Just imagine how beautiful this will probably be in a few more weeks, when all of these flowering trees are in bloom.

Rather than go back through the crowds, we followed the path down to the lower area. There's some lore about these three water spouts and the sacred water granting wishes. Apparently Kiyomizu means "pure water".

After leaving the temple, we descended on a parallel street to the one we'd climbed up, to avoid the crowds as much as possible. (There were also random delivery trucks, taxis, and private cars trying to use the crowded street.)

This poor rickshaw driver was trying to feign interest in some story while struggling to pull these two women up the hill, walking backwards.

We poked our heads into a few shops, both on the way up and the way back down, but were hesitant to stuff anything else into our suitcases that were already packed for the return trip to Tokyo.

I got a coffee at this place, and they gave me a tiny plastic bag (with handles) to use as a trash bag when I was done. This was a first, and was definitely unnecessary. There are no public trash cans anywhere we've seen, with the exception of train stations and a few around the parks in Miyajima, so we decided this was probably a way to persuade tourists not to illegally drop their coffee cups on the curb somewhere.

There are also no alcohol laws whatsoever; it's apparently not a problem to be drunk in public, and many places sell drinks to go. It was a bit early for a beer, though.

We returned to the hotel on foot, asked the desk attendant to get us a cab, and returned to Kyoto Station once again.

It was approaching 1 o'clock by then, so we split up to find some lunch. Sarah and Michael returned to the ramen court on the 10th floor, while Sabrina and I went up to the 11th in search of sustenance.

We settled on a hotpot restaurant that specialized in motsunabe, but subbed in pork belly for the beef intestine. I wasn't especially interested in a hot-soup lunch, so got the "fried chicken set".

I did help Sabrina out by eating some of the pork belly, though.

After eating, we returned to the absolute chaos of the station proper, bought some Shinkansen tickets at a kiosk, and headed for the platform to catch the 2:21 Nozomi Super Express to Tokyo.

The train absolutely flies by the scenery outside at a speed that will make you dizzy if you watch for too long.

About 80 minutes into the trip, we were afforded a splendid view of Mount Fuji (still an active volcano, and the highest peak in Japan).

At nearly 200 mph, it passes quickly, so Sarah and I scrambled to the windows to take some photos.

About 2 hours or 280-ish miles after leaving Kyoto, we arrived back at Tokyo Station. We only had to walk a few blocks to the hotel (not the same one we stayed in that first, rainy night).

The hotels here (at least the ones we've stayed in) don't put consumable amenities in each room; instead, there's a table full of options to choose from, in the lobby. Sabrina gravitated straight to the tea options.

Our room is quite small, but on par with what we'd have in New York City, for example. Oddly, it has a massage chair. Not oddly, it's Sabrina-sized. This whole country is built for Sabrina's size, in fact.

Operating the massage chair is made possible with contributions from Google Translate.

After a brief respite, we went out on the town in search of more food.

We'd had nearly every type of Japanese food that everyone can agree on over the last two days, and were curious to try the local take on Italian food, so we found a nearby candidate.

Unfortunately, they were closed for a private event. We had no trouble finding another nearby option, though, just a few blocks away. There's a surprising amount of Italian food in (this area of) Tokyo.

I think our expectations were fairly low, and while it certainly wasn't anything close to what we'd get at home, it was perfectly acceptable.

On the walk back to the hotel, we stopped at a Hiroshima-themed food shop to inspect the lemon-flavored offerings. Google Translate does not disappoint.

I didn't bother to translate this one; it's a vacuum-sealed bag of small, dried, whole fish.

The real goal, however, was to get some gelato.

We were briefly unclear on the "don't walk and eat" status in Tokyo, as we'd seen some other people doing it. When we tried to eat our ice cream in the store, however, we were quickly disabused of the idea that the rules were different than they'd been in Kyoto, and told to go stand in the designated consumption zone, outside.

The last stop before turning in for the night was 7-Eleven, obviously. There are unusual snacks around every corner here.

Tomorrow, we'll be up and out early for a guided tour of some areas around Tokyo.