Because of the time change, the Super Bowl was on Monday morning for us. The weather was cold and rainy, so we enjoyed the morning in our hotel room watching the game on our iPad – complete with Japanese snacks. This gave us some time to catch up on emails, the news, sort through our suitcases, etc.
In the afternoon we went to Nishiki Market, which is filled with food stalls. Lots of things we had never heard of or seen before. All sorts of vegetables, meats, fish, tea and more. We bought a roasted sweet potato as a snack to share. There were many kinds to choose from. Then, I had to try a squid on a stick at another stall. The vendor took a blow torch to it to cook it. It was OK, but not exactly gourmet. We also bought another taiyaki filled with red bean paste as we really liked them the day before.
The Isetan department store attached to the main train station was hosting a salon du chocolat featuring nearly 70 award-winning chocolatiers from around the world. Sophie and I LOVE chocolate, so we had to do a little shopping. Especially since Valentine’s Day was the following day. Even though there were a ton of famous names from around Europe there, we purchased some chocolate from local producers Kyoto Coco and es koyama. We also spent some time wondering around their basement food level again. We were amazed at how they merchandise and showcase everything – even individually wrapping their fruit. I must admit it did make everything look yummier – and it probably was. I wish we could get this good of fruits and vegetables in Minnesota!
We tried some new dishes for supper that night: yakisoba and okonomiyaki. The first one was soba noodles with pork, shrimp and squid that were cooked on a griddle with some sort of sweet soy sauce. I ordered it with an egg on top. The second was a savory vegetable pancake with squid and a special sauce. Both were good, but we preferred the yakisoba most.
The next day we went to Arashiyama, which is home to several temples and a famous bamboo forest near the northwestern mountains of Kyoto. If you ever saw the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon you can picture the scene where the ninjas were fighting in the tops of the bamboo trees. It was impossible to capture the forest in pictures as they are so tall – and it was a bit crowded as it is a very popular tourist attraction, There were many girls (and some boys) there dressed in kimonos so they could take selfies. Before entering the forest, we visited Tenrù-ji temple. Its gardens were designed by garden master Muso Soseki in the 12th century – and are still largely the same today. It featured a zen gravel garden, lots of moss gardens and a beautiful pond.
The bamboos were on the hills leading up away from the city. At the top edge of the forest was the home of a famous Japanese movie star named Okochi Sanso (1898-1962). He was kind of a renaissance man who was a deep admirer of Zen philosophy. He located his estate on top of a hill with amazing views of Kyoto, the mountains and a valley behind. Then, he spent 30 years perfecting his garden to maximize the views. In the spring, blooming cherry trees give the impression that the mountains are floating on clouds of blossoms. In the fall, the maple trees make a spectacular display of colors. We were there in winter and still couldn’t stop taking pictures. There are winding stone paths through moss fields, pine trees and calming vistas. His house was built in the traditional Japanese style, and included a separate tea house and shrine. We were served matcha tea and a sweet at the end of our visit. We enjoyed the walking path so much, we ended up going around again after our tea.
After that, we walked around the village a bit more and came across a cemetery and some more temples. It was snowing on and off by then, so we decided to head back to the main train station and warm up. We were so happy we did our bike tour the first day here when it was so much warmer!
We came across a Krispy Kreme donut store in the train station that was serving heart-shaped donuts for Valentine’s Day. We couldn’t resist. Then we walked by a conveyor belt sushi restaurant and felt like this was an experience we needed to have. Our food tour guide had mentioned that these restaurants were very affordable. We sat at a counter where sushi chefs were constantly making small plates of sushi and putting them on the conveyor belt. We would grab any plate that looked good going by. The price of the plate was determined by the color and pattern of the plate. We ended up going through eight plates of different types of sushi plus a bowl of miso clam soup. We stuck with the less expensive plates and had our fill. I was wondering what the bill would be, and it ended up being only $15 for both of us!
So far, we’ve found Japan to be very affordable. You can get a great meal for just $10 a person – and there are literally thousands of restaurant choices. There is no tax, service charges or tipping on top of that. The hotel we are staying in is around $70 per night and has had great amenities – and included a good breakfast each day.
We also found Japan very easy to get around. Apparently, the government made a significant effort in the last 20 years to make Japan more attractive to tourists. A big part of this was putting English signs everywhere. Every train has English signs and announcements. Train stops are also all numbered so tourists can understand better if they don’t catch the name. Most people seemed to understand some English even if they didn’t want to speak it. Most restaurants offered a menu in English.
I’ve also talked about how safe it is here. We never felt uneasy. In fact, when we took our bike tour, we never locked our bikes and kept jackets and stuff in our bike bags with no fear of them being stolen. The guides said bike locks are not a thing here. I think that says a lot about their culture and society. It’s not like we were in a small, rural town. We were in huge cities with millions of people. And with small children walking by themselves home from school.
We are so glad we came to Japan. We added this destination mainly because the flights from Hawaii were the most convenient and inexpensive. Now, I would put it high on any travelers must-visit list. Tomorrow we take a train to the Osaka airport to catch our next flight to Hanoi, Vietnam.
Sayonara, Japan.
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