Category: Travel

Walking through Gion Our second full day in Kyoto was walking into the Gion district with walks to the Hōkan-ji Temple, through Sanneizaka and up near Kiyomizu-dera. We then walked over to the Nijō Castle area and back closer to downtown for dinner at Isomatsu. The crowds in Gion near the temples were very significant and there were vehicles trying to get through roads flooded with pedestrians. Restaurant Isomatsu I had researched some restaurants and made a reservation at Isomatsu in downtown Kyoto. This was probably one of our favorite meals, we had a large booth by the bar, the…

We took the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto, staying in downtown Kyoto. Downtown worked out really well as Kyoto is a big city but spread out with lower buildings so while downtown is a busy area it is not incredibly busy. Arashiyama Our first destination the next day was the bamboo grove in Arashiyama. We took the train from Kyoto-Kawaramachi, changed trains at Sai , and took the train into Arashiyama Station. The train cars on this route were old, very clean, on time (of course) and just charming. There are a variety of train routes which go into Arashiyama…

This was my first time in Japan, vacationing with our two oldest kids we flew into Tokyo via Narita Airport, took the train to Kyoto, then Osaka and back to Tokyo. We went to Yokohama inside a day from Tokyo. Of course millions of people visit Japan for the first time and nothing here is new. We had an awesome time and if you’re considering going to Japan maybe this will inspire you. The afternoon approach into Narita. Tsukiji Outer Market We visited the Tsukiji outer market on our first day. You may read this is very touristy area but…