Gion is the Geisha district of Kyoto. People come here for a chance to see a real geisha. It is lined up with traditional tea houses. There are also modern patisseries in the area. Most geishas and maikos perform at these traditional tea houses. We walked around the area after visiting the temples of Kyomizudera nearby.
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Kyomizudera is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto. Kyomizudera means “pure water temple” and it houses the Otowa waterfall. It derives its name from the pure water falls. It is known for the wooden stage on the hillside which has nice vantage points of the greenery surrounding the temple. It also has the Jishu Shrine which is a deity for love. The complex also has the pagoda which can be seen from a distance.
Fushimi Inari Shrine is a shrine famous for it’s bright orange Torii gates. It’s the shrine for the god Inari. Inari is traditionally the god of rice but businessmen also worshiped Inari. Most of the orange torii gates are donated by businesses. The Fushimi Inari Shrine sits on the base of the mountain. I had come here before and it was one of my favorite places in Kyoto so I decided to include it on this trip again.
Arashiyama Bamboo Forest is one of the popular sights in Kyoto. Entrance is free and anyone can go through the grove of bamboos. It’s open 24/7 and they say that you can take great pictures in the early morning. I’ve always wanted to see it because of the amazing photos I’ve seen on the internet. We did not get a chance to visit it last time I was in Kyoto so I made sure to include it in this trip’s itinerary.
Nara Park is infamous for its deers that freely roam the complex. It is located in the city of Nara in Japan, an hour from Osaka. The public park was established in the 1300s. It is one of the oldest parks in Japan. The park has shrines around the area as well as gardens and parks. There are also a number of restaurants and stores that line up the street from the station and walking to Nara park.
Osaka Castle is the first day we visited on our second day on this 8 day Japan trip. We were supposed to go on the first day but since we could not check in early at our hotel and go about our day after, we skipped this on our first day. The Osaka Castle was the biggest castle built in its time. The castle complex is huge. It is surrounded with gates, moats and gardens.
Umeda Sky Building is one of Osaka’s skyscrapers. The building is 173 meters tall and offers a birds eye view of the city of Osaka. It is distinct with its form having two parallel structure and an observatory connecting them at the top. It is one of Osaka’s popular landmarks. The building was completed in 1993.
Yakiniku M Dotonbori is a grill restaurant that specializes in Matsusaka beef. I know that Kobe beef is very famous in the world. In Japan, the top three beef are Matsusaka, Kobe and Ohmi beef. All of those beef are raised in the Kansai region of Japan. Matsusaka beef is the meat of a Japanese black cattle brought up in certain conditions in the Matsusaka region of Japan. The Matsusaka Yakiniku M Dotonbori restaurants specializes in that kind of beef. Only 2,500 Matsusaka cattles are slaughtered every year that is why the prices are quite high. From our hotel, we took the Osaka Loop and transferred for Namba station at Tennoji because of our JR pass.
Residential Hotel Hare Shin-Osaka review is my experience on staying at this aparthotel located close to the Shin-Osaka station. We chose Residential Hotel Hare Shin Osaka mainly because of it’s size. We were looking at rooms on booking sites and they were usually 10-15 square meters. The rooms at this hotel are 35 square meters. It’s also a walking distance from Shin-Osaka station which is very convenient for transportation and food options. We got to the hotel from Kansai International airport by the Haruka limited express which is just two stops away from the airport.
After our long flight, we were itching to get to our hotel to put away our luggage and get some rest. Kansai Airport to Osaka is relatively easy to reach but which kind of transport you take depends on which part of Osaka you want to go to. From Kansai International airport, you can go into the city with car, buses, taxi, ferry or train. Kansai airport is also the closest airport to Kyoto. It can easily be accessed by train. When I was researching information for our trip, I found that it depends which train companies you will use the most to get the most value. JR trains were the best option for us for what we wanted to do. We were also staying near Shin-Osaka so the fastest and most convenient for us was the JR Haruka Limited Express. It’s also great value if you go to Kyoto.