Japan Trip Update/Report

[LovesTimone]

Their teacher brought them out there to do that. As a teacher, I really appreciate him giving them hands on experience like that. They even gave us a paper to email him about how they did.

The bamboo forest really wasn’t that great. There were just too many people to enjoy it. They constantly stop to take pictures and it gets kind of annoying.

Tomorrow we head to Nara but not until around noon. We’re gonna sleep in and do some laundry.

This is truly what traveling is all about... reaching out to each other, it breaks ideals, and barriers... and then we begin to look at each other as just other people...

Get some sleep

 

[Haley R]

This is truly what traveling is all about... reaching out to each other, it breaks ideals, and barriers... and then we begin to look at each other as just other people...

Get some sleep

I emailed the teacher letting him know that I appreciate him giving them a hands on experience and let him know we can help with anything in the future. I can’t sleep right now I’m not sure why so I’m just laying in bed

 

[CanoeRower]

I only had one full day in Kyoto and prioritized Fushimi Inari, so I went to that first which meaned I could not be early at any other temple/shrine.

So afterwards I did Tofukuji, Chion-in, Shoren-in, and Heian shrine(only for the garden). Not many visitors to Kyoto skip Kinkakuji & Kyomizudera & Nanzenji & Ginkakuji, which are the four most famous temples. But none of the sites after Fushimi Inari had crowds. Plus Kyoto has so many temples you have to accept you won't see them all.

Chion-in was my favorite of the temples.

I spend three hours the next morning at Arashiyama. The bamboo grove is often cited as Kyoto (or Japan's) most overrated attraction on the tripadvisor forum, but I sure liked it. It was cloudy and windy when I was there which made for an interesting site with the bamboo stalk swaying and 'whistling'. If we're talking about overrated sites, then I'd say Fushimi Inari was overrated.

The best part of Arashiyama (and Kyoto in general) is seeing the mountain views from Arashiyama park (to the west of the bamboo grove) and then walking down to the riverbed from there. While I enjoyed the steep climb to the monkey park as a workout, I did not enjoy the actual monkey park at all.

 

[CanoeRower]

I spent nine nights in Japan and only on the last two did I sleep past 4 am. Last night was my eighth night back in the states and I still woke up before 4 am. The jetlag was real and I even had lie-flat business seats both ways.

 

[Haley R]

I only had one full day in Kyoto and prioritized Fushimi Inari, so I went to that first which meaned I could not be early at any other temple/shrine.

So afterwards I did Tofukuji, Chion-in, Shoren-in, and Heian shrine(only for the garden). Not many visitors to Kyoto skip Kinkakuji & Kyomizudera & Nanzenji & Ginkakuji, which are the four most famous temples. But none of the sites after Fushimi Inari had crowds. Plus Kyoto has so many temples you have to accept you won't see them all.

Chion-in was my favorite of the temples.

I spend three hours the next morning at Arashiyama. The bamboo grove is often cited as Kyoto (or Japan's) most overrated attraction on the tripadvisor forum, but I sure liked it. It was cloudy and windy when I was there which made for an interesting site with the bamboo stalk swaying and 'whistling'. If we're talking about overrated sites, then I'd say Fushimi Inari was overrated.

The best part of Arashiyama (and Kyoto in general) is seeing the mountain views from Arashiyama park (to the west of the bamboo grove) and then walking down to the riverbed from there. While I enjoyed the steep climb to the monkey park as a workout, I did not enjoy the actual monkey park at all.

Oh see I’m the opposite of you. I thought the bamboo grove was super overrated but loved fushimi inari. I also absolutely loved the monkey park. Dh and I both thought that was one of the best things we’ve done so far.

My sleep has gotten on a normal schedule here now and I’ve been waking up to an alarm at 7 am most mornings. Tomorrow my alarm is set for 10:30 so we’ll see if I can sleep all the way until then.

 

[Calfan]

Just caught up on your TR! (I've been following on Instagram and just realized today that I hadn't gotten a notification recently that you'd added to your TR. Guess I missed a notification a while ago...) Glad you are having such a good time, and I'm really enjoying seeing all of your pics and getting your take on various sites, attractions, etc. You are definitely whetting my appetite for our 2020 Japan trip.

 

[Haley R]

Just caught up on your TR! (I've been following on Instagram and just realized today that I hadn't gotten a notification recently that you'd added to your TR. Guess I missed a notification a while ago...) Glad you are having such a good time, and I'm really enjoying seeing all of your pics and getting your take on various sites, attractions, etc. You are definitely whetting my appetite for our 2020 Japan trip.

Thanks for following along! I’m trying to post different pictures on here vs Instagram but sometimes I overlap. We’ve been having an awesome time and have been super lucky with weather (knock on wood). The rain is supposed to start this weekend. When is your trip again?

 

[Calfan]

Thanks for following along! I’m trying to post different pictures on here vs Instagram but sometimes I overlap. We’ve been having an awesome time and have been super lucky with weather (knock on wood). The rain is supposed to start this weekend. When is your trip again?

We are going in the second half of June in 2020.

 

[Haley R]

We are going in the second half of June in 2020.

Ah okay. Come prepared for humidity and rain lol. Are you going to Tokyo and Kyoto?

 

[mmmears]

Loving your trip report, Haley, and also your Instagram. Thanks for sharing so much of your vacation with us all.

We mainly chose japan because we knew how safe it is. One thing I need to add to my last post was that Tokyo was SO clean. We could hardly find any trash on the streets. Kyoto is the opposite: we’ve seen lots of trash and cigarette butts on the streets. We also didn’t see very many people smoking in Tokyo because some places had signs saying no smoking on the street/sidewalk.

I was going to ask you about the smoking since I'm really sensitive to it (and it can cause some medical issues if I have to deal with it). How bad is it? Are you able to avoid it? I was seriously considering a trip to Japan and then watched some videos and was reminded that smoke is still an issue over there. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

 

[Haley R]

Loving your trip report, Haley, and also your Instagram. Thanks for sharing so much of your vacation with us all.



I was going to ask you about the smoking since I'm really sensitive to it (and it can cause some medical issues if I have to deal with it). How bad is it? Are you able to avoid it? I was seriously considering a trip to Japan and then watched some videos and was reminded that smoke is still an issue over there. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

I don’t think we’ve had any problems with smoking. Sometimes you might walk by someone on the street smoking but that’s about it. I did notice some restaurants and stores have a smoking room but it’s enclosed and shouldn’t bother you. I wouldn’t be worried about the smoking. A lot of places are non smoking.

 

[ten6mom]

When we went, the day my husband I went to Osaka, the rest of the group went to Nara and really loved the deer park! I was a little sad we missed it (although we ate our way through the Kuramon Ichiba Market, which was really fun). I hope you have a great time!

@mmmears , I have to agree with @Haley R about smoke- I am super duper sensitive to it and I don't recall even noticing it once.

 

[Haley R]

When we went, the day my husband I went to Osaka, the rest of the group went to Nara and really loved the deer park! I was a little sad we missed it (although we ate our way through the Kuramon Ichiba Market, which was really fun). I hope you have a great time!

@mmmears , I have to agree with @Haley R about smoke- I am super duper sensitive to it and I don't recall even noticing it once.

We’re waiting to leave Nara and it hasn’t been a great experience. I’ll post my trip report tonight with the details but I’m ready to get back to the hotel.

 

[ten6mom]

We’re waiting to leave Nara and it hasn’t been a great experience. I’ll post my trip report tonight with the details but I’m ready to get back to the hotel.

I'm so sorry to hear that!

 

[Haley R]

Trip Report-Day 9
This morning I slept until 9 am (because syth woke me up). I actually set my alarm for 10:30 but it was fine because I just laid in bed and slowly woke up. We ate breakfast in our room because we bought stuff from 7-11 the night before. We got on the train heading to Nara around 11:45 am. We decided to eat lunch in the Nara station at MOS burger which was pretty good. I had a plain burger with cheese and the lady at the cash register spoke pretty good English so understood what I was asking. The burger was a little different from in the states but still good. It had more of a sausage texture to it.

The first thing we did was Kufukuji temple. The outside area is free and the inside costs yen. We just did the free part and it was alright, nothing special. The next thing we did was Yoshikien garden which was the best thing in Nara. It’s free for international visitors with your ID. The gardens are beautiful and there were hardly any people there. I took some really great pictures of the pond garden. Next we went to Nara park to see the famous bowing deer. It was cool at first, but after awhile the novelty wears off and the deer become annoying. One of them actually jumped up on me and bruised my arm. Syth happened to catch it on video.

After the deer we went to kasuga-Taisha. There were so many people here. At this point we were kind of just done with Nara. There were so many people everywhere and it was really hot outside. Kyoto as a whole has been not great. There are too many tour and school groups. We tried to take a bus to our last stop but must have missed it and went way out of our way so had to find our way back which took over an hour. We ended up just skipping the temple and going home. I think the heat is really getting to us and making us cranky/tired along with the mass amounts of people.

One main thing I want to make a note of is if you can take a rapid train somewhere, DO IT. It’s not always an option but they skip most of the stops and cut your time in half. On the way to Nara we took a rapid train that took 30 minutes. On the way back there wasn’t one available so it took us over an hour.

We just got dinner at a convenience store and brought it back to our hotel. Now we’re laying in bed watching Netflix. We abandoned our plan for tomorrow. We were gonna walk the philosopher’s path but it’s supposed to be 92 degrees. Instead we’re gonna go to a cat cafe, a book store, and just find all places nearby that are inside.

 

[LovesTimone]

I spent nine nights in Japan and only on the last two did I sleep past 4 am. Last night was my eighth night back in the states and I still woke up before 4 am. The jetlag was real and I even had lie-flat business seats both ways.

We are springing for business lay flat seats.... and we are going to take melatonin with us so that we can get some sleep, and get adjusted quickly... we went this route last year in France... and it really worked for us... we took it so that we could sleep until around 6 am at least... it worked pretty good...

Plus we are try to break up the flight time, Since we live in Orlando flying to LAX, staying overnight so some what of a opportunity to get on that coast time, then a flight out the next day, with business lay flat seat.... and then coming back do the same with a over night stop at LAX.... so hopefully this will work out for us....

 

[LovesTimone]

When we went, the day my husband I went to Osaka, the rest of the group went to Nara and really loved the deer park! I was a little sad we missed it (although we ate our way through the Kuramon Ichiba Market, which was really fun). I hope you have a great time!

@mmmears , I have to agree with @Haley R about smoke- I am super duper sensitive to it and I don't recall even noticing it once.

How did you like Osaka? ... we are planning on staying in Osaka instead of Kyoto... Our friends suggested it after staying in Kyoto they were just okay the homeaway .... as well my neighbor is going with a large group of friends 2 of the couples lived in Japan for several years and they are doing the planning, and they are staying in Osaka, when I was reading her itinerary I noticed that that were staying in Osaka, I asked why... as everything I have read says to stay in Kyoto... she called her friend and this is her response... Osaka offers more hotel choices, with good price point with the type of rooms that have the perks that they wanted...King beds, coffee makers, slippers and robes.. as well day trips on the JR trains or local trains are really easy from there, as they are going to Hiroshima which is the farthest stop for a day trip... as well there are more restaurants, shopping, and lots of sites to see here, and nightlife...

 

[ten6mom]

How did you like Osaka? ... we are planning on staying in Osaka instead of Kyoto... Our friends suggested it after staying in Kyoto they were just okay the homeaway .... as well my neighbor is going with a large group of friends 2 of the couples lived in Japan for several years and they are doing the planning, and they are staying in Osaka, when I was reading her itinerary I noticed that that were staying in Osaka, I asked why... as everything I have read says to stay in Kyoto... she called her friend and this is her response... Osaka offers more hotel choices, with good price point with the type of rooms that have the perks that they wanted...King beds, coffee makers, slippers and robes.. as well day trips on the JR trains or local trains are really easy from there, as they are going to Hiroshima which is the farthest stop for a day trip... as well there are more restaurants, shopping, and lots of sites to see here, and nightlife...

I liked Osaka fine, but we just spent the day there (our hotel was in Kyoto). I suppose we chose Kyoto because my great aunt and family live there and it was relatively easy for them to meet us and show us around. We didn't really look for hotels in Osaka at all (but then I did none of the planning... my parents paid for 12 of us to go!)

I am just now reading on a social media Japan Planning group page that some people are reporting higher hotel costs in Kyoto than Osaka, but I have not begun any research on this.

The two cities are relatively close to each other (in the grand scheme of things) and I believe both have lots to see and do, so I don't really think you can go wrong with either choice. I believe Kyoto may have more shrines and temples and historical significance due to its former life as the capital.

I really don't think you could go wrong in either city, TBH. I am sure that there are western style hotels (with King beds) in Kyoto as well. Slippers were at both hotels we stayed at (one near Tokyo Disneyland, which was a Hilton- very western) and the one in Kyoto (very close to Nijo station, which was more of a hybrid Japanese/western). BTW I loved Nijo station because it was small and uncomplicated! Two stops away from Kyoto Station.

One thing, depending on where you're flying in/out, Kansai is closer if that's a convenience factor.

 

[Haley R]

I liked Osaka fine, but we just spent the day there (our hotel was in Kyoto). I suppose we chose Kyoto because my great aunt and family live there and it was relatively easy for them to meet us and show us around. We didn't really look for hotels in Osaka at all (but then I did none of the planning... my parents paid for 12 of us to go!)

I am just now reading on a social media Japan Planning group page that some people are reporting higher hotel costs in Kyoto than Osaka, but I have not begun any research on this.

The two cities are relatively close to each other (in the grand scheme of things) and I believe both have lots to see and do, so I don't really think you can go wrong with either choice. I believe Kyoto may have more shrines and temples and historical significance due to its former life as the capital.

I really don't think you could go wrong in either city, TBH. I am sure that there are western style hotels (with King beds) in Kyoto as well. Slippers were at both hotels we stayed at (one near Tokyo Disneyland, which was a Hilton- very western) and the one in Kyoto (very close to Nijo station, which was more of a hybrid Japanese/western). BTW I loved Nijo station because it was small and uncomplicated! Two stops away from Kyoto Station.

One thing, depending on where you're flying in/out, Kansai is closer if that's a convenience factor.

Our hotel we’re in right now is an apartment hotel so we have a king sized bed with a small kitchen and washer/dryer. We’re next to the Inari station. I’m sure you can find western amenities in most places. I thought this area would be quieter but it’s so busy here. I wouldn’t choose to stay by the Inari station again. We’re actually like 8 minutes away but there are too many tourists here.

 

[MKTokyo]

Hey Haley! I just read through your whole TR so far & it's great! I love your pictures. It seems like you're having a really good time.

PS-I’m gonna type a tiny rant about other tourists. I absolutely love the Japanese people and you can for sure tell who is a native Japanese person. Now the tourists here (I don’t want to mention a certain nationality but there’s one in particular) that is completely rude and ruining many of our experiences. I won’t go too into detail about it but they push and shove their way in everywhere and yell constantly. We didn’t see this in Tokyo so it’s just a little different here in Kyoto.

That's why one of the prefectural governments wrote a pamphlet in their language asking them to please be polite, don't yell or shove people, don't steal things from hotels/shops/restaurants, don't leave certain substances all over the bathroom after use, and please refrain from engaging in certain "bodily functions" in the street.