TO JAPAN V OUR LO! PART 1: TOKYO, KYOTO

This is more of a 'family-oriented' trip. Super excited as this time round we're able to arrive in time to see the sakuras in full bloom (Checked the predictions from https://www.jnto.go.jp/sakura/eng/index.php). We missed that during our trip to Korea. Though we've a full itinerary planned out for this trip, we still adopted the 'play it by ear' strategy, depending on our LO's mood and our condition (Well, carrying a 10kg toddler around together with the diapers bag and camera bag IS a huge challenge after all!) I've also explained why we chose Airbnb over hotels and shared some of my experiences/tips in my previous post: 'How we survived the 10-day Japan trip v our LO'. 

Flew with AirAsia and the timing of the flights were just nice. We didn't get priority during check in. The ground staff explained that there were too many people, so we had to line up like everyone else, but we did get priority going through custom scanning like before. The whole flight turned out better than what we expected. The air stewards and stewardesses were very friendly. They told us to just buzz them if we need anything and even brought us the bassinet (Maximum weight is 11kg) but my LO couldn't fit into it as she was too long for it. Lol. A good start!

We booked our Airbnb stay in Tokyo with hosts Ryu and Iku. I would highly recommend booking with them. They are currently managing 7 different properties: we booked the one in Shibuya when we first reached and then the one in Shinjuku when we went back to Tokyo after Hakone. They are both very friendly, helpful, even provided us a free pocket wifi during our stay and the best thing was, they sent us videos on how to get to their apartments from the nearest subway stations, besides directions in writings. The videos really helped a lot. Since we've sort of memorized the videos, everything looked so familiar when we stepped out of station exits. It was as if we've been there before :D Only complaint? There wasn't a mirror in the Shibuya apartment! :P

The apartment in Shibuya was located on the 5th floor, about 5-min walk from the Shibuya station. Plenty of eateries/shops around, Family mart and Lawson mart just minutes' walk away, so it was very convenient. We arrived at the station about 11+pm and since the elevator outside the station only operates between 7am and 10pm daily, it was quite a challenge to carry my LO plus the luggage bags up the stairs of the pedestrian flyover. But we were greeted by a row of sakura trees on the street below the moment we got to the top! What a view! Didn't manage to take photo as our hands were occupied and it was late already, so we just continued walking to the apartment, washed up and slept. 

Next morning we collected our JR passes with the exchange orders at Shibuya station - bought them online at Japan Rail Pass.com prior to the trip. The orders were sent to us by FEDEX within 3 working days. Super efficient. The passes cost about RM1,000 each - worth getting coz they include shinkansen rides too besides all JR Line trains. We also reserved our seats to Kyoto and Hakone at the ticketing office (Be ready for long queues!). As we saw that the cherry blossoms were already in full bloom last night, we decided to swap the itinerary: head to Ueno park first and Tsukiji market later when we come back after Hakone. 

Indeed luck was on our side. The sight at Ueno was awesome and truly breathtaking. Check out the photos! Plenty of stalls selling beer, sakura ice creams, yakitori and fried stuffs. Everywhere was packed with people strolling, taking photos, picnicking under the sakura trees, enjoying their food with draft beers, sakes and champagnes. You could also pay ¥3,000 to rent a kimono to wear for fun and take pictures in it. 

Swarmed by sakuras!

There were pink ones as well!

Closeup shot :D

After spending almost half a day at Ueno park eating, enjoying the premium malt suntory draft beer while admiring the beauty of the sakuras, we had some uni or sea urchin and steamed snow crab legs with sake (Yumz!) at the nearby Ameyoko shopping street and shopped for some fruits and veggies before heading to Sensō-ji temple in Asakusa. 

Seafood at Ameyoko. Yumzzz

Sensō-ji temple.

Sensō-ji temple.

Sensō-ji temple.

The next morning after checking out, we made our way to Shinagawa station and hopped onto the shinkansen to Kyoto. The ride to Kyoto took about 140 mins and from Kyoto station, we took the subway to Kujo station - just a stop away. Upon reaching, we contacted the host who came and took us to her guesthouse Mitsumi, which was about a 5-min walk from the station. Her house was a typical family house like what I used to see in dramas and animes! The tatami style dining table had a kotatsu!! Nice experience but there were a couple of inconveniences: we had to climb a flight of steep stairs to get to the bedrooms, the bathroom was very tiny with no hooks to hang clothes or towels and the heater was the old fashioned type which replenishes itself once we start using the hot water, so the water turned cold for a few seconds every now and then when we were taking our baths. 

After settling down, we went to the city center in search for the Phiten shop. If you are a fan or user of Phiten products, the prices in Japan are at least 30% cheaper than here in KL and they have a much wider range of products that we've never seen here before, including hair/facial/body products, blankets and undergarments. Next stop was Nishiki market (the Kyoto kitchen), just 7 minutes' walk away. Great place to buy fresh veggies, fruits, pickled veggies, and....to eat fresh seafood and some famous street food! The raw oyster that we had there was unforgettable! One might ask, "How great can it be, huh?" Well, super-fresh aroma, a mild creamy flavor and the sweetness lingered in our mouths for quite some time after that. Drooling already? Haha. For ¥400 per piece, worth it! Other must-try would be the tako tamago or octopus with a quail egg in the head, and grilled eel (Kyoto is pretty famous for unagi). Oh, and the roasted chestnuts were pretty good too - fluffy and soft, the texture is slightly different from the ones we have here.

Nishiki market entrance

Lotsa food stalls

Tako tamago - chewy and savory with a hint of salty and sweet

The quail egg inside gave a different flavor-twist

Shopping ✔, filling our stomachs ✔, so it was time for some sightseeing. We took the train to Sanjo station and walked towards Kamo river for more sakuras! 

Amazing!

Seeing them at night all lit up gave a totally different feel!

After strolling along the area for a bit, we decided to head back to rest as we have a lot of walking to do the next day. It was indeed nice to sit around the kotatsu to chat and have beer with snacks :P Jagabee became one of my favorite snacks there. If u see it, try it. It's GOOD. Before sleeping, we put some of the Phiten stuffs we bought to use. ^^

So next ... the famous Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. I've seen many people taking their pre-wedding photos here and now, I get to see it with my own eyes. There is only one path that you can walk through and it's surrounded by tall bamboos. The path is well maintained and as you take a walk down the path, take your time to enjoy the forest in its luscious, natural state. The serene bamboo path is a few hundred meters long and it is really a sight to behold. 

Thick green bamboo stalks seem to continue endlessly in every direction

Particularly attractive when there is a light wind and the tall bamboo stalks sway gently back and forth.

IF you are too lazy to walk, you could hire a trishaw ride pulled by some macho young men (some even wearing hot pants!). I felt bad looking at them pulling such heavy weights through narrow roads and still had to turn their heads to chat/explain about the place to their customers though >.<. Anyway, our LO was sooo excited when we let her down to walk by herself. She trotted up and down, laughed and even posed for photos! There are quite a few temples and shrines within the area that you could visit, including the world heritage site Tenryu-ji Temple, which is right beside the bamboo grove, and the famous Togetsukyo Bridge is also nearby. We didn't pay to go into Tenryu-ji as we were going to visit Kiyomizu-dera Temple (the other UNESCO world heritage site) later on. 

The 30-mins walk uphill in the rain to Kiyomizu-dera temple was no joke. The narrow road was packed with people, cars and buses. Not only did we have to avoid colliding with other peeps, we had to make sure we don't accidentally hit someone or the awning of the shops along the way with our umbrellas. Zzz. The queue for tickets was long but moved pretty fast. Kiyomizu-dera Temple is one of Japan's most celebrated temples and it is known for its high, sturdy wooden platform, constructed without a single nail - truly an impressive architecture. We were told that the lights would come on at 6pm, but, the lightings were not what I expected though. I had imagined that the whole temple would look majestic shining in yellow lights, and I was totally wrong. There were only a few dim lights here and there, that was all. We didn't manage to take photos of the night view because it was too dark. In my opinion, they should put more lights along the walkway as I felt it was kinda dangerous especially for old people to go down the uneven stairs in such dimmed lights. 

Kiyomizu-dera Temple

Kiyomizu-dera Temple

Kiyomizu-dera Temple

Cherry blossoms at the temple

We settled our dinner at a restaurant with sushi belt on the way down. Called it a night after that. We were tired but judging from all the walking since morning, surprisingly our legs weren't feeling as painful as we expected. Seemed the Phiten insoles and power tapes did work their magic. Haha. *We walked an average of about 15,500 steps per day during that 10-day period, as recorded in our iPhone's Health app. S.E.R.I.O.U.S.L.Y.

It rained pretty heavily the next morning when we woke up. We texted the host and she was nice enough to let us stay til the rain stopped even though the written checkout time was 11am. Once the rain stopped, we locked up everything, dropped the key into the mailbox and continued our journey to Osaka!

Extra Tips:

• Get a Suica/Pasmo card (like our Touch N Go) for subway/train rides when you reach the airport. It can be used in convenience stores and vending machines too. 
• Be prepared for long queues/waiting time at restaurants during lunch/dinner peak hour.
• A lot of the restaurants/eateries close in the afternoon after lunch time and reopen again for dinner, so plan your meal times properly.
• We didn't come across many child-friendly restaurants or restaurants with baby chairs. Some even rejected us upfront when they saw us carrying a toddler. Most eating places are tiny, so it would be hard to navigate/park your strollers if you bring one.
• For those who are as picky as me when it comes to LO's food, I brought some rice, oats, raisins, whitebaits and chia seeds over, and we prepared most of her meals when we were there. Buying fresh veggies, fruits and meat there weren't a problem at all. 
• Some restaurants incur a fix charge the moment you sit down, or make it compulsory that you order a set each/a certain minimum amount, in order to be able to sit and dine in it.
• You could choose to stay in Kyoto and take daily trips to Osaka, or vice versa since the JR Tokaido shinkansen ride takes only about 15 mins to reach Shin-Osaka station and from there, transfer to JR line train to Osaka station (4 mins), OR you could take the JR Special Rapid train (30 mins' ride) straight to Osaka station. In doing so, you can save the trouble of packing and moving.