Experiencing Golden Week in and around Kyoto

April 29, 2019
Scott

Kyoto feels much smaller and quainter than Tokyo, even though it’s still quite a large city with a variety of distinct neighborhoods. We were able to walk from the train station directly to our Airbnb, and then from there towards the Ponto-chō area near the river to explore and find dinner. We walked along a lovely canal lined with lanterns and then down to a path along the river. Ponto-chō is filled with restaurants and bars, and many of them have great decks looking out across the river towards the Gion neighborhood. It was still a little chilly to really take advantage of them, so we might have to come back sometime. We went into the main narrow street of Ponto-chō to find a soba restaurant for dinner, and enjoyed seeing the old wooden buildings and glowing orange lanterns outside all the restaurants.

On our first full day in Kyoto, we woke up as early as we could to head to Fushimi, home to the Fushimi Inari Shrine. If you’ve seen pictures (or see pictures below) of many orange (ok vermilion) gates lined up into essentially tunnels of color, this is that. And the gates go all the way up the mountainside to the summit, maybe a 45 minute walk, where you find more shrines. The view down onto the city from various spots along the way is nice, and we were glad to be there before the bulk of the day’s crowds arrived.

After trying out some snacks from the food stands at the exit of Fushimi Inari, we headed towards the more historical neighborhoods of Kyoto: Gion (of geisha fame) and Higashiyama, home to temples and trees, temples and trees. There were also tons of traditional buildings with shops and restaurants in them. And folks strolling around, seeing the sights and taking pictures in their kimonos. Apparently it’s a fun date option, as well as ‘thing to do during Golden Week’, as well as a nice way to spend a weekend, just getting your kimono on and heading to this part of town. We saw a ton of folks so attired, which made the experience even more fun. (Apparently the younger generation in Japan are eschewing traditional clothing for more Western wear, which enough adults feel is a cultural loss that they developed kimono incentives. For example free public transport or discounts at restaurants if you’re wearing a kimono. Kind of fun – and seems to be working.)

That afternoon we got on a train to Osaka, only about an hour from Kyoto, to go see a baseball game! This was something Nathan had really wanted to do, and it was a super interesting experience. We saw the Orix Buffaloes against the Seibu Lions, and the tickets we had were for the Lions section, so I guess we were cheering for them? Seeing the Japanese fans at this game felt like a confirmation of a bunch of cultural differences we had noticed, especially the level of politeness. Everyone in the stadium was incredibly focused on the game, not on their phones, hardly talking to the people next to them, and not spending half the game going for food and beer. There was very little cheering (it picked up towards the end of the game, maybe after people had a beer or two?), and absolutely no jeering. When their team did something well, the fans would politely clap. On the other side of the stadium from us there were two dedicated cheering sections, one for each team, where there were bands and cheering and yelling when the respective team was at bat. It felt strangely quiet in the stadium for most of the game, because of the isolated area for cheering, and because the announcer only spoke once or twice each inning. One of the most fascinating parts of the game was during the 7th inning, when the fans all pulled out balloons and blew them up, releasing them at the same time to swirl through the air while they deflated (see the video below). We stuck around in Osaka after the game to see the castle and for dinner, and then we headed back to Kyoto.

On day 2 in Kyoto, we started the day with a food tour through Nishiki market. We had a guide from Indonesia who had been living and studying in Kyoto for 6 years, and he took us through the market, leading us to interesting foods to try and explaining little bits of Japanese culture, both food-related and otherwise. We really really liked this market; it was busier than Tsukiji in Tokyo and had a lot more shops and things to sample. We particularly liked the black soybean tea and a yuzu honey drink, but the most interesting thing we ate was a barbecued baby octopus with a quail egg in its head. We didn’t try the bbq sparrow. Included in our tour was a kaiseki lunch at a restaurant near the market, tucked back from the street down a small pathway. We had our own private room with a small garden window, and we really enjoyed all the small courses.

That afternoon we headed to Arashiyama, home of the ‘Bamboo Forest’. The main tourist attraction here is a path through super tall bamboo, with a beautifully orderly forest floor and light flickering through the leaves above. You quietly pace through the creaking stalks, appreciating nature. Unfortunately when we arrived there was a shoulder to shoulder crowd on most of the path, creating an uncharacteristically-Japanese noisy hum. So our timing wasn’t awesome. But the surrounding area was pleasant. Elisse got green tea soft serve that she really loved but then had to abandon early because the trains are so uncompromisingly on time. In the evening, we waited in line in the rain for a ramen restaurant (when in Japan…), which then warmed us right back up again.

The next day we took a trip to nearby Nara, but we took enough photos there that we’ll make it its own post.

The day after our Nara visit, Hilary and Nathan headed back to Tokyo for the end of their trip. We were staying in Kyoto for one more night, and we spent the day visiting a couple of additional temples: Kinkaku-ji (aka the Golden Pavilion, which proved to be particularly busy on one of the main holidays of Golden Week, who would’ve thought 😉) and Ryōan-ji (home of a famous rock garden). Of all the temples we visited, these two were favorites because of their beautifully planned and detailed gardens. Our dinner that night was at a restaurant recommended by our hotel; Elisse had the best tofu she’d ever had, and we tasted a few sakes that inspired us to visit a sake brewery later in our trip.

The following morning we left Kyoto for the next phase of our trip! We really enjoyed Kyoto and would love to come back sometime; there was lots more we could have explored.