KYOTO COLORS
IN JAPAN, WE SPENT 3 DAYS IN TOKYO, 1 DAY IN HAKONE, 3 DAYS IN KYOTO, AND 2 DAYS BACK IN TOKYO. THIS POST CAPTURES THE KYOTO PART OF THE TRIP.
Welcome to Kyoto - the city whose best features are found in its romantic surroundings worthy of a Steinbeck novel. It is the perfect blend of flora and fauna, traditionalism and modernism, vibrancy and serenity. It is the type of place where time stops and you fall in love; the type of place where a gentle breeze with the scent of spring flowers takes your breath away; the type of place where serendipity could not be more easily found.
After a short stay in Hakone, we continued our journey to Kyoto. The bullet train ride from Odawara Station to Kyoto Station took around 2 hours going along the coast of Japan. Even the countryside looked amazing!
After we arrived, we grabbed a quick sushi dinner at the station and took a cab to the hotel. Turned out our hotel was right next to Pontocho and Gion, two traditional districts within Kyoto filled with restaurants and shops. It was normal to see kimonos everywhere, but we were lucky to spot a few geishas too!
The next day, we checked out the famous Nishiki Market in the morning before heading to Arashiyama, undisputedly my favorite part of Kyoto. There, we climbed a mountain to feed some friendly monkeys (another instance where wearing boots wasn't the best choice), stared at the astonishingly beautiful views on the river, savored the most delicious matcha ice cream, and wandered into the famous bamboo forest. So many magical memories were made in Arashiyama. I will definitely be back next time I'm in Japan. In the evening, we visited a Korean BBQ place down the street from our hotel. The wait staff were amazingly kind and welcoming; our waitress even gifted us some moisturizing face masks and stickers! Yet another example of Japanese hospitality.
On our last full day in Kyoto, we visited Fushimi Inari-taisha at Mt Inari. If you've ever seen Memiors of a Geisha, it's where Sayuri ran through the red gates to cast her wish of becoming a geisha. What I didn't realize is that the gates are endless. They continue all the way up the mountain and all the way down. It took us about 30 min to go a quarter of the way up the mountain, and in the interest of time (and energy), we headed down to buy some souvenirs and street food.
In the afternoon, we took a train to Nara, famous for its temples and ultra friendly deer. Unfortunately by the time we got there, the main temple had closed for the day, but we did get to spend some time with the huge deer population. Much to my surprise, they were just as friendly as I've heard. The temple shops even sell packages of deer cookies!
Japan continued to amaze me every step of the way. Next stop: back to Tokyo!
What I wore: Zara jacket and jeans, Madewell t-shirt, Privé Revaux sunglasses, Marc Jacobs bag, Genuine People boots
The most AMAZING matcha soft serve!
Finished the day with some good ol' Ippudo Ramen
What I wore: Everlane cashmere sweater, vintage leather skirt, Dolce Vita boots, Privé Revaux sunglasses, Free People purse
