2016年 12月 14日 (水)
zzztzzztzzzt~ Smothered by my pillow, the suffocated alarm broke my sweet slumber. Everything had to be discrete. It was five in the morning after all and we had to keep our stranger roomie undisturbed from… us (read Carolyn). Channeling our inner ninja, it took her everything to get out quickly and quietly. All of which nothing was achieved.
Once down in reception, we regrouped with the others and set off on our journey to the South, starting at Tokyo station.
With our beloved luggage in our clutches, we travelled around town without the aid of escalators or elevators ngooh. While my well-oiled machine-like arms could handle the luggage, it was annoying traversing multiple flights of stairs. I moan now, when my luggage was still light... mfw it's the end of the trip...
Shinkansen tickets booked, it was a chance to pick up a meal. A train trip wouldn’t be complete without a bento box. Surprisingly, I hadn’t experienced the joy of consuming one! So when I was shopping, I was in awe at the amount of choice available. It was just shelves upon shelves and stacks upon stacks. In the end, I got what reflected myself. A mirror hahaaa... It was a novelty shinkansen shaped box. Appropriate for the group’s first shinkansen trip.
Needlessly dawdling around left us rushing to our platform. It was unbelievable how close we nearly missed the train. As soon as the last foot made the slightest contact, the doors slid shut. Well... Maybe not as dramatic but we were cutting it close for sure.
Having boarded the wrong carriage, we trudged along until we reached our destination - the end carriage... great. Plonking my little caboose down, I was ready to devour my little bento. In regards to taste, there's not much to celebrate about. However, despite its small size, there was enough to satiate my hunger.
Now cue 2hrs44m of blissful transit.
The bnb was a short walk away from the station (like really short), but we only came to that conclusion after an unnecessarily long search. Bloody Google Maps was showing me complete baloney directions. Out of the blue, a kind old man must have seen bright neon “WE NEED HELP” signs floating above our heads for he chimed in to help us. And while it was super sweet, I couldn’t help but feel bad because he couldn’t help much and I didn’t want to take any more of his time. Bless his kind soul.
After circling the block many times, we found the kind-of-hidden entrance to the apartment complex. Straight down the road from exiting the station... LUANtics, amirite.
After taking the cramped elevator up a few floors, we were greeted by two flights of stairs ugh. But wait! There's more! I was unable to unlock the padlock safe holding the key. Surely I was punching in the right numbers. The others even tried themselves. As I was about to email our host about the predicament, I found out that they changed the passcode... written right there in an email I thought was non-pertinent… Can't stress enough, Luantics...
The apartment was home to a fantastic rooftop view, making it the perfect time to test my brand new set of LEE filters and majorly discounted FUJIFILM lens (sponsor me).
I have never been as cautious with my gear as I did during that moment, because what could only be described as gale force winds were running amok. Even the most stable of tripods would shake with the high G’s being belted out up there. As I was carrying only everything I could in my backpack, it served as a decent counterweight (not that it fully quelled my worry).
After some R&R, it was a good time as any to leave for Togetsukyo, a bridge in the Arashiyama district that spans across the Katsura River. Aaaaand it was nothing suuuper special to visit. Perhaps it needed a festive season to bring out that extra oomph~
Crossing it led us into the heart of the bustling district with its variety of tourist establishments. While the streets weren’t jam packed with tourists, there was a sense of peace walking down the traditional yet modern neighbourhood. Along the streets, you can find enticing food stalls, alluring but pricey souvenir shops, and the like.
Stumbling into the Bamboo Grove was quite a maze(ing) and surprisingly spanned a larger area than I thought. Weaving through the paths, we snapped away at the tall stretches of bamboo. The grove was so expansive that we had to cut the visit short, due to time constraints.
Upon exiting, we leisurely headed to Fushimi Inari Taisha - a shrine found at the base of Mt. Inari, but more known for its numerous Torii stretching for miles on the hike to the top.
It was going to take about an hour to get there. Nearing 17:00, the sun was setting and the race against time was on.
We lost. On the bright side or what was left of it, it was still a really cool sight.
It was just amazing seeing the torii line stretching as far as the eyes could see. The full hike takes about 2-3hrs for a round trip. 3/5 of us made it 1/3 of the way up, since night had fallen and the trail was only repeating itself but in a less interesting manner.
Being night-time, it was hard to tell if we were lost, as the trail seamlessly blended with the side streets and took us into housing areas. With some faith and believing in the heart of the cards, we managed to get out just fine.
Now, we hadn’t really eaten since morning so you could bet your bottom dollar I was hungry. At the base of the mountain, and off to the side of the shrine, was a small avenue of food stalls. Alluring smells would try to pull me in but as hungry as I was, I held off for the dinner to come.
⏩ and we’re back in Kyoto central. As there was still time, we hit up the Kyoto Pokémon Centre branch. Once again, time was of the essence and this time we won. Though the good feeling didn't last long as the centre had nothing (for me). No giant plushes, no artwork or even adult sized socks - the range was just weak. Tiringly, I walked out with just a juice pack in hand, because thirst. Re: juice - it was a cheap, artificial, sickly liquid of sweetness.
lonely, I am so lonely
21:00 was rolling around and a meal was long overdue. Tonight’s menu was at ‘Ramen Sen no Kaze’, a fantastic ramen restaurant. With no space to seat the five of us, we were told to wait 30-40mins. We’ve gone all day without food, what’s another couple minutes ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
We ended up in WEGO, a clothes store just around the corner. As time went on, I noticed an employee was eyeing us a lot. At first, I thought she was checking us out 😏 but I felt it get more hostile as Alex and Wilson continued to try on clothes. It wasn't just me as Alex agreed with my sentiments, but we thought nothing more of it. After some back and forth between outfits, we returned downstairs and re-joined with the other two. They were still shopping around, so we hung around longer. And like before, the mood felt a bit off...
The ladies paid for their things and we left ready to dine. With hands full of goods, we should've been feeling good but we didn’t. Why was the mood was so sour in there? As it turned out, the shop was due to close aaaand we overstayed our welcome by at least half an hour... 😬
Red faced with embarrassment, we scurried back to the restaurant. It was 22:00 now and I normally eat dinner at 17:00, so you can imagine just how hungry I was.
Each of us ordered something different and each one was just a bowl of heaven. The creamy but light broths, the rich flavours and the slices of cha siu... ugh it was just so good. I cleaned the bowl so well it was practically brand new. The servings were ± ¥1000 with extras at a couple hundred extra yen. Service was top notch and the setting had a nice chill atmosphere. If you're in the area, do make an effort to eat here - you won’t regret it. Eating here was, hands down, my favourite meal of the whole trip.
Back home, it was a quiet night of banter, perfectly warm showers and perfectly warm trips to the loo. I laid my body to rest, keen for the new day. The drunkards being extra keen as we were visiting the Suntory Yamazaki Distillery. Thanks for reading.
Itching for more? Visit Carolyn's post for her take on the day.