Be prepared, this is a BIG blog post for a BIG final day in Kyoto.
We started today nice and early, with big plans to go far northwest into the Arashiyama area of Kyoto and explore a totally new region. Unfortunately, while getting ready, we noticed a strong cigarette smoke smell when very close to our door to the hallway. Over the next 30 minutes or so, the smell seeped into our room further and further. This made David incredibly nauseous, so we hurried up to get downstairs and away from the smell. We alerted the front desk in hopes that they could try to get rid of the smell before we got back.
We walked to the train station and hopped on the train, noticing that this line seemed much nicer and more luxurious with soft velvet green seats and stained wood walls.
One transfer to another train with forward/backwards facing seats, and David quickly booked it to a forward facing seat and even had to take some nausea medicine as he was still feeling horrible from the smoke. Our first steps into Arashiyama and we immediately feel like we were in a whole new part of Japan. It felt like a mountain town, with little traffic, beautiful 360 views of forested mountains, and a massive river running through the town.
The shops were mostly boutique style, clearly intended for tourists (mostly Japanese, some foreigners), and ice cream shops on every corner. There were tons of small groups of Japanese school children walking around with chaperones, mostly eating ice cream and other treats. We wanted to get some food ourselves before we went into the mountains, so we started our search for a good meal. Caitlyn had found an authentic Japanese breakfast restaurant, however it was extremely expensive, so we opted to find food elsewhere. It turns out that they get to a later start in this area, with many shops and restaurants not opening until 10:00 or even 11:00. We gave up on a sit-down breakfast and eventually found a dango vendor who opened up a little early. We bought a small order with 2 skewers and sat down in the back near the A/C unit and the jug of free cold tea. The dango was similar to what we’ve had in the past, but came loaded with a huge volume of a thick, sticky, sweet and savory sauce. David couldn’t eat too much, still feeling nauseous and having difficulty with his brain wrapping around it being sweet yet savory at the same time. Caitlyn enjoyed it enough and we headed back off.
Caitlyn happened to notice a Japanese Cafe offering Japanese toast and coffees that was open, so we headed in., thinking toast could be exactly what David’s stomach needed. We ordered a brown sugar iced coffee and a piece of toast with a hardboiled egg. The food came out and we sat upstairs looking out the window. The toast was pretty standard, but did have a great buttery flavor and interestingly was twice the thickness of the bread we eat in America. The egg was also just a hardboiled egg, but getting a little more in David’s nauseous stomach was very welcome.
Starting to feel better, we decided to hit the famous Bamboo Grove. This is when we first started seeing real foot traffic. The Bamboo Grove is essentially a long path lined with, you guessed it, bamboo. The entrance to the path was right at the base of a mountain, leading mostly uphill as you walked further in. It was pretty to see, but packed with tourists deciding to hold people up to take pictures from one side of the path to the other. Before we knew it, we had reached the end of the path and realized how underwhelming it was.
Feeling catfished by all of the pretty pictures we have seen online, we kept walking around the mountain, checking out gardens, park areas, and eventually finding stunning overlooks showing us truly how far up we were.
We eventually walked down a stone path to tue riverside to grab some drinks from a vending machine, and David noticed two guys around our age sitting on a bench, one holding the exact same brown bear fan. We walked over to show them, It turns out they are a couple from San Diego visiting and we talked a little bit about our trip to California a few years ago.
Onto our next stop – the monkey park! We quickly found it; essentially another random entrance on a small street off of the main roads in Arashiyama. We paid 600 yen each and noticed the signs that it is 20 minutes to the top and that it was dangerously hot today and to take water with us.
This time, we absolutely could tell how high up we were going without having to look over a summit. The path immediately turns into hundreds of stone stairs winding up the mountain. One quick stop at a bench along the way and we finally made it to the top of the stairs. Feeling the heat and extent of the climb, we assumed it had been 20 minutes and we were almost to the monkeys. We turned the corner to see a map of the ascension to the park, and were horrified yet found it hilarious to realize that we were only about 1/5th of the way to the top after just finishing such an exhausting stretch.
A few signs along the way described how dangerous the monkeys can be, and how you should not feed them, not eat around them, not approach them, not stare at them, and not point cellphones at them. We even noticed a picture describing how you can tell if a monkey is scared of you or mad at you.
After this point, it was more of an uphill path rather than stairs, which we found easier. We spotted the first monkey around here (thanks to seeing people crowded around pointing all of their cameras) laying by a tree. We were so excited to finally see a monkey and snapped a ton of videos, thinking how lucky we were to be within 20 feet or so of such a cool animal. We were a little defeated with how far we had left to walk, but pretty soon realized that the map was not to scale, and the part after the stairs was much quicker and easier. There was a brief rest building with a large sign saying “AIR CONDITIONING”, so we decided to check it out. We open the door and step in, seeing a few occupied seats, a small fan, and a tiny portable A/C unit. We looked at eachother and both said that it was hotter and stuffier inside here than outside, and instantly went back to finish the hike. Not far from the rest station is the summit. We first see the most beautiful views off to our left over the mountain. Almost as if magnetically drawn to the overlook, we found ourselves hurriedly heading over to our left. With tunnel vision clouding our view, we began dodging people to make our way to the edge, when we suddenly realized that weren’t just dodging people. We were also dodging dozens of free-roaming monkeys. Stopping dead in our tracks, we scoped out our surroundings: a relatively flat area towards the overlook with a majority of the people, looking both outward off the mountainside and inward at the armies of monkeys. This area also had a few of the larger braver monkeys, unphased by the humans.
There was a shack at the edge of this with monkeys all over the exterior walls and on the ceiling, chasing eachother, getting in occasional fights, and many sitting on the edge of the windowsills facing the inside of the building.
We were curious about this, so we entered the building. It turns out they will sell packs of peanuts or sliced apple which you can feed the monkeys “safely” from inside the shack. The windows were open, with a wire fence with varying sizes of holes allowing the monkeys enough room to stick their arms in and receive treats. There were clearly a few monkeys in charge, with one gigantic monkey having prime access to a great spot where he could leave his enormous arms in the fence, receiving food and shoveling it in his mouth. Many small and medium monkeys fought and struggled to get towards humans holding peanuts, jumping over each other and often being thrown to the ground by others trying to get their meal ticket first. There was another aggressive monkey who would scare all of the others away if he began heading towards an outstretched peanut. We bought 1 pack of peanuts and 1 pack of apples and decided to try to feed the monkeys. We began to feed the monkeys as everyone else was – holding out a treat close to the monkeys’ hands and letting them take it. After a while, we did see small signs saying to place the peanut down on the windowsill, and never to hand the monkeys food directly, but even the staff hanging around didn’t seem to care. At one point David made the mistake of looking at one monkey too long, making the angry face and showing all of its teeth. Caitlyn went to feed one monkey a peanut, and in the exchange, it seemed the peanut was going to fall, so she put her hand out to catch it. This made the monkey very unhappy, assuming she was stealing back the peanut! It began banging on the fence at Caitlyn and making irritated noises.
We explored the grounds more, finding hills with small monkeys grooming themselves, trees full of monkeys finding shade, and another beautiful spot to look down on Kyoto.
We easily spent an hour just walking around looking at the monkeys, often finding monkeys passing by us with only 1 or 2 feet between us.
We eventually decided to check the overlook out, being absolutely stunned by the view.
We snagged all of the pictures we needed, and before leaving, we had to take a few pictures on the giant banana.
Funny enough, the woman who offered to take our picture asked where we were from, and when we said Washington DC (again, easier than north-west Virginia) she stated that she went to UVA along with the two guys with her. We chatted for a bit, as David and the group exchanged names of mutual people they knew from David’s high school. What a small world! We went on our way to take in the last of the city and monkey views. As we were leaving, a whimsical circus song began to play over loud speakers. Suddenly, monkeys from all directions began sprinting towards a small hill near the shack. It turns out this is their dinner bell, where the workers throw hundreds of small pieces of food into the hill. After watching this spectacle and taking a few pictures of some baby monkeys, we realized we were feeling very warm and started to notice some sunburn on our arms.
We treked down the mountain, feeling sympathy of all of the uphill travelers we passed.
Back in Arashiyama, we explored a little more, making our way towards our lunch destination. We knew we wanted to have a few more sushi meals while we were still in Japan, but as prices fluctuated so much from affordable to very expensive, and with very few menus posted online to display pricing, we decided that sharing one nigiri platter was the best way to get our fix while being mindful of the cost. Caitlyn found a highly rated local restaurant, and was hoping to redeem herself from the poorly picked previous sushi spot. Along the way, we passed a street vendor selling fish cakes on a stick, and decided to be safe and grab one as an appetizer. We opted for the spicy fish and scallion stick, and found it absolutely delicious.
We continued our walk to the small sushi restaurant to share a meal. This truly appeared to be a mom-and-pop restaurant, as you walked into the front door of what appeared to be someone’s home, and the restaurant itself only having 3 tables with a view of the back kitchen. We settled on sushi sampler with 7 pieces of nigiri and a 4 piece unagi dish, enjoying the cool indoors. The sushi was delicious, and we both agreed that caitlyn was redeemed.
After lunch we made our way to nothern Kyoto and see the Kinkaku-ji temple – the golden temple known for being one of the most famous and most visited buildings in all of Japan. As this walk would have taken 1.5 hours, we opted to take the rail. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the rail connecting these two areas was a small single car train that ran through neighborhoods at a slower and more scenic pace.
The were dropped off right in the city and made the 20 minute walk to the temple. Along the way Caitlyn grabbed a drink from one of the many vending machines that Japan has to offer, each with its own unique selection of drinks.
Eventually we both needed to use the bathroom, so we checked out the stores we passed by to see if any looked like they had a cheap item we could buy and a restroom to use. We found a bakery that seemed optimal and attempted to step inside. Three French girls in their early/mid 20s took up the entire entry way, slowly picking out the breads they wanted to buy. Clearly noticing us and more clearly not caring, they didn’t make an ounce of effort to let us into the shop, despite our “excuse me’s”. We eventually squeezed our way in, receiving disgusted looks, and being bumped into from the girls without so much as a nod of recognition. Unfortunately, there was no restroom, so we set back off towards the temple. Double unfortunately, the french girls were trailing just behind us (eating while walking – super rude here) and we assumed they were also headed to the golden temple. We finally arrive at the temple, and sadly, we were correct. We did have to pay 500 yen for entrance, but it was well worth it (and lost the girls pretty quickly). A gorgeous golden temple peeked into our view, standing aside a gorgeous pond.
We took in the sights on the grounds (eventually finding a restroom), and decided to make our way back to the hotel via our first bus ride. Google maps has been our favorite navigation tool so far, not only being great for walking instructions, but fantastic at telling you which train line and platform to take, how many stops (also buzzes your phone usually when you are 2 stops away), and even offering advice on the best train cars to get on for an easy exit. Thankfully, they offer very similar bus instructions and we found the bus stop in no time. It was absolutely packed, and people seemed a little more frantic than on the train lines. We did manage to get on, and chose two seats in the very back right, with three seats being open to Caitlyn’s left. Just as the bus was about to leave, guess who hopped on? And guess where the only free 3 seats were? We (Caitlyn and David) exchanged knowing looks at eachother, holding back laughter at our unfortunate back to back to back encounters. The bus was comfortable, offered plenty of screens and audio announcements with stop information in Japanese and English.
We got off at our stop and headed back to our hotel for Caitlyn to take a quick shower and change while David did a load of laundry in the lobby, then we sat down for a few and worked on the blog. We decided that for our last night in Kyoto, we would head back to our favorite baseball bar once more, as the prices were cheap, the food was delicious, and the atmosphere, staff, and bar guests are unbeatable. We were seated in the corner and ordered:
The chicken meatball skewers – Amazing. Just like a meatball but tender and more mild, with a nice tangy liquidy sauce and cooked perfectly. 7.5/10 for David, 8/10 for Caitlyn.The dried stingray (re-order from last time) – one of our favorites. Great jerky-like texture with mild fishy flavor. Sauce is perfect with it. Mayo, spices, and a salty brown sauce, not quite soy but same family. 9/10 for David, 8/10 for Caitlyn.
The fried octopus – Universal calamari flavor but the saltiness replaced with another umami flavor. Breading just like other fried Japanese foods…does not feel greasy like regular calamari does. 8.5/10 for both.
The pork skewers (re-order from last time) – not as tender but good flavor and good complementary sauce. 7/10 for both.
The chicken tail skewer – instant melt in your mouth sensation. Perfect salty flavor, wonderful meat to fat ratio. 9.5/10 for both.
The chicken neck skewer – A little less fatty than the tail, which is nice and could eat more of this than tail, but you miss out on the melting fat from the tail. 8.5/10 for both.
Chicken Heart skewer – meaty and easy texture, cooked well. The sweet glaze makes it (as recommended when asked salt or sauce). 7/10 for both.
We sat and ate our amazing food, smiling the whole time, happy to be in the cozy, intimate, and authentic atmosphere. As we sat, the only white people in the bar, with jovial conversation, laughter, and occasional silence during clutch moments in the game, the gentlemen at the table next to us got up to pay and leave.
David made eye contact with one of them men, wearing typical businessman attire. David told him “I love your tie” and made a hand gesture shaping a tie, which the gentleman quickly understood and smiled and bowed. He came over to us and asked if he could sit. He asked us where we were from, and we exchanged a few words back and forth as best as possible (he had limited English). He asked if we liked squid feet and we said of course! At this point, the rest of the patrons and staff were all semi-in our conversation, either trying to help translate or laughing and talking clearly related to our interaction (not in a rude way at all, it seemed mostly to be laughter related to trying to find the translation for squid legs). A few of them, still laughing at squid feet and the attempt at translation, were wiggling their fingers at eachother, mimicking squid legs while we all laughed. The businessman made the universal sign for “hold on a minute” and rounded the corner to the server station. He shook David’s hand and bowed to Caitlyn and headed out. The couple next to us lifted their drinks high in our direction and shouted “kanpai!” (Cheers!), and most of the bar smiled and cheersed us. Feeling so accepted here and less like intrusive foreigners, we both rode a huge high while all of our new friends kept smiling and interacting with us. We kept talking with the couple next to us, talking more about the “squid feet” and they told us that the gentleman we interacted with wearing the cool tie had bought us an order of squid legs because he wanted to share a dish that he loved. The waitress came out with the squid, telling us he bought it for us, and serving a beautiful plate of chunks of squid legs in a butter sauce. It was amazing, with a buttery, peppery flavor and perfectly textured squid. It reminded us more of french rather than japanese cooking, but David gave it an 8/10 and Caitlyn a 7/10. We also noticed via Google lens that this dish was not on the English menu!
It was now a full on environment of partying, friendship, and total acceptance of pure strangers. The couple next to us asked us about our time in Kyoto and Japan in general, and we told them we were about to head to Osaka. They offered recommendations and we had a lovely conversation. They told us we had to eat more of the delicious food, and had us order a two more dishes: a minced fish ball dish and the bar’s fried chicken. We noticed again that the fish balls were not on the English menu, so we were even more excited to try the dish. They also recommended a drink called denki bran (spelling?). The fish ball dish was super interesting, being fried and filled with a mixture of fish and a super stringy cheese, like mozzarella but more stringy and less salty. It came with mayo and soy which was the perfect sauce to dip these tater tot-sized bites in. We both gave it a 7.5/10. The fried chicken was incredible, with the best crust we’ve had so far in Japan, inside with super juicy breast meat (though David prefers the thigh meat ones). David rated it an 8/10. Caitlyn said that rightfully, it was served with Japanese mayo which totally elevates the dish (we decided that all good Japanese fried food must have Japanese mayo). Caitlyn said it was crunchy, juicy, chock-full of flavor and is complemented perfectly with a light dip of mayo, giving it a 8.5/10. The denki bran came out and turned put to be a delicious botanical liquor, served on the rocks. Super smooth and 8/10 for both of us.
Drinks kept flowing as we engaged in non-stop conversation with new friends as well as our server, who was a lovely middle-aged Japanese woman who spoke fantastic English. Both us and the server only had to pop out Google translate a few times to get across more complex points and to express gratitude. We talked at length about how much we loved this restaurant/bar, and we couldn’t have left Kyoto satisfied without eating here again. We eventually asked for our bill and paid, but we had trouble getting out as everyone wanted to say goodbyes. The server opened her arms to give Caitlyn a huge hug, and the owner even came out from the back to shake David’s hand. As we left, everyone else in the bar lifted their drinks and shouted “Ja ne!” (goodbye). We wanted to grab a picture as we left, but realized that you cannot take a photo of the experience that we just had. We couldn’t stop thinking or talking about the unbelievable experience we had on the way home. This is exactly why we uprooted our lives to come on this trip.
David’s thoughts of the day- While at our last stop at the baseball bar, there was a man and his elderly father sitting at the bar watching the game. The entire time, the son had a handheld massage tool he held over his father’s back, clearly trying to help relieve his sore back, while they watched the game. I was so touched by this and impressed, as there are so many huge moments of respect we have seen in Japan, and this encapsulates it perfectly (but don’t get any ideas, Dad). I guiltily took a picture but it was such a beautiful thing to see.
Caitlyn’s thoughts of the day: I was struck with an incredibly powerful, blissful moment in the baseball bar, which could not be beat. Everything that we experienced, from the hospitality of the owners, to the kindness of the other patrons ordering us dishes and giving us recommendations, to the genuine love and respect witnessed between the adult son and his elderly dad really struck me. There is so much in life that we can learn from other cultures, other people, and worlds that are so different from our own. I never expected that a night at a Japanese sports bar would have such an impact on me, but it certainly did. As we have previously stated, our travels have been partially inspired by the great Anthony Bourdain, and we truly felt that this local hole in the wall would have been the exact kind of place that he would have loved to visit and experience.
Total steps walked: 23,800
Total miles walked: 11.09
Total miles walked in Kyoto: 56.51
Bluming Travelers 