Farewell Tokyo, its been a blast! Rosie and The Operator are headed for Kyoto the former capitol of Japan and city of so many ancient wonders. We are taking the Shinkansen bullet train direct and in 2 hours 15mins we will have travelled 452 kilometres.
Note to self Rosie, big luggage is not conducive with train travel. Many tourists = many bags + train = limited storage. A small bag that will fit in overhead lockers would be the perfect train travel luggage size. If only Rosie could pack that lightly, shes just chuffed her whole world is now 23kgs. The Operator had it sorted, he stored our bags behind the last row of seats in our carriage. Normally we would like to keep an eye on our bags throughout the trip…but this is Japan, no one is going to run off with them.
We are staying in the heart of Kyoto right by the river. 1.5 million people live in this city yet this older area retains a small town feel. Kyoto served as the capitol of Japan from the 8th century up until 1868. It was here in this city that the Japanese aesthetic was developed for the rest of the country to follow suit. The Emperor and the Shogun both lived and ruled here and all the major shrines and temples were built and dedicated here. Even when the capitol was shifted to Tokyo in 1868, Kyoto is still classed as the cultural capitol of Japan and has over 17 UNESCO sites and a thousand years of history to prove it.
Right next to our hotel is the Terramachi Shopping Arcade, it is a large covered cathedral like central shopping area that practically covers a blocks worth of shops. We are heading towards the Nishiki Market as it is nearly lunchtime and we are after a street food lunch and a browse around.
Commonly known as Kyotos Kitchen this market is a must for tourists plus there were just as many locals shopping as well. It is said that this market developed in the 14th centuary and is still going strong today.
The market certainly has its share of the weird and wonderful, sparrow on a stick anyone? Serious look at the sign on the picture…who could be bothered plucking a sparrow?
There was a lot of skewers all threaded and ready to be cooked to order, huge vats of pickled vegetables and deep fried food of all sorts alongside dried herbs, powders, fish and vegetables.
The market is quite narrow and in some areas it was elbow to elbow, specially in front of the popular skewer stands. We enjoyed some shrimp on a stick, a plate of very saucy crumbed and deep fried octopus balls and a skewer of greasy beautiful eel.
Away from the hustle and bustle of the food market and back into the shopping arcade proper Rosie did a double take. Right in the middle of all the shops, there is a shrine, a beautiful temple and a wee garden offering a bit of peace and respite from consumerism and mayhem. Amazing.
Rosie supposes this shrine was here long before the roof got put on overtop of the shopping street, but is funny that you come across this wee oasis here.
Just up the road is the Shogun Castle of Nijo Jo. This is a stunning monument to the power of the Shogun Warlords who effectively ruled Japan for centuries.
This dark foreboding castle was built in 1603 as the official Kyoto residence of the Shogun and it was here inside Nijo Jo Castle, the last Shogun conceded his power to the Emperorer Meij in 1868.
The entrance gate is lavish and beautiful, from there you proceed into the castle grounds and access to the castle itself, the higher the rank you were the closer you were able to get to the inner core of the palace.
Inside the palace, we took off our shoes and walked the beautiful wooden corridors. To safeguard against treachery, the shogun had the interior fitted with ‘nightingale floors’, intruders were detected by the intentional squeaking of the floorboards. These floors didnt just give an ugly rusty nail type squeak…honestly, with all the people walking on them it sounded like you were in a forest of birds…nightingales to be precise. The noise of the floorboards sounded like the beautiful pitch of calling birds….bloody amazing!
The rooms were all huge and sliding paper doors closed them off for privacy, beautifully painted walls were inside the rooms and you could imagine when the outside walls of the palace were opened up by the sliding walls and you could see the beautiful garden through them…well, the open plan would be very modern today. The ancient Shoguns had indoor outdoor flow well sorted!
The cherry trees have lost their blooms weeks ago and sporting bright green new spring growth they line the city canals, boughs dipping towards the water, languidly moving in the breeze.
The canals that line the Kyoto’s streets are charming, especially in the dusk. We are heading towards Ponto-Cho, the narrow pedestrian only walkway with doorways that enter some of the most exclusive, old and elite restaurants in Kyoto.
The lanterns were lit, the hustle and bustle had started and Rosie and The Operator were cruising for a bit of dinner that wasn’t going to break the bank.
A little dejected after walking the street a couple of times and not being able to decide where to go we came across a Japanese Motu Nabe house, well our noses smelled the strong rich scent that led us to this Hot Pot House up a back alley.
Rosie and The Operator are loving these interactive meals we are having in Japan and yay, this was another one! The restaurant had a sheet of English instructions on what to expect, how it works and how to order, double yay.
Soooo, we selected chicken as our meat, the waitress prepared our hot pot full of stock, meat and vegetables, she then hooked up the hotpot to a gas burner at the bar where we were sitting….the pot simmered away for 15 mins….the sake was going down easy while we waited.
We were not allowed to touch our hotpot, the waitress tended to it every five mins giving it a stir. After another 10 mins, it was all ours, you ladle out the delicious succulent perfectly cooked chicken and vegetables with some savory broth and enjoy.
Hold back Rosie….you are supposed to save the broth for the second course. When all the goodies are gone from the pot and there is only soup left, they add ramen noodles to the broth….cook for another 10 mins and hey presto, you have another tasty course. It was one of the best meals we have had in Japan. We loved every minute of it.
Rosie and The Operator walked back along the canals, we were going to have an earlyish night, we have a full day of sightseeing tomorrow and need to be ready for it.
