Last day in Ise shi (伊勢市) - Handicraft Zone - Ise Typical Food and More

Ise shi Town - 伊勢市

Last day day in Ise shi and this time I was ready to see what this village had to offer to the tourists apart from the Ise Jingu Grand Shrine.

We woke up late that day and I have to say that you have to be ready for the old houses in Japan. Even though they’re above the ground and they’re built using wood, that doesn't mean you’ll feel warm. The room was quite good because we had the heater on the whole night. My recommendation is to remember to bring a sweater or a base layer to keep you warm when you go off the room.

麻吉旅館 asakichi ryokan flowers

Ise-Jingu 伊勢神宮 (Naikū (内宮) and Gekū (外宮))

Next stop Ise-jingu

I had read a lot about this sacred place and all I have in my mind is that Ise is like the Vatican City for the Catholics. The morning we left Kyoto was also going to be the first time I jumped on a car and hit the road in Japan. Couple of things on the road were similar but some others were definitely not.

The first thing that caught my attention was the GPS. I know, there’s nothing special about a talking GPS but perhaps what I found interesting was the voice and the tiny anime character who was giving us directions. My friend told me it was an old version and that hence she was not going to use it, because some parts of the way to Ise had recently changed.

Kyoto day 3 (Part II) - Kinkaku-Ji - 金閣寺 (Golden Pavilion Temple), Kiyomizu-dera -清水寺 and Fushimi Inari Taisha - 伏見稲荷大社

In that street we came across the old mean of transport – carriage and I wanted to take it but my friends said “we won’t have time to go to Inari-Taisha!” so I had to skip it this time.

That narrow street must be very important because there were lots of people everywhere, as well as lots of restaurants and shops to buy souvenirs. And it was whilst I was taking pictures that I finally started looking people using kimono like the couple below.

Kyoto day 3 (Part I) - Kinkaku-Ji - 金閣寺 (Golden Pavilion Temple), Kiyomizu-dera -清水寺

This was going to be my last day in Kyoto. I was not very excited about leaving one of the best cities in Japan, but I was very excited because 2 months before coming to Japan I met a friend through Facebook. We were about to meet each other in person (first time both of us were going to do something like that). 

The plan for the day was to visit the Kinkaku-Ji - 金閣寺 (Golden Pavilion Temple), the Kiyomizu-dera -清水寺 and finally the Fushimi Inari Taisha - 伏見稲荷大社 with over 10000 toriis. I know all these names might sound a bit unfamiliar but I'm sure you've seen many pictures of all these places.

Kyoto day 2 - Kyoto Imperial Palace 京都御所 (Kyoto Gosho)

Today's plan is to visit the Kyoto Imperial Palace so we had to wake up quite early to be there on the booked time for the guided tour. That's actually the only way to get in as you can't go in on your own. You need to book well in advance. My friend booked it a month before that day so I suppose that during summer season the time slots are very hard to get.

Kyoto Street Corner

Kyoto - 京都 Day 1: 八坂神社 Yasaka-jinja - 音羽山清水寺 - Otowa-san Kiyomizu-dera - Heian-jingu - 平安神宮

Yasaka Jinja - Main Gate

Up till now everything had been brilliant! Ōsaka proved to be a great city and now I was in another city Kyoto - also known for being the previous capital of Japan, when Tokyo used to be called Edo. Was Kyoto going to be better than Osaka?

Last day in Osaka and First day ( and dinner) in Kyoto

My last day in Ōsaka was also my first day in Kyoto and it was also going to be the first time I was meeting my dear friend after almost 10 years. She was very kind and helped me booking a room at a hotel very close to the Kyoto imperial palace.

I know- not the best picture - but I was in a rush

Who says trains in Japan are always punctual? Well I used to be one of those until that day when I took the train from Ōsaka to Kyoto - and yes, it was delayed. But nothing to be worried about the journey was quite pleasant and all I was doing was looking at the new things.