Staying in Kyoto | Japan-Guides Home

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Kyoto, also known as Heian-kyo, was modeled after Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, and several of its monuments were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1994. Kyoto is a representative tourist and cultural city of Japan.

When I was doing my Kyoto itinerary, I had a thought: I wanted to spend a few nights in a Japanese bed and breakfast. It's one of those really old houses, in an alleyway that's not too wide, with tatami mats and narrow wooden stairs, and preferably with a small courtyard just beyond the gable-end cloisters, Kutting Shansui style, so that you can sit inside and look at the view.

Kyoto is one of the cities in Japan that has preserved more monuments and old buildings, and as you exit the station, you see many old buildings with low doors and half-height curtains that hang quietly on windless days. Looking through the mouth of a narrow alleyway, there is a large residential area with only enough space for one car.

Many Japanese cars are small, two-door cars, parked neatly by the door of a house. Many people also ride bicycles, which are neatly parked in the designated spots wherever they are.

Although those alleys are narrow, there is a wealth of content hidden in them: cafes, record stores, snack stores, dessert stores ...... Our B&B outside is a coffee shop. I heard from the manager that this cafe is quite famous and many people come here to visit it.

The next morning when I went out, I really saw a few girls taking pictures at the door, waiting for the coffee shop to open. Unfortunately, we didn't have a chance to have a cup as we left early and came back late.

However, staying in a B&B and having everything in there, there is no problem at all to live for two days, making coffee, cooking and eating just like at home.

There is a supermarket near the B&B. In Japan, you can find supermarkets such as “711” and “Family” everywhere, so it is convenient to buy daily necessities.

You can see each other in each room. When you are cooking, you can tell the person playing cards in the living room which card is better; when you are waiting for someone to play cards, you can jump to the kitchen in one step, put a little food into your mouth with your hand, and then jump back to take the next round, just in time; when you are sitting in the dining room, you can see the small tree in the small garden across the living room. So that's what it feels like.

These capable people had made a tantalizing meal with fried rice, eggs, bacon, oil, salt, tomatoes, beef rolls, etc. that they had bought, along with dipped chili peppers that they had brought from home, with a full taste of home, and just looking at it was satisfying.

I don't know if it's because we've been eating cold breakfasts and meals with little heat for a few days, so our stomachs are missing the taste of home terribly. Every dish looked good and tasted good. We raised our glasses to celebrate this rare gathering and each dish was devoured. The rest of the dipped peppers could not be dumped and were ready to be made into noodle whistles the next morning.

🤗 Kyoto National Museum

When you stay in Kyoto, of course, you have to go for a tour. The first stop was the Kyoto National Museum.

From where we live, it is most convenient to take a bus to Kyoto National Museum. However, the bus stop was so small and simple, with a small signboard standing on the side of the road, that we were confused whether we should take the bus here or not.

Luckily, we met a kind lady waiting for the bus who helped us. It took us a while of our not-so-fluent English, her not-so-standard English, and hand gestures before we realized we were waiting in the wrong direction.

The bus rattled around for what felt like an eternity before we finally arrived at the Kyoto Museum.

Just looking at the exterior of the museum is aesthetically pleasing. This French Renaissance style building, built during the Meiji period in Japan, has red bricks and white columns, and is set against a clear blue sky.

Rodin's robust man sits silently under the clear sky, thinking about something. Standing in front of the entrance, you have a good view and can see Kyoto Tower in the distance.

Inside the museum, you are not allowed to take photos, so you can only look at the collection with your eyes hungrily. The collection includes a large number of Buddhist paintings, bronzes, and porcelains from China.

🤗 Kiyomizu Temple

After exiting the Kyoto National Museum and eating rotary sushi, we had time to head back to our B&B to rest for a while before heading out for a stroll to escape the hottest part of the afternoon.

Kiyomizu-dera is the oldest temple in Kyoto, and along with Kinkakuji and Nijo Castle, it is known as one of Kyoto's three most famous sights. There are a lot of tourists from all over the world, crowding the long slope leading up to the temple. When we finally got there, we looked up and realized that the sunlight was shining on the orange-red temple, and with the clear blue sky as a backdrop, the temple looked especially beautiful. From directly below, the western gate looks like a composite structure along with the triple tower that stands behind it.

As you walk along with the crowd, you will see the words “Hondo National Treasure”, which is a suspended Shimizu stage. If you come in March, you can enjoy cherry blossoms, and if you come in October, you can enjoy maples.

I thought about the book that said that the structure of the temple is so exquisite that there is not a single nail, so I looked at it again.

Further on, there is the “Hanyin Waterfall”, which is called the No.1 spring in Japan. Many people are lined up waiting for the water to be scooped up at the water tank. It is said that the three streams of water here represent “wisdom, love, and longevity,” but if the person who prays for blessings takes all three, greed will bring disaster.

We only watched from afar. When we walked under the dense green maple trees, we stopped and listened to them whispering in the wind.

🤗 Ninen-zaka, Sannen-zaka

When you come out of Kiyomizu Temple, you again walk down a long slope and turn onto a road that leads to Ninen-zaka and Ninen-zaka. Ninen-zaka is said to have gotten its name from the Meiji period, when it took two full years to build here. On the other hand, Ninen-zaka was given the name of three years because of its steeper slope.

As the sun was already setting in the west, the dense wooden buildings on both sides of the steep slope of Ninen-zaka blocked part of the sunlight, and when I looked down, I could see that the sunlight poured onto the roofs of the houses at the lower part of the slope. High and low, but the style is neat and clean.

When I walked down the steep slope and looked back, I could see a few rays of sunlight shining on the higher buildings, which made the layers of light and darkness clearer and even more beautiful.

Walking along the stone road of Sakado, there are small stores with special features on both sides. The houses here are all built in the Tang Dynasty style. One can't help but think about how magnificent and elegant the world of the Tang Dynasty was.

🤗 Gion

On the way to Gion, the sun was almost setting behind the mountains. Burying my head in my hands, I just wanted to eat a quick meal because I was a little hungry. As we looked up and prepared to cross the street, all of a sudden, we all exclaimed in unison, “It's so beautiful!” “Like a scene from an anime.” “This color palette is so pretty.”

I can't say what's different, it's just an ordinary street with outdated houses, cars coming and going on the road, and the sky taking on a pinkish hue.

We all stood on the side of the road for a while, looking at it, then snapping pictures. But what you see and remember with your eyes is much more expansive and impressive than what you photograph.

We are looking forward to Gion even more.

When we watched Yuwa Yae's new drama “Maikabuki's House of Cooks”, we thought that Gion is the best place to feel the Japanese flavor. Besides, I was really hungry at this time. However, there were too many customers, so I had to wait at the entrance for another seat to open up.

While waiting, I walked around. This is the famous Hanami-koji, a narrow alley lined with old buildings. Couples in kimono walk slowly down the alley, then lift the curtains and go to the houses.

Some of the alleys are labeled “Private Residence, No Entry, No Photography” at the entrance, so when you look down the alley, you can guess that there is a clubhouse inside that requires a reservation. Probably the only way to really see the true face of a Geisha is to walk down one of the narrow alleys that are so full of flavor.

The wait was really worth it.

Sitting in the tiny store, the aroma was already in our nostrils. The color, freshness and texture of the food served were all in line with our expectations.

We thought that the small bowls and plates of food would not be enough to fill our stomachs. However, the thin and tender beef was picked up, placed on the iron plate and slowly sizzled, turned over, smelled and then slowly put into the mouth to chew out its freshness. This process is the appreciation and love of food together into the stomach, feel into the mouth, not just a piece of beef.

Perhaps, our intestines don't need much food in the first place, and this satisfaction plus the food itself is enough to fill them up. On weekdays, it's the heart that craves more.

🤗 Kinkakuji Temple

When I was a child, I liked to watch the cartoon “Ichigo”, in which there was a general who often gave Ichigo problems, and it is said that the prototype was Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the shogun who owned the Kinkaku-ji Temple.

The Golden Pavilion of Kinkakuji Temple incorporates three architectural styles: Bedchamber style, Samurai style, and Zen style. The roof is made of bark tiles, which creates a strange balance with the rich use of gold leaf. It is not overly ornate, but rather implies a hint of simplicity.

The Kinkakuji we see today is not actually the same building as it was then. It is said that in 1950, a mad monk had burned down the original building. It was only in 1955 that a replica of the original building was built.

It was quite a sunny day when we were there, and the pavilion shone brightly in the sunlight.

🤗 Nijojo Castle

Nijo Castle was the Shogun's regiment in Kyoto. Outside the castle, there is a tall stone wall and a wide moat. At first sight, it makes you realize that the inside of the castle should be another world, and it is not approachable.

Because we didn't understand how to use the tickets, we almost missed the most important spots.

The Honmaru Gotei and Ninomaru Gotei are the main buildings of Nijo Castle. There are paintings of famous artists such as tigers and eagles on the walls and partition doors of the halls, which make an extraordinary atmosphere. When I watched the movie “Shogun”, many of the scenes of the temple's deliberations overlapped with what I saw when I walked through it.

Although visitors are not allowed to enter the hall during the tour, the movie and the play give you a clearer picture of how the visible and invisible swords and shadows are played out in the large hall.

Ninomaru Garden is the most famous place for cherry blossom viewing with Yaezakura, the king of cherry blossoms. However, we were there in the summer, so we didn't get to see them.

🤗 Fushimi Inari Shrine

The Torii is an invisible door that marks the place where the divine and human realms meet. Wood, stone, and metal are all used to build torii, and they come in various sizes, most of which are painted red. Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine mainly serves the god Inari, and there are various stone statues of foxes in the shrine, which are said to be the messengers of the god Inari, guarding the area.

It is a rare sight to see hundreds or thousands of torii lined up and stretching up the mountain. The “Senbon Torii” of Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine is the most representative landscape in Kyoto. When we went there, it was already late in the afternoon, and the sunlight shone through the gaps in the trees and hit the dark red and vermilion torii, which made people really have the illusion that they might be able to go to another realm if they walked along it.

The boys were not afraid to get tired and walked along the birdhouse to the top of the mountain. When they came down, they told us, “There's nothing at the top of the mountain, just three rocks.” As we sat on the front lawn of the shrine, where the wind was blowing, we did see the haze weaving its way far behind the mountain, and a vermillion-colored torii stood out against this backdrop.

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A small stay in Kyoto, just four days and three nights.

The food, the views, the beauty of the house ...... gave us a different feel for the city where one can slow down and walk quietly than elsewhere.