Back To Kyoto

We can’t get enough of the beautiful Kyoto and here we again today. This morning we are taken back to Kyoto and our first stop is the Arashimaya (Bamboo Grove) which we have been couple of days back. We did not follow the tour to the Bamboo Grove but went on shopping instead on our own.

It was a beautiful Tuesday with weather about 8 degrees with sun. We strolled through the streets and found many interesting shops which we missed on our previous visit. This time, we had all the time to visit shops we missed. 

We passed by the Miffy Shop and man… it was too cute to resist. I walked into the confectionery and bought this cute little miffy buns. There were other super cute pastries but we were not there for hi-tea…hahahaahahah…. Bought a couple of stuff from the shop too and even the personalized chopsticks for the kiddos. Thumps Up!

As lunch was provided with the 1-day tour, we went to have our lunch before continuing to explore other parts of Kyoto. This luncheon place was the same place as the previous one but different restaurant serving different type of food. We were having the chicken pot today but I thought it wasn’t as nice as the buffet lunch we had. The kiddos did not like the food but we managed to get them to finish the rice with the soup at least… sighz….

We continued the journey to explore Kyoto after lunch and we arrived at Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion). This is a Zen Temple in northern Kyoto whose top two floors are completely covered in gold leaf. Kinkakuji is an impressive structure built overlooking a large pond, and is the only building left of Yoshimitsu's former retirement complex. It has burned down numerous times throughout its history including twice during the Onin War, a civil war that destroyed much of Kyoto; and once again more recently in 1950 when it was set on fire by a fanatic monk. The present structure was rebuilt in 1955.

We continued our tour to Todaiji which is one of Japan's most famous and historically significant temples and a landmark of Nara. Todaiji's main hall, the Daibutsuden (Big Buddha Hall) is the world's largest wooden building, despite the fact that the present reconstruction of 1692 is only two thirds of the original temple hall's size. 

We also encountered many deer from the adjacent Nara Park, begging for shika senbei, special crackers for deer that are sold for around 150 yen. They were some very polite deer, they bowed each time you are near them and they will move forward to smell if you have food for them. We bought 2 packets of crackers for the kiddos to feed the deer and some of them were really violent… they came rushing through and snatched the crackers from Lady Faith. Another one actually gently attacked Little Pumpkin on the forehead for she was around their height… hahahaahah

The kids had so much fun feeding the deer but afraid at the same time as they kept coming to you even you have no crackers left. We heard from the tour guide that they also eat papers… Yes… PAPERS!! The tour guide told us that there was a couple who was at the shop buying some stuff and they had their money in their hand but the next moment, their money was taken by the deer nearby and started chewing on it… hahaahahahah  

After a fun day outdoor at Kyoto, we returned to Osaka for our dinner. The kiddos were too tired to join us for dinner outside so they decided to stay in the hotel room while the two of us had a chop chop dinner just opposite.

We stumbled upon this ramen shop opposite our hotel and decided to give it a short. When we entered the shop, we were their 1^st customers for the evening. We browsed through their menu and did not take us long to decide what to order. The ramen was really good… I had the miso base and it was super tasty. It was a fantastic place for a quick and cheap meal. Thumps Up!