When we arrived at the bus terminal, hubby
registered ourselves and we were very impressed by their services. They gave us
all the information on our day tour and coach seats were assigned too. Thumps up!
It was about an hour journey from Osaka City to
Kyoto. Upon arrival at Saga Torokko Station, the cold wind was not really friendly
but the kids enjoying the ‘smoke’ coming out of their mouth when they talked. This
was the same experience when we were at Mount Fuji last year. We waited about
less than 5 minutes for the Scenic Train to arrive and got on board.
The Sagano Romantic train travels a leisurely 25-minutes
route from Sagao Torokko Station to Kameoka Torokko Station, following the scenic
beauty of the Hozukyo Ravie on its route. The view was so beautiful that many
couldn’t just sit and watch but hurried to snap some beautiful pictures for the
album.
After a fantastic and joyful ride, we arrived
at Arashimaya Station. As we walked through the tall and beautiful green bamboo
grove, I felt free, fairytale sensation and very nature walk. These bamboo groves
grow further apart from each other, allowing it to become thick and beautiful. The
beautiful sight of sunlight shining through the bamboo grove, casting soft
shadows on the path. Especially when the wind blows through, you can see moving
images exuding a tranquil feel. That is the true charm of these forests of the
east. It was indeed a wonderful morning walk through a beautiful and
tranquil forest!
We were led to the restaurant for our early
lunch and I did some quick shopping after the lunch. The souvenirs shops just
at the 1st level of the restaurant was alluring. They housed loads
of different types of souvenirs from Kyoto and many other sweets, cookies and
biscuits which I can’t bear NOT to buy!
Our next stop was to Kiyomizudera
(清水寺,
literally "Pure Water Temple") is one of the most celebrated temples of
Japan. Kiyomizudera is best known for its wooden stage that juts out from its main hall, 13 meters above
the hillside below. The main hall, which together with the stage was
built without the use of nails, houses the temple's primary object of worship,
a small statue of the eleven faced, thousand armed Kannon.
The
Otowa Waterfall
is located at the base of Kiyomizudera's main hall. Its waters are divided into
three separate streams, and visitors use cups attached to long poles to drink
from them. Each stream's water is said to have a different benefit, namely to
cause longevity, success at school and a fortunate love life. However, drinking
from all three streams is considered greedy. Hahahahahaah
Our final stop for the day was at Fushimi
Inari Taisha. Fushimi Inari Shrine (伏見稲荷大社, Fushimi Inari Taisha) is an
important Shinto Shrine in southern Kyoto. It is famous for its
thousands of vermilion torii gates, which straddle a network of trails
behind its main buildings. The trails lead into the wooded forest of the sacred
Mount Inari, which stands at 233 meters and belongs to the shrine grounds.
It was a fantastic tour to Kyoto today and upon
arrived at Namba, we headed for our dinner at Takashimaya. Found this little
restaurant Fukutaro that served Okonomiyaki. There was a queue when we arrived
but waited for about 15 minutes to be seated.
We love this restaurant as it is really cool
and very JAPANESE! They only have counter seats and snapped in the center was
the chef cooking area. At any seats you are at, you are able to catch a glimpse
of how your food is cooked. Very interesting!
Our food was served on the teppanyaki style
serving hot plate table and it was really a fantastic idea to keep your food
hot. We even got to stir fried our Yakisoba when it was served… hahahahaha… love
the food and the restaurant. Thumps Up! We will definitely return for more…😊
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