Busy week yay nay

This week will be hella crazy.

So many events to cover. No joke at all.

Trying to juggle between studies, giving tuition and my media stuff.

Wish me luck.

Summer Trip 2015 - Kyoto and Osaka

Finally took some time to blog on my super backdated Summer trip. I tried to include all the things that happened during the trip but of course, that's just impossible. For now, I'm only done with Kyoto and Osaka. I'll blog on Korea soon.

I'm missing Japan more than ever, honestly.

Kyoto
If you read posts about Japan, they say for you to really experience the Japanese culture, you have to make a stop at Kyoto. All I can say is that, they were saying the truth.

The Japanese are known to be friendly and hygienic. I felt it the moment I touched down in Japan. The air was clear, the people would never fail to make eye contact with me and when I put on a smile, they smiled back at me. If I smiled at someone in Singapore, they would be staring back at me or worse, some even would roll their eyes at me.

You guys probably know by now where I stayed when I was in Kyoto.

The place we stayed in is really the perfect place to stay! I really felt like I lived in Japan, though it was only for 4 days in Kyoto. Really small, no doubt. But that's the whole point. Japanese homes are known to be small.

What about the house that I really love?
The area. There's like a mini supermarket nearby. Though the uncle who was selling at the mart there couldn't understand Japanese, he tried really hard to help us choose the best fruits (body language, my friend!) and trust me the fruits really tasted goooooood. I'm someone who is fussy about my vegetables and fruits.

Many wonder how long did I stay in Kyoto. It ain't that long. But I really had a great time to the point where I felt I treasured my time in Kyoto the most.

Kyoto itself has so many places to visit. I listed so many places I wanted to go and well, I visited some and I had to forgo some since we were running out of time.

Where did I go to when I was in Kyoto?
Nishiki Market - Shopping paradise similar to Bugis Street.
Arashiyama - A really famous bamboo forest
Kiyomizudera - A temple at the top of the hill so you can see the whole of Kyoto (I guess!) from there
Fushimi Inari - Shrines where you can take really nice photos (HAHA)
These are the more popular tourist attractions. So when you go to these places, you'll end up passing by other tourist attraction places too. 

Nishiki Market

Luckily for me, this place was really near to my guesthouse. A good 15 minutes walk (my grandmother's speed!) and you'll be able to shop your Japanese Yen away~

How's the prices like? 
Well all I can say is that, the price ranges from really cheap to totally not worth it prices. I bought my kimono and my sunglasses (which I later lost it at the Kansai Airport! T_T) at this place. If I had known that I wouldn't spend so much in Osaka, I would have spend more money here because the Japanese fashion is just really on point. Especially for someone who is not so adventurous like me.

What do they sell at Nishiki Market? 
Everything. Like literally, everything. I bought my laundry detergent and washing powder here. Not forgetting the sunglasses and my kimono set with the cloaks. The shops there were also selling really nice straw hats, tops, bottoms, cool backpacks, knives (in all sizes!) and many more. Too many for me to list out!

You'll be able to walk pass Takashimaya and many more shops along your way here.

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

Living in Singapore means that I spend most of my time being close with buildings. So when I started researching on where I should visit in Kyoto, I had doubts of making my way to Arashiyama. I even thought to myself, "Oh, what is there to really see in Arashiyama other than bamboos?" and because Daya and my grandmother are the kind of people who love nature... I just go with it.

I mean seriously, not like they have cute furballs of pandas there. Pandas eat bamboos so why aren't they there?

How to get there?
Subway! A good 30 minutes walk (my grandmother's pace!) from the JR Saga Torokko station.

The weather was great. Not hot. Not cold. No complains at all despite the walk.

Looking really short here sigh is there a way to make me grow taller at this age?

We walked all the way to the end and even stumbled upon an LV cafe.

Didn't go in though, because it's kinda pricey.

Met this cat while we were walking down. It weighs 8 kg. A really huge cat, I must say!

For those who plan to go to Tenryu-ji Temple, you can plan your day properly now.

It's all in the same place.

A really cute boy I played with in front of the temple.

I can't even stress enough how much I want my kids to be Japanese coz they're so freaking cute!

Is it worth the time to go to this place?

Definitely! Especially if you're crazy about taking photos like me. HAHA instagram all day err day

What to prepare before going to Arashiyama?

A good camera. I'm thankful that Daya brought her semi-pro camera to help me take lovely photos of the place.

Water bottle. It's gonna be a long walk and save some money by bringing your own water bottle. Don't have to splurge on drinking water!

Comfortable shoes. Daya had blisters along the way. Luckily I had plasters with me. It's like walking up a hill. And no, even Mount Faber couldn't beat this hill. 

Oh this is a must to share! They sell really super good ice cream at the the foot of the whole area! Best ice cream I have ever tasted! I even tried to buy ice creams again and again after I tasted that ice cream but no, nothing can beat the taste!

Kiyomizudera

A Buddhist temple. Up on a hill.

This is the entrance of the temple.

How to get there?

I got there by bus from Kyoto Station! There are a few buses that go to the temple.

In Singapore, you pay when you board. But in Japan, you pay when you alight so I had a funny encounter when I was on the bus.

So I tried asking someone on the bus for help. He was with a friend. Sadly, both of them turned out to be from Hong Kong and they were also trying to figure out how much did the bus ride cost. They were actually trying to follow us. Monkey see, monkey do. Thankfully, we figured it all out after observing the locals there for quite some time. 

Oh and in Japan, you board the bus from the back and alight from the front which is totally the opposite in Singapore. That got us really confused.

This is how Kiyomizudera looks like.

One word. Breathtaking.

This grandfather right here is way older than my grandmother but his painting skills are on point 💯

Worth going? 

Yes, yes, yes!

Expensive entrance fee?

Not at all. About SGD$4 if I was not wrong.

Fushimi Inari

How to get there?

Subway! Just 5 mins away from the station.

What is there to see at Fushimi Inari?

Honestly, nothing. BUT! A nice place to snap some vain photos hahaha

I'm sure the photos speak enough, right?

Osaka

I didn't spend much time in Osaka. Honestly, I can say about a day only in Osaka. Kinda regret, but it's okayyyyy because I will definitely go back to Osaka.

I took the JR Haruka from Kyoto to Osaka. Best decision ever!

It took us less than 90 minutes from Kyoto to Osaka which is a distance from Yewtee to Ayer Hitam.

I wanted to visit the Osaka Castle when I was there but we were a few minutes late from the closing time so... we ended up going to Shinsaibashi for dinner at Ali's Kitchen.

Took some photos near the castle since we couldn't get into the castle.

It's okay I will definitely be back.

Ever since I tasted the ice cream at Arashiyama, I couldn't stop buying ice creams in Japan.

Saw this boy in the subway and he couldn't stop looking at us from the corners of his eyes.

So we asked him for a photo and he didn't answer.

But I just told Daya to pose and well... he posed for the photo HAHA

At Ali's Kitchen with a Malaysian family and a Japanese couple.

We made friends with a Malaysian family and a Japanese couple. The Malaysian family were really happy to see us and started conversing with us in Malay. Honestly, it felt good whenever we walk pass any Muslims and if they can converse in our mother tongue language, it felt like we met our neighbours.

Anyway thanks to Ali, we went to this camera shop nearby and my grandmother bought a camera at a really really cheap price. I should have bought one for myself but I was not prepared to spend money on cameras. Kinda regret now.

This was a candid shot taken by this Japanese grandfather who works at the camera shop.

Right after buying the camera, we went to walk around the streets there. Since we had some yen left, I suggested to Daya to do something the locals usually do. And we settled with making our own spectacles. 

Everywhere in Japan seems to have spectacle shops that can make your spectacles ready within 20 minutes. At first, I didn't believe it at all. But damn, they did an eye check on me and it really was about 20 minutes. We took quite some time to choose our frames tho. So many colours and designs to choose from!

How do you like my spectacles?

I'm still wearing this pair of spectacles now.

Many things happened in Japan and honestly I wanna go back to Japan again. Everything was perfect when I was in Japan. The weather, the people... I had a really good time there!

Bidets.

I miss them.

There should be more bidets in Singapore.

And toilets in Japan are so freaking clean. 

Japan's hygiene, you win hands down!

Friendly people.

Whoever said that Japanese are not open towards foreigners, maybe you just suck.

When I was in Japan, the locals there came up to me and talked to me.

They even complimented me.

They came up to me to say I was beautiful which have yet to happen when I'm in Singapore.

This Japanese grandfather left a really great memory to me. He couldn't speak English but he really wanted to converse with us. He asked where we were from and I answered Singapore. He then started using his body language, trying to tell us that he went to Singapore before and he swam at the Infinity pool before. How cute!

I also miss that shades I hanged on my top. Lost it at Kansai International Airport sigh...

Japan, you were just perfect.  I would definitely be back.