We traveled to Kyoto in April when the parental units were visiting. However, we didn't realize how large Kyoto was so we weren't able to see everything we wanted in one weekend. We decided to head back in September during a long weekend. We stayed at the ryokan where Lynne (Nicole's sister) stayed with her husband and their friend when they visited. They raved about the food and the hospitality of Kikokuso so we decided to stay there.We hopped on the shinkansen and a few hours later we arrived. We walked to our ryokan thinking we knew exactly where it was... We of course got lost; most of our trips in Japan include walking around in circles and staring vigilantly at maps. When we found the inn, we dropped off our bags, met our lovely hostess and were on our way to Fushimi-Inari. This is one of Kyoto's oldest shrines and one of its most revered. This shrine honors the goddess of agriculture and prosperity. The shrine is made up of thousands of orange torii (or gates) that lead the way up and around a mountain through woods. The shrine was so large and there were so many torii it was really a sight to see. The picture of us above was taken at Fushimi-Inari.
We walked around for a while but the mosquitoes were eating us alive!! So, we decided to head back to the inn (with a stop first at a pharmacy for some bug spray). Once at the inn we changed into our yukata and headed to the family bath. It was still very hot in Kyoto in September so it was nice to freshen up before our dinner. The bath was so hot!! We had to add lots of cold water before we were able to get in. After the bath we were so relaxed and sleepy but it was time for our dinner.
Dinners at ryokans are multi-course and are typically based on seasonal food items. Our meal was delicious and the presentation was beautiful. We also ate in the private dining room which looked onto a lovely pond filled with koi (carp). Aaaah. After dinner we went up to our room and went to sleep at about 8:30, yes!
The next morning we were up bright and early. Breakfast was again in the dining room and it was Japanese style which means rice, miso soup, grilled fish and pickled veggies (to name a few). It sounds a bit odd but we both love it. After breakfast we headed out for a day of sightseeing.
On the agenda: ryonji-ji, togetsu-kyo, tenryuji and the nearby bamboo forest and then to Nijo-jo (phew!).After breakfast, we hopped on the bus for about an hour to our first stop, which was the garden of ryonji-ji. The garden is a karesansui, or dry garden made up of 15 rocks in gravel. However, only 14 rocks can be viewed at one time. The Buddhist monks who created the garden arranged the rocks in this way intentionally.
After ryonji-ji, we headed to togetsu-kyo bridge and walked across. It was a beautiful day so we sat on the banks and took in the scene for a while. After the bridge, we walked over to the Bamboo forest. We have never seen so much bamboo in one place, it was really incredible. It was also nice a cool being under their canopy of leaves.
The next stop was the nearby tenryu-ji or temple of the heavenly dragon. We actually never made it inside the temple because the garden was so beautiful that we spent all of our time walking around and taking pictures. The garden dates back to the 14th century and is one of the most famous in Kyoto.
The last stop of the day was Nijo-jo. We had to rush to get there before it closed for the day. Nijo-jo (castle) was the home of the Tokugawa shogun and was built in 1603. The castle was very impressive and large but we did not have a lot of time so we ran around and tried to take it in before we were asked to leave.
It was a long day and we were ready to head back to the inn. Once we arrived, we again got into our yukata and headed into the family bath. After the bath, we headed to our room for our dinner. We had sukiyaki (japan
ese beef stew) and some cool beverages. It was the perfect end to a very long day. Here's a picture of us enjoying our stew.
The next day we had another delicious
Japanese-style breakfast. There is a famous garden across the street from the inn called Shosei-en. We decided to have a look before heading off to the train station.
The garden was beautiful and
it was the perfect way to end our trip to Kyoto.
We went back to the ryokan to say goodbye to our host and hostess. We even got a ride from the ryokan to Kyoto Station so our feet were happy. We had a memorable stay.
Arigatou Kyoto!
