Osaka, Kyoto & Nara Trip - Part 2

Our 2nd day was dedicated to Nara and Kyoto. Yes, we knew it would be a rush, but our accommodation in Osaka was already booked before we decided to visit Nara and Kyoto. It was a short trip, just 4 full days in total, so we'll most definitely come back again since we missed some places I wanted to visit.

Destination: Nara (Deer) Park
Left our cosy room and walked across the street to JR Nara Bus Station to wait for bus #2 at platform 2. Bus #2 with a fixed fare of 210yen per adult per trip is a loop line bus and it is easily identified since the bus is painted in striking yellow.

More info on Nara City Loop Bus. 

Alighted at Nara Park around 8.15am after a 15mins bus ride and it was the right decision to head out early as there's not many tourists around, yet.

The deers are really clever as they will rush towards you when they see you buying deer crackers, which cost 150yen a stack. But as seen on the warning sign, do be careful as some dears will bite or headbutt you for crackers. I personally got to savor the experience lol.

PS: Make sure you wear something that you don't mind getting dirty as you'll get deer saliva all over you.

We took a slow walk around the large park and decided to stop by the takoyaki stall. Oh boy, was it a bad decision. Not only was the sloppy balls of takoyaki more costly at 500yen for 8, it was also slightly cold and made from too much flour. It was kinda disappointing since this was our 1st takoyaki during the trip. 

At 9.45am, we took the loop bus #2 back to JR Nara Bus Station and headed for a proper breakfast at Matsunoya cuz their food replica made our mouths water. Famous for their fried pork cutlet, this shop is just around the corner of the same row as our hotel.

This set (minus the potato salad on top left) only costs 630yen!

We ordered another humongous piece of pork cutlet and the total was only 1410yen after tax.

After the heavy brunch, we walked back to our hotel and got ready to leave. We checked out 15mins later than the check out time of 11am but the staff was very understanding and didn't charge us for overstaying. Highly recommended to stay at Onyado Nono Nara Natural Hot Spring :) read the 1st post to find out why! 

And on we ventured to Kyoto with JR Nara line that costs us 710yen per pax. After 50 minutes, we were looking for lockers at Kyoto Station. It was a difficult task as L size lockers are fewer than S (cabin) size lockers by 3 quarters. And of course most tourists who visit Japan will only bring large suitcases for all the shopping, isn't it?  

There's a few shopping malls around and below Kyoto Station, such as Isetan Department Store, Porta Underground Shopping Mall and The Cube Shopping Mall. We finally found 2 L size lockers after searching every corner of Porta, and the rental was at 600yen each for a day, but do note that additional fees will be charged after midnight.

PS: Make sure you have 100yen change for the lockers or you will have to hunt for the change machine at B7 exit of Kyoto Station.

Went up into the open and headed straight for Kyoto City Bus & Subway Information Centre to get our Kyoto 1-Day Bus Pass at 500yen/adult & 250yen/child) This bus pass will bring you to almost every tourist hot spot in Kyoto, admittedly taking longer time to reach but way cheaper and more convenient as most places worth visiting in Kyoto is much nearer to bus stations than subways.

Pic credits:Kyoto City Bus & Subway Info Guide

As we were headed to Kinkakuji, the famous Zen Buddhist temple also known as Golden Pavilion, we queued for Bus 205 at B3 Terminal. After a 40mins ride, we alighted at Kinkakujimichi Bus Stop situated in front of a souvenir shop. Just follow the crowd and walk slightly uphill until you reach the ticket booth. The entrance fee to Kinkakuji is 400yen, and perhaps it's because of the drizzling rain, people were cutting queues.

Lo and behold, the Golden Pavilion where the 2 top floors are covered in pure gold leaf. It's forbidden to enter the building so visitors have to be content with admiring it from the outside.

Kyoto's most famed souvenir, Yatsuhashi, the black sesame one was delicious but still a tad too sweet

After tons of pics, a matcha ice cream covered with goldflakes and a skewer of matcha mochi in sweet sauce, we walked back down the path to the bus stop. To get back to Kyoto Bus Central, we crossed over to the bus stop on the opposite side and took Bus 205.

40mins later, we are queuing for Bus 南5 at C4 Terminal to Fushimi Inari Taisha, a Shinto Shrine with the ever famous red torii gates. The 20mins ride took us thru a slow sunset as the sun drops down over the horizon. By the time we reached our destination, it was like 7.30pm Singapore time although it was only 5.30pm in Kyoto.

The path to reach Fushimi Inari Shrine is lined with a variety of food stalls and a handful of game booths. Unfortunately, the sunset signals the end of work day so half of the stalls were already packing up.

Yes, I get hungry like every 2 hours in Japan cuz it's so cold, don't judge ok

Torched mochis

The famed torri gates

Bumped into a group of teenagers from China who were really friendly and we helped each other take pics. But the photos didn't turn up so well due to lighting problems, this is another reason to invest in a good camera, yes?

We didn't stayed long as it's already dark and we had to travel back to Osaka on the same night so we headed back to Kyoto Station with JR Inari which costs 140yen/ticket but only takes 5mins.

Had dinner at a family type restaurant in Porta Underground Mall before travelling to Osaka. The food was ok, nothing extraordinary but they do offer free appetizers like kimchi and bamboo shoots alongside iced ocha J

The prawn dish was kinda disappointing as it was very soggy and the coating flour used was too thick

Travelling to our AirBnb in Osaka from Kyoto Station takes about an hour and is priced at 790yen/pax.

1. Take JR Tokkaido-Sanyo line bound for Himeji, alight at Osaka Station

2. Walk 500m to Higashi-Umeda Station 

3. Take Tanimachi line bound for Yaominami, alight at Tanimachi 9-chome Station

Caught the sight of this beautiful lighted up tower while we were finding our way thru Kyoto Station

It was only a 10mins walk from the subway to the AirBnb we booked but it felt like forever, as it has been a long day and we were lugging a large suitcase each from Nara to Kyoto to Osaka on the same day. Well of course, it does not help that a helpful local person pointed us in the wrong direction. 

When we finally reached our destination, we were quite disappointed as the cleaning company has unmistakably done a bad job. There were long hairs on the pillows, on the sofa cushions, on the blankets and needless to say, the floor. There was even a gooey pile of reddish brown mess on the tissue box, which clearly disgusted us. Contacted the host, Ms Ayu and she was most apologetic, she offered to have the cleaning company come and clean again the next day but we would need to be around as our luggages are there, so we declined in the end. Who would wanna spend 3 hours cooped in the apartment while the cleaners dust and clean when we can enjoy the scrumptious food in the cooling weather of Japan? Ayu proceeded to refund us the cleaning fee, which was most fair of her. And we cleaned up the place ourselves lol. 

But I must say the space is quite big and sufficient for 2 people :) and I still love booking for accommodations thru the AirBnB app because it's way cheaper compared to hotels, you get the choice to cook if u want to, free laundry but do-it-yourself and last of all, it gives off the homely vibe. If you are interested, click my link here to join and get free credits (I earn a little credit too, not gonna lie)!

Finally the end of Day 2. Will try to come up with the next post soon before my trip to Tokyo in a month. Till then ❤