Kyoto (Part 1)

When people ask about my favorite honeymoon location/activity, Kyoto comes to mind pretty quickly. I loved the entire trip, and each city felt very unique, but there was just something about the views and the quiet of Kyoto. As the ancient capital, there's an abundance of history and tradition. The leaves were at their most brilliant reds and oranges while we visited. Best of all, we stayed on the grounds of a Buddhist temple, so our entire stay felt like a private retreat.

Perhaps not what one imagines for a honeymoon...but without a doubt some of the best sleep of our lives. (And the mats are totally movable, so.)

If anyone is planning a trip to Kyoto, we highly recommend looking into staying at Shunkoin. It's a bit off the beaten path, but still very close to public transportation, which made it an ideal home base to recharge each night before venturing out again. We also recommend eating at the Wonder Cafe - a tiny, trinket-filled space with desserts that are works of art.

 

One thing I learned about my husband in Kyoto is that the best way to get him to go to "church" is to travel to Japan. Over the course of 2.5 days, we visited ten shrines/temples (not counting the one we stayed at), plus a castle, a skyscraper, a park filled with monkeys, a junior league baseball practice, and a sake museum (which also had its own nearby shrine). We also ate extremely well in Kyoto. From ice cream to giant bowls of noodles to delicate pastries to tacos to sushi, we were never hungry.

Fushimi Inari Taisha is a must for Kyoto travel, and seeing it at night was super cool.

We didn't make it all the way to the top of the walking path because the sounds of wild boars convinced us to head back down a bit early, but we got to see a LOT of the gazillion or so torii.

Leaving a bit early meant we had time to go to Kyoto Tower to get our requisite view of the city at night from the observation deck. Though Kyoto felt "small," it's still a city of 1.5 million people, and seeing it from above helped to put it in perspective.

Our first morning in Kyoto (a Saturday) we headed out along with all the other tourists AND locals - we kept forgetting it was the weekend and that people would be out and about, not honeymooning, just spending time with their families. We visited Tenryu-ji first and walked along the nearby bamboo-lined path. Then we continued walking...and walking...and walking. Seriously, the changing leaves were SO gorgeous, we kept finding little paths to explore and see more. 

Most all temples have a "no shoes" policy. We also had to take them off at Shunkoin before heading up to our room. Once or twice we saw a restaurant with piles of shoes at the door.

Basically, anywhere there is a tatami mat = no shoes. It's amazing how much of a difference this small act makes as far as respect/reverence goes.

I've mentioned this in previous Japan recaps, but the feeling of being alone with your person while also surrounded by people is amazing. We were in our own world, but still very much connected to the real world.

After our roundabout walking, crossing a bridge in an orderly line, and climbing up a mountain, we found Monkey Park. We were instructed to keep our distance, hold on to our belongings, and avoid making eye contact with the monkeys. We were simultaneously awed and grossed out.

To feed them, humans had to go inside a "cage" (a building with open-but-fenced windows) while the monkeys climbed all around. 

Several bridge queues and tourist-packed buses and trains later, we were at temple 2 of the day (and hike 4 or 5). Ryoan-ji is known for its rock garden, and the fact that the rocks haven't been moved, like, ever. The surrounding scenery is gorgeous as well. I had major plant envy!

Green tea & vanilla soft serve on our way to temple #3!

Kinkaku-ji, or the Golden Pavilion, is literally covered in gold leaf. It's stunning to see.

For dinner on our first full day in Kyoto, Jesus and I experienced conveyor belt sushi for the very first time. This is something we definitely could do in Chicago, but I'm so glad we didn't let that stop us from trying it out in Japan- the many tries and fails of grabbing mini plates, ordering from a touch screen at our table, and trying to figure out what was tea and what was definitely not tea were some of the best memories of that weekend.

We ended our first full day with (you guessed it) MORE walking...because the other think I learned about my husband in Kyoto is he will follow his GPS down any and all dark alleys, even when his wife has already memorized the easiest path home. We eventually got back to Shunkoin safe and sound and in agreement that I would be the navigator the next day.