Already time to check out from the hotel, huh. So little time in Kyoto, regrettably. Thankfully, hotel staff allowed us to keep our suitcases for a few hours while we visited one more thing before setting off.
We had a breakfast at a cafe near our hotel. Everything was near. Our hotel was in the centre. I had proper matcha latte for the first time - it was yummy.
Literally all of our in-city transport was done with buses in Kyoto, which is quite a contrast when you compare it to trains in Tokyo. Buses suck. I hate being crammed into tiny space like this.
I saw a couple of photos of Rurikoin temple on Twitter, so we’ve decided to go there instead of extremely beaten path of Arashima Bamboo forest. Not to mention we got up too late, so by the time we’d get there it’d already be packed with people. I was a bit worried though, since I saw that Rurikoin also gets lines on some of the Google reviews.
Our bus got more and more packed as we got closer, and then almost everyone got off on the same stop as us, making me even more worried it’d be packed…
Surprisingly, when we got there, there was almost nobody around. I actually almost missed the entrance, thinking it’d be further down the road. The price to enter was quite steep - highest out of all places I’ve been at so far - 2000 yen.
Just as you go past the gate, it’s incredibly beautiful and verdant. I’ve never been to such an emerald green place before. The lighting was also incredible. I felt that if it was earlier in the morning, it would be possible to see sun rays in the air, and it’d be the most beautiful sight of my life.
We entered the temple. You have to take your shoes off before entering. We went up to the second floor and saw the iconic photography spot. When I saw the photos on Twitter, I always thought that this temple had some water structures, and the reflection was from the water, but it was actually an incredibly polished table.
Yeah, it was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to in my life. I took quite a lot of photos. I think the only bad thing about this place was that it was focused on people taking photos of it. They occasionally told us to move and clear up the way… I can’t really blame them, and I couldn’t stop thinking how amazing it would be to spend a week in this place being alone. Just looking at the nature…
I got my earphones and listened to Yume 2kki spring soundtracks and relaxed. People kept coming and going, but the place never felt packed. At some points there was almost nobody, so I was able to take some really nice photos.
This is the place where I finally tried the real, traditional matcha. I think it was the best place that I could have possibly been at to try it. People always said that matcha tastes like grass, but as professional grass hater I can tell that it’s nothing like it. It’s hard to describe the taste of proper matcha though, as it’s not very strong.
We also got a sweet that went with the matcha, and to be honest I wasn’t really sure what it was composed of. A common occurance with Japanese food. It was nice though.
We went on the bus, and then another bus… All full, and this time it was with luggage, camera, and my backpack. It was pain. The Kyoto station is an incredible structure that I haven’t paid enough attention to. This time we didn’t have any train reservations, we just went into the station and followed the «to Osaka» signs until we ended up on the train.
It was an incredibly beautiful train ride. The sun was starting to set, so everything was coverred in golden light. I listened to CLANNAD OST, and this is the first time I sort of felt like I’m in an anime… I kept getting goosebumps all the time. A few train transfers later, we ended up being in completely empty carriage, and I listened to Yume 2kki Wooded Lakeside OST, which I later noticed looked exactly like the train we were in.
We finally arrived in our final destination, our last hotel for this trip. It was a cheap ryokan. Probably the worst hotel we’ve been at so far, but it’s okay. It has pretty much everything one needs. Tomorrow will be the long-awaited rest day.
