After breakfast, we headed for Kyoto by Shinkansen Tokaido. The 2.5 hours 513 kms train ride from Tokyo felt short using the bullet train. Half way through, we got to see a glimpse of Mount Fuji through the right hand side window of the train before it was obscured by clouds.
On arrival at Kyoto Station, we had lunch at a small place near the station grand entrance. The hotel for the night is just a short 5-min walk away. The rooms are tiny, bathrooms are small, but clean and practical. It has a 24-hr convenient store on the ground floor, Japanese style public bath on the 9th floor, and free ramen for supper for staying guests.
After checking in, we made our way to Arashiyama by JR. We planned to visit Tenryuji Temple and Sagano bamboo grove. But we sidetracked from JR Saga-arashiyama station to Togetsukyo bridge instead, passing many stores selling omiyage, fresh fruits, soybean drink, and small eats. We had big, sweet fuji apples, juicy strawberries, tofu korokke, choco-banana crepes, and grilled fish roll.
By then, the temple has closed, and it was already too dark for us to enjoy the bamboo forest. So we headed back to Kyoto for dinner.
The famous bamboo forest taken in the dark with my DSLR set to the brightest setting.
By the time we reached hotel, it was already 9pm, and we could see a lot of guests were enjoying the free ramen served by the hotel in the restaurant. We decided to take a break in our rooms before heading to the restaurant for supper. For a free ramen, the taste is exceptional. Even the ground pepper smelled so good.
That’s it for the day. Tomorrow: Kinosaki Onsen. Plenty of nude bathing in public.