Day 9 – Kyoto Family Sightseeing: A Lot of People, Part 1
It’s a 20-minute journey to the Kinkaku-ji AKA the Golden Pavilion from the bus stop closest to the hotel, a simple journey with a surprisingly quiet ride, too. Turns out a lot of people had taken a coach to this cover-photo destination.
Once tickets were bought, we followed behind groups of people, hoping it wouldn’t be too hard to actually see the pavilion. But past the ticket office and around the first corner, there it was, in all its glory. While it was busy and everyone was taking family/group/selfie photos, it didn’t distract from the moment. In the morning sun, it really is quite the sight.
After taking the obligatory family photo, you walk around a path that loops the grounds. It’s a one-way route and you shuffle more than you walk. It’s slow going with so many people, but again—it doesn’t spoil the experience. After enjoying the gardens and checking out the gift shops, I had a shortcut in mind to our next must-see stop.
Dad Hack: Skip the Long Route
It’s a 50+ minute journey by public transport from the Golden Pavilion to the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. You could even walk there in 90 minutes, but taking a taxi takes only 16 minutes. In Dad parlance, we call that a no-brainer.
The taxi dropped us off right by the Torokko Arashiyama Station. One of the entrances to the Bamboo Forest is a pedestrian path just beside it. As one of the main tourist sites, of course it was busy but no so much to unpleasant or spoilt the visit.
We had started at the top of the hill and walked down through the forest, which leads straight into the next site—Tenryu-ji Temple AKA the Dragon Temple. The tourist sites were flowing thick and fast, and we were walking into yet another picture-perfect moment—and it wasn’t even lunchtime yet. Tenryu-ji is beautiful, and I’m surprised more people don’t mention how it’s right next door to the Bamboo Forest. Two for the price of one, because you don’t have to pay to see or walk through the forest!
Pizza Break in the Middle of the Madness
It was time for lunch and outside the Dragon Temple (Tenryu-ji), there were a lot of people, rickshaws, and cars. It was busy, and with no lunch destination in mind, we needed to get lucky. We headed toward a bus stop to take us back to our hotel. Worst-case scenario: we'd go hungry till we got to 7-11 again.
Lady Luck was kind, however, and we came across Pizzeria LUGARA—a small pizza restaurant and as we needed four seats, we had to wait a little. We sat in the shade and watched the world go by—trains, taxis, and rickshaws heading up and down the hill. When a counter section of the restaurant was offered to us (instead of a table), we had no problem accepting. We didn’t even have to squeeze in, and had enough room to tuck into two stone-baked pizzas and icy drinks.
DAD HINT – If you’re planning to eat around the Bamboo Forest or Dragon Temple, probably best to book—or at least know where you’re going ahead of time.
Afternoon Chill and a Souvenir Mission
Once fed, we took the 45-minute bus ride back to the hotel. It had been a busy morning, so we took a well-earned break before heading out again.
We still had plenty of time left on our holiday, but our minds (well, not mine) were already thinking about souvenirs—for ourselves and for loved ones. So, I formed a route that would mean we could see another site and squeeze in some shopping.
We walked at a relaxed pace, exploring streets we hadn’t seen before until we reached Pontocho Alley.
From the park, it was a short walk to get our souvenir hunt started at the infamous Don Quijote. These stores are a lot of fun but tend to be quite cramped. The amount of product categories a store can cover is something else. With Bella and my wife keen to get souvenirs we split up so James and I could potter around the store with no agenda. I checked out the assortment of watches while James found all the sweets:
Having covered a lot of ground, we elected to take the bus back to the hotel. It had been a long day—and tomorrow would be a big one. We were off to Universal Studios Japan. Day 10
DAD HINT – If you get the chance, find and try out a Mos Burger restaurant.
Once tickets were bought, we followed behind groups of people, hoping it wouldn’t be too hard to actually see the pavilion. But past the ticket office and around the first corner, there it was, in all its glory. While it was busy and everyone was taking family/group/selfie photos, it didn’t distract from the moment. In the morning sun, it really is quite the sight.
After taking the obligatory family photo, you walk around a path that loops the grounds. It’s a one-way route and you shuffle more than you walk. It’s slow going with so many people, but again—it doesn’t spoil the experience. After enjoying the gardens and checking out the gift shops, I had a shortcut in mind to our next must-see stop.
Dad Hack: Skip the Long Route
It’s a 50+ minute journey by public transport from the Golden Pavilion to the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. You could even walk there in 90 minutes, but taking a taxi takes only 16 minutes. In Dad parlance, we call that a no-brainer.
The taxi dropped us off right by the Torokko Arashiyama Station. One of the entrances to the Bamboo Forest is a pedestrian path just beside it. As one of the main tourist sites, of course it was busy but no so much to unpleasant or spoilt the visit.
We had started at the top of the hill and walked down through the forest, which leads straight into the next site—Tenryu-ji Temple AKA the Dragon Temple. The tourist sites were flowing thick and fast, and we were walking into yet another picture-perfect moment—and it wasn’t even lunchtime yet. Tenryu-ji is beautiful, and I’m surprised more people don’t mention how it’s right next door to the Bamboo Forest. Two for the price of one, because you don’t have to pay to see or walk through the forest!
After paying the modest entrance fee to the Dragon Temple you walk into idilic gardens, a faint sound of water running. Not far from the initial entrance is a frog statue that people were trying to throw coins into it's opened mouth. Passing this moments you realise there are several buildings to this must-see destination. But while I was trying to gauge which building was which I was immediately distracted seeing my first Japanese Zen (dry) Garden!
Of course we have similar replicas in the UK but to this authentic, gravel raked to represent water and moss lined trees the islands of our lands was a moment for me. Removing our shoes and exploring the building was also a treat. In one of the buildings you can rest on tatami mats, while overlooking a large pond and garden. If they had a cafe on-site I'm not sure anyone would ever leave - truly magical. But, seeing as there wasn't any food or drink provided we took one last look and ventured out.
Pizza Break in the Middle of the Madness
It was time for lunch and outside the Dragon Temple (Tenryu-ji), there were a lot of people, rickshaws, and cars. It was busy, and with no lunch destination in mind, we needed to get lucky. We headed toward a bus stop to take us back to our hotel. Worst-case scenario: we'd go hungry till we got to 7-11 again.
Lady Luck was kind, however, and we came across Pizzeria LUGARA—a small pizza restaurant and as we needed four seats, we had to wait a little. We sat in the shade and watched the world go by—trains, taxis, and rickshaws heading up and down the hill. When a counter section of the restaurant was offered to us (instead of a table), we had no problem accepting. We didn’t even have to squeeze in, and had enough room to tuck into two stone-baked pizzas and icy drinks.
DAD HINT – If you’re planning to eat around the Bamboo Forest or Dragon Temple, probably best to book—or at least know where you’re going ahead of time.
Afternoon Chill and a Souvenir Mission
Once fed, we took the 45-minute bus ride back to the hotel. It had been a busy morning, so we took a well-earned break before heading out again.
We still had plenty of time left on our holiday, but our minds (well, not mine) were already thinking about souvenirs—for ourselves and for loved ones. So, I formed a route that would mean we could see another site and squeeze in some shopping.
We walked at a relaxed pace, exploring streets we hadn’t seen before until we reached Pontocho Alley.
It was late afternoon, and this narrow street of alleys was just starting to warm up for the busy night ahead. I had never planned to eat there—just take in the location and the atmosphere. We really enjoyed walking through it and down to Pontocho Park, a small playground by the river, where the kids played for a while.
From the park, it was a short walk to get our souvenir hunt started at the infamous Don Quijote. These stores are a lot of fun but tend to be quite cramped. The amount of product categories a store can cover is something else. With Bella and my wife keen to get souvenirs we split up so James and I could potter around the store with no agenda. I checked out the assortment of watches while James found all the sweets:
A Very Pleasant Surprise
I do have a sweet tooth, however, was more excited to see how dinner would arrive. After 30 minutes or so of shopping we were now quite tired. And you know the script already for a tired family, it was comfort food time again. I was prepared for the circumstance and insisted on us trying a Japanese fast food option called Mos Burger. Everyone was glad and impressed did!
The restaurant is a chain that started in Japan. It was so much nicer than the McDonald’s and Burger King meals we’d had earlier in the trip. I’m not bashing those big brands (love them both), but this store was something else. Clean, modern, and despite being in a busy area, really relaxed too.
I do have a sweet tooth, however, was more excited to see how dinner would arrive. After 30 minutes or so of shopping we were now quite tired. And you know the script already for a tired family, it was comfort food time again. I was prepared for the circumstance and insisted on us trying a Japanese fast food option called Mos Burger. Everyone was glad and impressed did!
The restaurant is a chain that started in Japan. It was so much nicer than the McDonald’s and Burger King meals we’d had earlier in the trip. I’m not bashing those big brands (love them both), but this store was something else. Clean, modern, and despite being in a busy area, really relaxed too.
Having covered a lot of ground, we elected to take the bus back to the hotel. It had been a long day—and tomorrow would be a big one. We were off to Universal Studios Japan. Day 10
DAD HINT – If you get the chance, find and try out a Mos Burger restaurant.
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