Since this is my second time visiting Japan, we traveled around 4 cities (Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and Kobe) in 9 days this time around. We stayed in Kyoto for 3 nights, 5 nights in Osaka while Nara and Kobe were a day trip.
By the way, we also collected our rented travel pocket wifi from VisionData at the arrival halls of KLIA. Hehe, that's how I was able to update my social media from time to time.
Had dinner at the newly extended Plaza Premium Lounge called Flight Club and we each got a complimentary main course, dessert and a drink.
We flew with Singapore Airlines, hence, we had to transit in Singapore before flying to Osaka.
The international breakfast was scrambled eggs with bacon, marinated tomatoes and hash brown potato and the Japanese breakfast was grilled buri fish in teriyaki sauce with seasonal vegetables and steamed rice. Also, I managed to catch the sunrise from the land of the rising sun itself haha!
7-hours of butt ache and a bladder full of urine (because I don't like airplane toilets) later, we touched down at Kansai International Airport.
After purchasing and collecting our various transportation passes from the Kansai Tourist Information Center, we were ready to take on Japan! The passes that we bought include:
- ICOCA+HARUKA (Round trip)
- Osaka Amazing 2 Days Pass
- Hankyu 1 Day Pass
- Universal Studios Japan ticket
- Sagano Scenic Railway ticket
From the airport, there are trains that run directly to cities such as Kyoto, which is where we will be spending our first 3 days in Japan. We took the Haruka Limited Express train from the JR Kansai Airport to JR Kyoto Station and arrived 75 minutes later.
This is me on board the train looking shagged because I didn't get much sleep during the 7-hour flight.
We reached Kyoto about 11am? and check-in at hotels only start at 2pm, so we had to leave our luggage at the hotel lobby and coming back later on to check-in. So, for our first 3 nights in Japan, we stayed in Kyoto Dai-Ni Towel Hotel, which is conveniently located next to Kyoto Station. Just about a minute walk away.
I don't know if it's just me or almost all the hotels in Japan are this small. I swear, it's really tiny and pretty hard for you to move around. Oh, there was also free Japanese robes that we could wear, rather than the usual bathrobes.
We freshen up and chilled for a bit and then headed back out again because according to the itinerary we planned beforehand, we really didn't have enough time. :( So, first sightseeing in Kyoto was Fushimi Inari Shrine which is located in JR Inari Station.
To reach JR Inari Station, take a local train on the JR Nara Line from Kyoto Station and you will reach here within 5 minutes. The train fare for a one way trip costs 140Yen and the shrine is located just outside of JR Inari Station.
Fushimi Inari Shrine is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates, which straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings. The trail leads into a wooded forest of the sacred Mount Inari, which stands at 233 meters and belongs to the shrine grounds.
The shrine was dedicated to the Gods of rice and sake and the foxes were considered the messengers of Inari, resulting in many fox statues across the shrine grounds. The Japanese also see the fox as a sacred mythological animal capable of possessing people.
In most of Japan's shrines, they provide a spot for you to wash your hands and drink water from it.
The map! There are soo many torii gates, it might take 2-3 hours to walk through all of them. Because our time was limited, we decided to stop in the middle and enjoy the snacks around that area.
We then called it a night with some sushi and bento boxes we bought from the supermarket. A long day awaits tomorrow!
