Dave's Blog

Dave's Faves Kyoto

Enjoy bamboo ice cream at Arashiyama
While exploring the Arashiyama bamboo grove, be sure to visit Tenryu-ji temple. And then…

Buy Japanese t-shirts
The shops at Arashiyama cater to Japanese tourists, so you can find lots of Japanese language shirts. My favorites are made by Buden-Shouten.

Pray at a Shinto shrine
Observe others or watch a video on YouTube to learn the proper procedure. There are so many shrines everywhere it may become a habit, so keep plenty of small change ready.

Chat with your cab driver
Use Google translate to learn enough Japanese to have a simple conversation with your drivers, who often speak little English. Phrases such as, “I like Japan,” “I am from America,” “I want to learn Japanese,” “How do you say…” are good starts. You can talk about cities: “I like / Do you like… Tokyo… Kyoto… Osaka… Seattle… New York… Los Angeles…” Food is good: “Do you like sushi… tempura… sukiyaki… tofu…” And if you say “Ichiro Number 1” you’ll make a friend!

Buy beer from a vending machine
You can’t do that in the states.

by Kurisuu

Watch sumo on television
During July, the Nagoya tournament is broadcast on television each afternoon from 3-6 pm. Get a couple Yebisu beers from 7-Eleven or a bottle of sake and enjoy!

Get photobombed by Japanese tourists in kimonos while taking selfies at Kiyomizu-dera
Unavoidable, and makes the photo so much better.

And, while at Kiyomizu-dera…
Walk with your eyes closed between the love stones to find true love

Drink water from the otowa waterfall to have your wish granted

Descend into the pitch-dark “Womb of the Bodhisattva”

Stroll the beautiful creekside lanes of Kiya-machi Dori
This pretty creek is about a block from the river, and passes tiny local shrines, typical Kyoto residences, and native plants with plaques identifying them in Japanese. Discreetly watch couples in kimonos posing for wedding photos next to the creek.

Eat obanzai, the traditional Kyoto cuisine, at Renkon-ya

Make the peace sign while taking a selfie
Required form in Japan.

Try all the buttons on a Japanese techno-toilet

Buy a paperweight and postcards at Ryoan-ji Zen Temple
Small, inexpensive, meaningful souvenirs.

Walk along the Kamo River

Buy coffee from a vending machine
One every corner, iced is wonderful in the Kyoto heat, but hot coffee is available as well.

View the giant floats of the Gion Matsuri Festival
Watch the floats being constructed during the week before the festival. Visit the floats on the “Night-before-the-night-before,” as well as the “Night-before” the festival, to see the floats lit up, to hear the musicians singing in the floats, and to go inside some of the floats. Find a good spot to watch the running of the floats on festival day.

Count the toriis while hiking to the top of the Fushimi-inari Shrine complex
There are supposed to be 10,000 toriis in the complex.

Cool off with a glass of matcha beer at Nijo Castle
Can’t get that in the states.

Buy souvenirs at Takashimaya
This is a great place to purchase tea pots and cups, sake sets, plates and platters.

Eat eel donburi with a beautiful view of the river in a tatami room at Izumoya
Too hot to sit outside, but you get the same gorgeous view.

Visit a fan shop at Nishiki Market
Gorgeous and not inexpensive.

Stop for green tea and treats at the tea room at the Golden Pavilion
On a hot day this is such a refreshing break after viewing the gorgeous Kinkaku-ji.

Eat kaiseki at Ganko Takasegawa Nijoen
Stroll through the 400-year-old Japanese garden after dinner.

Stay in a ryokan or upscale ryokan like Hotel Kanra Kyoto
Be sure to enjoy the amazing Kyoto-style kaiseki breakfast. Our first ryokan was right next to Nishiki market. Our upscale ryokan, Hotel Kanra Kyoto, had low beds rather than quilts on the floor, which was easier on our backs. If you stay at Hotel Kanra Kyoto, be sure to visit Higashi Honganji Temple, right next door.

Watch the staff prepare your bed in a traditional ryokan

Bathe in an onsen at a ryokan
Be sure to follow the rules, and wash thoroughly before getting in!

Buy a dinner of cold soba noodles at 7-eleven and eat in your room
Watch Japanese television while you eat, such as my favorite food show, “Cooking with Dog.”

Enjoy an “Ebi Filet-O” shrimp sandwich at McDonald’s
You can’t get this in the states.

Try using a traditional “Japanese Style” toilet

Start walking at the Chion-in Temple Complex and end up at Yasaka Shrine by Shijo Dori
Or just start wandering and see where you end up. If you do end up at Shijo Dori, you could…

Eat conveyor belt sushi underground at Chojiro
And after that…

Eat matcha ice cream on Shijo Dori street

Use a coin laundry
You have to do laundry, so why not do it with the locals? It will force you to figure out the Japanese signs and interact with fellow laundry users. While you wait you can stroll Kiya-machi Dori or walk along the river. You can even buy a beer from a vending machine in some laundries!