Side trip to Kyoto and Osaka
We booked a 4 days/3 nights shinkansen train/hotel package for Kyoto and Osaka through JTB Sunrise Tours.
The package we chose was 81,200yen for 2 pax for staying at New Miyako Hotel in Kyoto and Hotel Granvia in Osaka. It was actually a 3D/2N pkg but we extended 1 night in Kyoto
See our tour itinerary details
We departed from Tokyo on the shinkansen to Kyoto as the first stop. Made our way to Tokyo central station.
At the train station
The Japanese are so polite pple, they even have train ladies at the platforms bowing as you board the trains..like a scene from the old movies in the 50sl!
Our Hikari train that took us to Kyoto/Osaka.
Onboard the train, we ordered this pork cutlet sandwich cuz i was hungry haha. We also bought our favourite hot lemon drink.
Kyoto (京都)
New Miyako Hotel
Didnt take us long to find the hotel when we arrived at Kyoto. Its just located a few mins walk away (opposite the train station)
Hotel lobby
They upgraded us to a nicer room which was nice ;)
Kyoto is lovely, it has so many historical sites and temples that look very grand.
some castle i forgot the name..we wanted to go in but it was closed so could only take pics outside =((
Gion area (Kyoto's most famous geisha district)
Gion is Kyoto's most famous geisha district, located in the city center around Shijo Avenue between Yasaka Shrine in the east and the Kamo River in the west. It is filled with shops, restaurants and ochaya (teahouses), where geiko (Kyoto dialect for geisha) and maiko (geiko apprentices) entertain
From: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3902.html
Note: if you are wondering why sometimes I have such a blur/frozen look in some of the photos, its becuz its mind numbingly cold and to take a picture of anything involves taking off our gloves (and exposing our hands to the bitter freezing wind) and bravely smiling in the cold.
i think this is a famous shop in Gion cuz this image of the dog pulling the boy's pants down is so familiar!
shops along gion
these hot drinks were our life savers in the freezing cold!
Dinner time! went to the famous ramen street at Kyoto Ramen Koji where they sell all the famous ramen in Kyoto. Kyoto Ramen Koji is on 10th floor at Isetan which is a department store at Kyoto station.
mmm yummy i love the tamago
going back to the hotel
Back at the hotel, i found this interesting vending room where they have all sorts of vending machines selling hot food, drinks and even ice-cream. No wonder they call Japan the land of vending machines lol.
Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺 Temple of the Golden Pavilion)
The next day, we went to visit one of the must see tourist attractions in Kyoto, the Kinkaku-ji. It is one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Read more about Kinkaku-ji
Finally..the star attraction..
The glorious golden pavillion!
Compare this with the below picture..
Painted photograph of Kinkaku in 1885
Amazing right?? In 1984, the coating of Japanese lacquer was found a little decayed, and a new coating as well as gilding with gold-leaf, much thicker than the original coatings was completed in 1987 (from wiki).
i know..so many pics of the golden pavillion rite?
haha..but then again, how many times in your life do you get to see so much gold on a building rite PLUS its a UNESCO world heritage site! ;D
wishing stones? saw many 1 yen coins haha..
looks like a shrine..
For lunch, we went to a nearby small jap cafe and had curry omelet rice. yummy!
**Random**
Red Torii - Interesting fact: Torii is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the profane to the sacred.
Beard papa's - i love this snack!! *Its like a light pastry with cold custard inside..i bought it a few times during the Japan trip
act cool haha
This pic should make u smile ;D
(",)
Next stop: Osaka
After spending 2 nites in Kyoto, we took the bullet train to Osaka our next stop.
Shin-Osaka station
Our hotel was the Hotel Granvia Osaka, found the hotel pretty easily (it was very near the JR station).
Saw this very cute Christmas display near the hotel
We arrived very early in the morning and it wasnt time to check in yet so we put our luggage with the front desk and went to explore the city.
Did some prior research on interesting places to visit in Osaka and found out about the "Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum". Took us some time to find it and after asking around a few times (it was quite difficult cuz the local pple really dont speak much English at all!), we finally found the place.
Statue of Momofuku Ando who invented the world’s first instant noodle product,
history wall of instant noodles made over the years
The“Chicken Ramen”was invented after hours of research using common tools in a small shack which the founder had constructed in the backyard of his house in Ikeda.
life sized noodle cup!
Packaging of the instant noodles sold in the past - super old school
The founder developed freeze dried instant noodles which could be eaten in space!!
Ok here comes the really fun bit: At this special ramen museum in Osaka, you can make your very own instant noodle cup and bring it back with you! How amazing and cool is that??@!\
There are a few steps to this process of making your instant noodles:
Our very own Kelvin will show us the demonstration of the steps muahahaha
1. Purchase a cup at the vending machine
2. Wash your hands
3. Design your cup - You can design your cup as you like (markers are provided)
Kelvin's football design - i was quite amazed by his artwork, the chick he drew was so cute haha
my cup design: black/pink polka dotted with a little cute chicken
4. Set the noodles
5. Choose your favourite soup base and ingredient toppings
i chose SiO flavoured base!
6. Seal the cup and shrink wrap it
the arrow is like pointing directly at my cup (so special rite haha) - here, the staff is helping me to seal the cup
7. Pump air into the packaging
8. Ta dah! - Your very own uniquely designed special instant noodles!
Here are the details of the ramen museum if you are interested:
Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum
Address: 8-25 Masumi-cho, Ikeda-shi, Osaka
Access: 5 min walk from Ikeda station (Hankyu Takarazuka Line)
Opening hours:
9:30am - 4pm, close on Tuesdays
Admission: free
http://www.nissin-noodles.com/pamphlet_e.pdf
Shopping at Shinsai bashi street (Dōtonbori)
Dōtonbori (道頓堀) is one of the principal tourist destinations in Osaka Japan. It is a single street, running alongside the Dōtonbori canal between the Dōtonboribashi Bridge and the Nipponbashi Bridge in the Namba ward of Osaka. Dōtonbori is famous for its historic theaters (all gone now), its shops and restaurants, and its many neon and mechanized signs , including snack/candy manufacturer Glico's giant electronic display of a runner crossing the finish line. (Wikipedia)
anime figurines
this one very fierce lol
Osaka - The billboard city.
Osaka is famous for having many huge neon signs displayed in the city.
Neon signs - found everywhere in the Dōtonbori area
The famous Glico giant electronic display of a runner crossing the finish line
Kani Doraku: A crab restaurant, easily identified by its giant moving crab billboard.
This six and a half meter crab is on the front of the crab restaurant Kani Doraku. It is mechanized, being able to move its arms and eyestalks. Built in 1960, this mechanical billboard soon spawned imitations, including a squid that puffs steam and oni (demons) that light up at night. (Wiki)
Too bad there was this white sign was plastered against the crab ;(
A popular takoyaki stand.
There was a long queue, had to line up and wait in the cold to get my hands on the takoyaki. Kelvin was so cold he refused to stand with me in the queue ;/ But for the sake of the famous takoyaki, i bravely stood in the cold.
finally got my hands on the takoyaki
yummy!
Finally made our way to the hotel after a long day.
Our hotel room @ Hotel Granvia -they gave us a pretty big room and even presented us with a pair of complimentary chopsticks courtesy of the hotel which was very nice of them.
hotel amenities
view from our room
It was a short stay in Osaka since it was only for 1 nite, but it was pretty fun especially at the ramen museum.
Time to go back to Tokyo!
We took the train back from Osaka to Tokyo station, the view was super man.
Me thinks this is Mt Fuji!
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