Kyoto in a Few Hours

View from Kyoto Tower

Our last stop would be Kyoto. Kyoto is about an hour and a half from Kobe. So the train ride was long and boring AGAIN! We got there kind of late; most of the temples close between 4pm and 5pm. We got to Kyoto station at 5:11. There was one temple open until 6pm, Kiyomizu Temple; a Buddhist Temple. But, we had to wait and take a bus to get there. After we got off the but we followed the signs to get to the temple. We didn't know they walk would be far, it was about a 10-15 minute walk up the hilly road to get there. We got there at about 5:45 pm, we were scared we weren't going to make it.....but we did.

On the way to Kiyomizu Temple

Here is one of the gates of the temple called Deva Gate.

Deva Gate

West gate

You get such a beautiful view of Kyoto up here and the Kyoto Tower. In the Spring the cherry blossoms would make this place look gorgeous.

View from the temple

The Three-storey Pagoda was under construction so it looks kind of ugly with all the wood around it.

Three Storey Pagoda of Kiyomizu Temple

In front of the Pagoda

Kiyomizu Bell tower

We didn't have a lot of time to actually look around so we took pictures quickly because they were kicking people out. I love this picture though, it feels so country.

As we were leaving I took a picture with the two gates and the pagoda.

Deva Gate, West Gate & Three Storied Pagoda

On the way back to the bus stop we walked through a street lined with restaurants, souvenir shops and Kimono shops. Some were closed but we went into the ones that were open. They had things like key chains, phone cases, coin purses, fans, etc. Earlier in the day we were looking for green tea matcha powder because we've been having it everywhere. So we went into a couple stores to see how much it was and it was kind of expensive. We found one store that sold it for 800 yen ($8) so we bought it. Matcha powder helps to lower blood pressure, burns calories, boosts metabolism, detoxifies and a whole bunch of other things.

After the temple we took the bus back to Kyoto station. The Kyoto Tower was right across the street from it so we decided to visit there too since we weren't able to get to the other places we wanted to see. Admission was $7 to go up to the sky deck. It has a great view of Kyoto but there were beams in the way so it was hard to get really good shots.

After about 45 minutes in the Kyoto Tower we were ready to make the trip back to Osaka. There wasn't much to do at the tower; there was a restaurant and the the observatory and on the main floor the souvenir shops.

Kyoto Station

This is the view from Kyoto Station, so pretty! It was starting to rain, hence the rain drops on my lens.

Kyoto Tower

After we got back to Shinosaka we were hungry and tired. We decided to eat in the station. On the lower floor there are a whole bunch of restaurants mostly Japanese, but some Chinese and Western food done Japanese style. But we came to Japan to eat Japanese food so we went to a Japanese restaurant. Of course we can't read the menu, lucky for us there were pictures. At this point my eyes were bigger than my stomach so I ordered a set then ordered something on the side. Big mistake!!!!! I got fried rich with fried chicken then a huge bowl of noodles which was the set. On the side I ordered fried chicken with mayo on top and rice. I didn't know rice came with it, I kind of just wanted the chicken with the mayo on top which is why I got full so fast. All this food cost $12 but  I was soooo full. It was sooo delicious too.

Overall, my experience in Osaka had been pretty good. Mostly because of the food, which was where I spent most of my money. I would have liked to see might sights but Osaka is only a two hour flight away so really I can go there any weekend. I am actually looking into going in the summer time along with Tokyo.