A home for my words.

Kyoto was the second stop on my Japan backpacking trip. I wasn’t aware of the city’s extensive canal and river irrigation system until I experienced it first-hand. They offered opportunities to walk near a stream in peace and quiet, tucked ever so slightly away or even at times below the bustling city. 

Autumn Temple Night Illuminations

Two big benefits to visiting Japan in November are viewing the changing autumn leaves and the special nighttime illuminations many temples hold. This is especially true in Kyoto. There are over 1,500 temples in Kyoto and while many of them are normally closed to outsiders after dark, the fall season brings with it opportunities to experience special showings.

I attended Nijo Castle’s illumination event. The experience was meant to mimic the customs of a Japanese meal. Guests were greeted with a rice milk drink and encourage to say “itadakimasu” before the treat and “gochisosama” afterwards. Then we were free to roam the light exhibits throughout the premises.

One of the funniest moments during my trip was seeing a man in attendance at the illumination event dragging a suitcase through the gravel the entire night! You could tell everywhere he’d been because you’d see the trail of two line marks he left behind him. My best guess is he had a flight to catch immediately after and came with his luggage expecting the temple to have storage lockers.

As beautiful as the event was, I didn’t force myself to catch a bunch more night illuminations while in Kyoto as I thought I would. It was just one of those events that brought hoards of crowds, which brings noise. I prefer silence or the calmer sounds of nature. So I was happier to stumble upon beauty while just wandering around areas of Kyoto with less commotion. 

Mt. Hiei

Speaking of nature, I set off the next day for Mt. Hiei. It would be a bit of a commute, but I found myself awake obscenely early anyway. I unfortunately wasn’t as prepared as I like to be. I arrived to find signage stating that a bear had been spotted in the area and I had no bear spray! This caused a sense of unease during much of my hiking up and out of the mountain. I tried playing Justin Nozuka’s music on my phone to make sure I could give a fair heads up to any potential bear in the area. It’s funny. I crave alone time and solitude, especially when in nature. Yet here I was in the ideal circumstance, but worried because in the event of danger, I would be all alone!

Once I made it to the top, I finally started to see other travelers. Most of them were being bussed up rather than hiking to the top. There was a bus of older Japanese people and I was surprised to overhear a few of them pointing me out to one another and mentioning in Japanese that I was a foreigner. I pretended not to hear or understand them, but I found it surprising. In all of the big cities I visited in Japan, no one made an outward fuss about my being from abroad. I took a guess that maybe they were being bussed from the countryside, where it would be unusual to see outsiders. I’m not sure though and probably should have asked some of my language partners to pick their brains. I also saw two other solo hikers….who both had bear bells attached to their packs!

Back in Kyoto proper, I visited a bento restaurant where I could get two of my favorites: unagi/eel and tempura. I expected it to be a casual place, but it was more of a spot for local business men to gather and eat together. It was enjoyable nonetheless, although the unagi was comically smaller than what was pictured outside of the restaurant.

Kyoto Imperial Palace Park

Luckily I booked my lodging right next to a large park, so I didn’t have to end my day yet. I strolled around the grounds of the former Imperial Palace and learned a lot about what life was like in the area back at that time. After a stroll through the Kyoto Gyoen garden, I treated myself to gourmet cookie treats and retreated to my hotel for the rest of the night.

Philosopher’s Path

Up extremely early the next day yet again, I set off for another nice walk next to a small path of water. Things were mostly quite, although there was the occasional child giddily setting off to school or an elderly local sweeping their property in anticipation of the new day. Although practically no shops were open, there were some interesting store fronts and so many beautiful flowers, plants, and even ducks playing in the water. I even took a side street and visited a shrine I hadn’t known about. I was grateful to have made it so early before too much noise or crowds formed. Plus, I still had time for a nice breakfast!

Breakfast

I stopped at a cafe popular with Westerners and ate some french toast while chatting with two Australian men who were traveling together. I loved getting French toast or pancakes for breakfast in Japan when I could, but often laughed at how small the breakfast portion sizes were compared to the States. The men agreed, and I remarked at how they’d inhaled their meal within mere minutes! These trips to Japanese cafes often felt like I was being offered a small snack rather than a way to break a night of fasting, whereas going out for breakfast in the USA feels like “abundance” is the goal 

Kodaji Temple

Since I didn’t want to deal with crowds at the more popular bamboo garden outside of Kyoto’s center, I went to Kodaji Temple instead. The grounds are well-kept and don’t take too much time to go through. While the bamboo section is brief, it is still beautiful and probably easier to get a photo in. I finished off the experienced with green tea and a treat.

Back at my hotel, I ate a supermarket bento, drank a beer while watching the national sumo wrestling competition, and used the foot massager that came with my hotel room. It initially seemed a bit random, but came in handy after long days of hiking and walking around the city. Plus, food + beer + sports + a massage = zero complaints.

Kyoto Botanical Garden

The next morning was my last day in Kyoto. I made a spontaneous decision to stop at a nearby cafe with chic decor. They were playing cringey Christmas music in English that I shut out by using noise-canceling earbuds while listening a true crime YouTuber’s video. I munched on their breakfast platter that came with two mini croissants, the most gelatinous yogurt I have ever come across (think cheese with never-ending pull!), salad, and two slices of a crunch yellow-orange fruit I couldn’t place but was delicious. Then I made my way to the botanical garden.

It was a nice experience, even with the little bit of rain sprinkles that fell towards the beginning of my arrival. I couldn’t find information on whether there were coin lockers to store my backpack since I had to check out of my hotel the same day. Not wanting to take the risk, I stored it in a too-big lockers at another station since it was the only available option at the time. Had I known better, I could’ve spent more time at the botanical gardens before departing for Osaka. But hey, at least I completely avoided any chance that I’d be carrying my pack around the gardens with me for a few hours (wouldn’t wanna be suitcase guy 😉 . Even if it would’ve rained heavily, you can easily spend a ton of time indoors at the greenhouse.

Overall, Kyoto left a positive impression on me. While it had areas swarming with tourists, there were alternatives and plenty of space in the city to go somewhere that you could be without crowds and still appreciate nature and cultural elements like shrines. I ended up feeling like if one had to live in a city in Japan, Kyoto might not be so bad!