Kyoto Day 1 and 2

Kyoto (5/24-5/30)!

This was my most favorite trip so far… even though it was pretty hot there. Just finished a busy project at work and wanted to treat myself to a vacation. From what I heard, Kyoto is usually pretty crowded and buses are full so to avoid all that, I decided to take my bicycle with me for the first time anywhere. I was a little nervous about it even though I’ve read a lot about rinko and travelling by train with a bicycle. This bicycle bag only requires I remove the front wheel, handlebars, saddle, and pedals. For riding on trains, the operators are mostly concerned with cleanliness so usually as long as the bottom half of the bike is covered it’s fine (although I’ve seen some bikes get on the train with only the top half covered). Space on the trains for bicycles are usually in the very first or very last cars where the wheelchair areas are… and on the shinkansen there is some space behind the very last row of seats in each car (so reserve those if carrying big luggage on the shinkansen). Also, with the shinkansen, if using the regular ticket machines at, say a JR station, don’t reserve by the row or seat number, the seats always face the direction of travel (for example, row 30 might be in the front and row 1 in the back). The mistake I made was also bringing a large suitcase, doubling the amount of back row space I needed. The overhead storage rack above the seats are about as big enough for a carry-on size suitcase only. Shinkansen from Shin-Yokohama to Kyoto takes about 2 hours and cost about ¥13200 each way. But, enough of the information, lets get to the pictures! I must have taken over 800 photos so I’m breaking this trip down into a series of posts.

Bicycle all packed up
Reserved ticket
Always try to sit on the side of the train with the Mt. Fuji view
Stayed at the APA Villa Hotel Kyoto-Ekimae.... booked on Japanican.com. Fairly close to the station so carrying my bicycle there was not much of a problem at all. Assembled my bicycle in front of the hotel later at night.
Kyoto Tower, as seen from Kyoto Station. Resembles a candle.
Miso katsu, yum!
First on the list of places to visit was Nijo Castle and its palace grounds
The gardens actually surround the entire castle grounds and there are a variety of different plants and trees that would be nice to look at even if the castle wasn't there.
Large rock walls were impressive
Next I rode to Kinkaku-ji, the famous golden pavilion. Very crowded but I was able to get in some shots after being patient.
Snacks to cool off! Kyoto is supposedly famous for matcha, udon, tofu, yuba, and vegetables.
One of the more convenient bicycle parking areas... this one was free at least!
Ryoan-ji
The garden that Ryoan-ji is famous for
Many different people ride many different bicycles. I once saw a lady with three babies on her bicycle. The main roads have designated bicycle paths but not everyone uses them as sidewalks are fairly wide.
Kyoto Tower at night.
Kyoto Tower Observatory
Looking through one of the scopes at Kiyomizu-dera lit up at night
I tried horse sashimi... it was not that good.... I think it's because it was a bit chewy, or that I was thinking of the poor horse the entire time...
Dinner! Okonomiyaki with really big green onions

First full day in the bag! I was really glad that I decided to bring my bicycle with me at this point. It really allowed me to follow my own schedule and go at my own pace, and yes the buses were all crowded… there were a lot of school children from all over Japan visiting (I was told every school child visits Kyoto when they are young) and there were also a lot of Chinese tour groups. I managed to avoid much of that just by riding my bicycle around and it really wasn’t that difficult as much of Kyoto is pretty flat.

Here’s a link to my Strava recording of my bike ride for those that are interested too:

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