Tokyo to Osaka - 5th day

Finally woke up early. There's a Shinkansen to catch. It's 3 hours to Osaka. Trains in Japan were always on time. The Shinkansen was quite comfy, with good sound insulation. Never thought of buying a bento set to eat on the train ... all the Japanese are doing that ...

Anyway, it was the 5th day and I found that navigating around Japan train system was not easy. There were simply too many lines and throw in a couple of different operators and different train passes ... it was quite mind-boggling. That said, it was still the cheapest and most convenient way to go around.

Hotel Granvia Osaka is just above Osaka JR Station. After checking in, it was time to move off to Kyoto. It's only a 30 min ride. And on the route to Kyoto, there are at least 3 different train services. One service stops at all stations, the rapid and super rapid services stop at fewer stations and offer shorter commute time.

Kyoto - it seems like the bus is in favour here. It's a flat rate of 220 yen on the buses. Off we went to the Golden Pavilion Temple.

Kinkakujimae (Golden Pavilion Temple)


Seen from the entrance - a hill with the "大" carved out.



No tripods allowed here -


By the time we finished, it's already 5:00 p.m. and the temple is closed for the day. Off we went to Gion. Passed by some cherry blossoms in Gion. It looked like quite a picturesque walkway there. We should come back again during the day.



It seemed that prices here in Kyoto are very expensive. Most of the food items are going for 3000 yen and above. There are also some very exclusive old-style type of restaurants which are only opened to regulars. After some searching, we stumbled upon one joint that offers a English menu. That was where we settled dinner.