This post contains affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
Kyoto has treated me well. Tomorrow I’m saying farewell to this glorious city, and bullet train-ing myself back up to Tokyo for a couple last days in Japan. I’m definitely going to miss it here.
While Tokyo is enormous and overwhelming, Kyoto is walkable and inviting. As soon as I stepped out of the train station and made my way along the narrow streets to my temporary apartment, I knew I would love this place. There’s a Japanese old world charm here that blends almost seamlessly with our modern fast culture. I find the juxtaposition of iPhones, kimonos, Starbucks, and ancient shrines exciting and humbling at the same time. Wherever you go traditional Japanese and buddhist culture are there. I’m mesmerized by the magical alleys only wide enough for 2 people to fit through, and the shrines occupying space between apartment buildings. Perhaps I’m most excited by the abundance of mochi (a heavenly rice cake that’s been around for over 1 thousand years) sold on every street.
In my week spent in Kyoto my favorite part has been my two trips to Arashiyama––which you’ll see in the video below!
For hundreds of years the temples and nature of Arashiyama have drawn tourists and worshippers from all over Japan, and the world. As you just saw in the video, on my recent trip I visited:
Bamboo Forest
The mountainside park (not in the vid)
Tenryu-ji Temple
Shigetsu Shojin Ryori at Tenryu-ji
Iwatayama Monkey Park
I also went to Arashiyama on my third night in town. The sun was going down, and it was raining, but that made for a truly enchanting experience!
This certainly isn’t all I’ll be posting about my Japan trip. I still need to tell you about Tokyo, and share my guide for vegans in Japan. Stay tuned for those goodies, and in the meantime make sure you’re subscribed to my Youtube channel and following me on Instagram and Facebook where I post daily updates.
Thanks for watching my video, and reading along!! Have you been to Japan? What was your experience like!?! Any places I shouldn’t miss in my last few days here?
