Don't Skip KYOTO! | Japan Travel Guide
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 มิ.ย. 2024
- Ep.76 We loved Kyoto and this video shows why. Come with us to the Bamboo Forest, explore the many levels of Kyoto Station, watch our tips on hotels, and enjoy all the food experiences we had in this fabulous city.
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Chapters:
00:00 - Start
01:08 - Kyoto Bamboo Forest
03:16 - Kyoto Gion District
04:10 - Museum of Kyoto
04:49 - Jidai Matsuri Festival
05:17 - Nishiki Market
07:21 - Kyoto Station Shops
09:25 - Kyoto Station Dining
10:35 - Kyoto Hotels - We stayed at 3 of them
13:33 - Dining out in Kyoto
14:48 - Kyoto Ramen Restaurants
17:19 - Kyoto Tonkatsu Restaurants
18:58 - Kyoto Udon & Soba Restaurants
21:18 - Kyoto Okonomiyaki Restaurants
22:15 - Kyoto Japanese Curry Restaurants
22:42 - Kyoto Snack - Quick Bites
24:58 - Japanese Kindness and Service
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📹 VIDEO EQUIPMENT
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On one hand. Visiting Kyoto should be something done at least once. On the other , it’s to the benefit of everyone that you don’t. Overcrowding. And I mean Disney Labor Day + levels there is really causing issues to the infrastructure. I’ve had the luxury of traveling through japans country side and really recommend it. It helps smaller towns, and you’d be surprised the places you can see that are actually even MORE breath taking and beautiful than those in Kyoto minus the crowds. Food for thought. Go off the beaten path more!
We agree, JC, but it's actually a fine line. On one hand, it's amazing to find and explore all the hidden gems, but at the same time, can you imagine going to Paris and skipping the Eiffel Tower? We typically try to visit most places in the shoulder season versus the high seasons because we don't like to compete with crowds. The biggest challenge is that those "hidden gems" are hidden for a reason. People are very protective of some of them and don't share their favorite secret places because they don't want them spoiled. Which I understand. But for many, many people, they are looking for guidance on where to go, how to navigate getting there, and looking for recommendations. It's hard to be a traveler carving your own path, because you are as likely to find duds as you are stunners. We have the luxury of staying in most places for a month or more, and we still didn't see anything close to everything we wanted to. Most people are trying to be efficient and see as much in as little time as they can, especially if they have a limited amount of vacation time.
If you have suggestions or insights on how to do what you're suggesting, we'd love to hear them. -Judy
@@FindingGinaMariewe were there in October, we did Philippines and Japan, we did 4 days in Tokyo 3 days in Kyoto, did Osaka, and Nara and back to Tokyo for 3 more days, and caught a train to Mount Fuji before heading back to Atlanta Georgia. We have the most incredible time!
@missleah6204 Where were you in Philippines? Do you recommend it? We have a month blocked for Philippines, but we aren't quite sure if we want to switch up our plans. We're currently looking at Cebu City. -Judy
Japan just needs to charge $50USD for tourists per major city they plan on visiting, like an entry visa... then they can also do things to stop the overcrowding. 1) charge more in temples - $1000JPY not 300. 2) ban commercial portrait photography in any religious or historical sites with a $1000USD fine for violations, 3) ban cosplaying in religious or historical sites, with a fine of $1000USD per offense + jail if you continue to be in violation 4) timed entry for sites such as Kiyumizu-dera, Kinkaku-ji, etc. 5) No tour groups of greater than 5. 6) higher visa price for countries whose citizens are loud and or obnoxious (cough cough -- CHINA), perhaps $400 USD visa for them to visit. 7) no selfie sticks or you pay a $500 USD fine. Kyoto shouldn't be people's background for their selfies. Its disgusting. It takes away from the historical sites and feeling, and it is rude.
Just looks absolutely breathtaking! Thanks for taking us along on your adventure.
It was very lovely! Kyoto really resonated with us more than Tokyo, although we were glad to experience them both. You won't want to miss next week's video of the temples. Perhaps at other times of year they aren't as special, but with the autumn leaves, they were spectacular. Thanks so much for joining us! -Judy
Japan travel series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT.html
As a Japanese person, I am glad that you enjoyed Japan.
When introducing ramen, it is correct to say Tonkotsu, not Tonkatsu.
Thanks for watching! We did our best to give justice to your beautiful country. -Judy
Another fabulous video with sooooo much information. My daughter and grandsons will be taking lots of notes!!!
Thank you so much, Maria! We loved Kyoto, and we'd hope your family has an incredible experience in Japan. We still have a few more episodes to share from our time there! -Judy
Kyoto is so scenic! Thank you!
Thanks so much for watching! We are about to put you on scenic overload with our Kyoto video that's dropping later today. You won't want to miss it! We'll have at least another two or three videos coming from our time in Japan.-Judy
Japan travel series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT.html
My favorite video so far while trying to plan my Japan trip! So informative! Thanks for sharing :)
Hi Mar, Thank you so much for watching and for taking the time to leave us this very kind comment. We appreciate it a ton. Here's a link to our series in Japan, and heads up that this weekend's episode will be us rating/ranking our favorite temples in Kyoto. Here's a link to the playlist, which will grow by at least three more videos! -Judy
Japan travel series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT.html
I will be watching!@@FindingGinaMarie
What a gastronomic delight!!
It really was, Tanya! Thank you so much for watching and for taking the time to comment! We had such a fun time (and we didn't show you even half of what we ate)! -Judy
Interesting video. I'd never heard of the bamboo forest, which looks intriguing. Japanese food has always been a mystery to me, but your shots make it look very tasty and really decent prices. You got me interested in visiting Kyoto! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for watching, Merrill! We weren't quite sure of what to expect from the bamboo forest, but it was so lovely! When we first arrived in Japan, the food was a little bit overwhelming, but it doesn't take long to get comfortable. Love your comment; thank you for posting it! -Judy
Great video! I had no idea there was so much more in the train station beyond the main halls. I agree the bamboo forest is undersold online - I had a great time, yes it was busy, big deal. The whole Arashiyama area is super cool, there is a park with wild monkeys, a scenic railway along the river, restaurants, shops, treats and the Tenryu-ji temple grounds are fantastic. We got sushi at a tiny family run place off the beaten path and it was such a delightful time. Some of the rail cars to get there are very vintage and in amazing shape it’s so much fun. The whole area around Nishiki market is great, tons of great restaurants and shops, close to Gion. We walked a ton, so much to see. I also spent a small fortune on Matcha drinks and sweets because it’s so good there. The long stay in Kyoto was smart!
Thanks so much for watching and for sharing your experiences! You really could live in Kyoto Station (no joke!). We made it to Arashiyama very late in our trip and were trying to squeeze in quite a lot, but we would have liked to have done more there. We LOVED Tenryu-ji Temple and think it's a great alternative (especially in fall) for people not wanting to deal with the crowds of Arashiyama. We are excited to be bringing that to you next week! We also would have liked to take the romantic train ride (even with our daughter!). We ended up walking through the neighborhoods en route to Tenryu-ji, which was very interesting as well. LOL. We didn't show you all our matcha. Our daughter would take a taste or two of everything and then expect us to finish it all! No wonder she stays so slim! Yes, we really were glad to spend the bulk of our time there. We still have two days in Hiroshima to share and our ryokan experience! -Judy
I'm surprised you didn't suggest the Golden Pavillion which is my favorite site in Kyoto
We will be talking about temples in the next episode! Stay tuned! -Judy
Kyoto is cool just realize you cannot possibly see everything... and yes there are tourist traps... waking up early is your friend. I also stayed at Forza. It was pretty fun. I didn't do the sake or coffee, but its right next to a Dotour so you can get great matcha in the morning and coffee. The location is the reason to stay there. I also liked that 7/11 is right across the street. The 1-ply TP though, they need better TP in the rooms. LOL. I went to Fushimi Inari at night (very few people there), and Arashiyama at about 9:30, but not many people were at the end of the trail, as we approached from the backside park, vs the front.
Hi Rachel, I don't know if the TP is deliberately thin so that it doesn't clog up Japan's septic systems, but we encountered it in a lot of places. That's my best guess for it! Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us! Here's a link to our full series from our 40+ days in Japan if you're interested.-Judy
🎥 Japan travel series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT.html
Brilliant edition. (This one made me hungry!) I very much want to visit Kyoto - for the shrines *and* the food. I hope to be at least half as adventurous as you are.
Thanks so much for this very kind comment, Mark! Our episode next week will be all about the temples and shrines! And we probably wouldn't have ate 1/3 of what we did had our daughter not been pushing us to try everything! There is so much more food we ate that we did not show! I'm looking at you natto (Google it if you do not know!)! -Judy
I do love watching Japan travel video by mature couple. I must have seen hundreds with young people “having fun” but they concentrate on “them” being in Japan.
Thank you, Keith, for these kind words. We try to be as authentic as possible and we are so glad to hear that resonates. Here's a link to our entire Japan series. We have at least three episodes still to come! -Judy
Japan travel series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT.html
A great video, thanks for the content. We have just booked our flights for Japan for April 2024, very excited. Enjoying your Japanese adventures.
PS Not sure if Australia is on your list of places to visit in 2024 (or further in the future), but I would love to have a cup of coffee if you do get here.
Thanks so much for watching, Jenny! We are thrilled for you. It will be crowded, but you will hopefully be hitting cherry blossom season! We'd love to hear back from you when you return. If you have any questions we can answer before you go, let us know. Also, I sent you an email about our 2024 travel plans! -Judy
Kyoto was our first stop but I don’t remember it all since I was recovering from breaking my foot right before we left. I really want to go back and do all the things we didn’t do (or I forgot)!
Hi Erin, a broken foot sounds absolutely miserable anytime, but especially while traveling. What a bummer, especially for such a special trip that also requires so much walking. I'd blank that out as well! You're now hopefully in a position as full-time travelers to carve out some time to visit! Thank you so much for watching! -Judy
Also about tanmens. They are different in every corners of Japan so don’t be surprised if what you see here differs from other parts of Japan.
Thanks for sharing this info, Keith! I think it's also potentially confusing that tanmen is different than tantan-men-Judy
Instead of Kyoto chaos, visit Kanazawa , or Shiga Prefecture.
Thanks for the suggestion. We do think it's worth visiting Kyoto as a first-time visitor, but we love your suggestions for exploring beyond the touristy areas. Thanks for watching. Have you seen our entire Japan series, which is linked below? -Judy
Japan travel series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT.html
Great video! It looks like there’s plenty to see and eat in Kyoto. I’m celiac. Did you happen to notice if there were gluten-free options in many of the restaurants that you visited?
Thank you so much for watching! It's quite hard in Japan, but not impossible. The language barrier is a real concern and it's not really a common allergen in Japan. So many foods use "wheat-based ingredients such as soy sauce, miso, fried foods, and noodles. Even sushi can be risky if you're unsure of the vinegar used to season the rice." I won't say that no restaurant had allergy information, but I don't recall any specifically that did, and a look through our photos of menus don't show any where that info was listed. Here's a guide you might want to take a look at, but it does look daunting (but not impossible). fukuokaeats.com/eats/gluten-free-japan -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie thank you for taking the time to answer so thoroughly. I took a quick look at the guide you linked to. It’s kind of counterintuitive that Japan, with its predominance of rice is more challenging to eat gluten-free than Italy with all its pasta where it’s easy peasy. But I guess it all comes down to the prevalence of celiac disease. We’re trying to decide between going to Japan or Türkiye next year, so I appreciate the information that you’ve provided. Happy & safe travels to you!
@@amiek9226 I wish it were simpler, and I agree that it would seem like it should be simpler. But because it's such a homogeneous society, there is a lot less opportunity to need to accommodate various allergies. It's definitely a country worth visiting if you're able to navigate the food challenges.Good luck with wherever you decide to visit (and stay safe!) -Judy
Kyoto looks like a wonderful place to visit, and the food looks absolutely amazing! But, waiting until 10am for coffee? Yikes! I will need to track down some much earlier than that! 🤣🤣
Yea, restaurants have more limited hours but we found an early morning western style place on the river called Kacto we could get coffee, matcha, pancakes, eggs, was very nice but not very authentic.
We hear you, Linda! There were a few places that worked out for us. We found a French bakery that opened at 8:30am, but yes, we just can't understand why more people don't want early breakfast/coffee shops! -Judy
@objc Sounds like your place having matcha was more authentic than the French bakery we ate at! We don't understand why people don't want (or need) morning coffee! -Judy
@@FindingGinaMarie yea I was trying to figure that out as well, it seemed like people had it later which leads to terrible sleep for me
@objc Thankfully, we don't need caffeine to wake up and it doesn't bother our sleep when we have it late. But we do like the ritual of it in the morning when we can. We typically use the time over coffee to plan our day and various other topics before we get our day started. So when we have to wait, it's a bummer. -Judy
15'00" Ramens
× Tontatsu → Deep fried pork cutlet
○ Tonkotsu
Deep fried pork cutlet is Tonkatsu and ramen in Tonkotsu. Maybe we aren't pronouncing the difference clearly enough, but that is what we meant. Perhaps it should sound like coat-su in the middle versus kaht-su. Sorry that wasn't clear. Thanks for watching. -Judy
I happened to come across the video image where we were discussing the different types of ramen and see what you are referencing.That was a typo that we didn't catch in advance. Thanks for mentioning it to us. -Judy
Is credit card acceptable at food place?
It really depends on the place. I would always try to have enough cash on hand for anyplace I would want to eat, though. There are a good number of ATMs around if you need one. It was hit or miss, but we paid cash for the vast majority of restaurants. Here's more of our Japan series if you are interested! -Judy
Japan travel series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT.html
I’m a little confused by one detail. At the Museum of Kyoto, you mentioned a 500 yen fee being about $7, but my currency app say that today (December 7) it would be $3.45. Can you confirm? I’ll be in Kyoto in 4 months and so I’d like to be sure of the conversion. Arigato!
Sure thing. It was ¥500 yen apiece, but the total cost for us both was ¥1000, and that is what was about $7. Thanks for watching. We hope you have an amazing time! -Judy
yeah well, for one I have to say that Kyoto is super touristy but then... that's for a reason. I think when going to JP you should definitely go, but 3 days is plenty I'd say.
however, japanese food is wildly overrated. yeah they have a few good dishes but more often than not it's way too pricey (esp if you consider the local incomes), lacking vegetables and that sense of satiation and satisfaction. i feel like people who fetishise japanese food are either brainwashed or have never had a truly good meal in their lives. if you want to eat japanese really well you have to spend an absolute fortune and get reservations well ahead of time. even for a decent/mediocre meal you will have to line up and wait a long, looooong time. naw.
also, asia is generally really bad with deserts. the french and italians really nailed that, there's simply no comparison. every random french bakery will have better croissants than the priciest, most instagram-hyped artisanal japanese "bakery" and their bizzarre conceptions. skip the desserts. matcha whatever isn't as good as people want to believe.
We actually much preferred Kyoto to Tokyo. Kyoto has so much tradition, which perhaps is what you are mistaking for being touristy. Also, there's a lot of good food in Japan, and the country's food practices are very clean/hygenic, which is why we felt comfortable eating sushi there. We did miss some vegetables and salads, but we found that to be the case throughout a lot of Asia/Southeast Asia. In Vietnam Pho uses a lot of herbs and greens, so the way they use vegetables is somewhat different. But we can't knock Japanese food too hard because we found plenty of it in Taiwan, Thailand, and South Korea. Japan had plenty of French bakeries if you're not interested in Japanese bakeries. Their ice cream is tasty, and we enjoyed their jiggly pancakes and fruit on a stick, which also is popular in other countries. Japan is one of the world's largest economies, so we didn't think that food prices were overly expensive. We spent 40+ days there, so we had a good amount of time to explore, but of course, there's still so much that we still only scratched the surface. -Judy
🎥 Japan travel series: th-cam.com/play/PLNT98lWfwdF0V4Brx4J0uWJdQENFZKWBT.html
We’re loving the Japan videos and are excited to visit later in 2024. How did Japan work with your travel budget? While it doesn’t seem overly expensive, it’s definitely not inexpensive which seems like it could be a stretch for budget travelers.
Steph&Chris@388_Days
Hi Steph & Chris, It definitely blew our budget. We need to crunch the actual numbers because we paid for everything for our daughter as well as well as her hotel room, so it was not within our usual budget. And although the $66/night costs weren't bad at all for Japan, that is a bit higher than we'd normally spend ourselves. We saved money by staying in only a few cities versus taking cross-country trips or additional stops to places like Osaka or Hakone, etc. And when our daughter was with us, we ate several meals from 7-11, which were cheaper as well. We don't get to travel with her often enough, so eating out more often also was a consideration. But still, ramen and udon are fairly inexpensive (especially compared to the snacks!). And we knew we'd be saving money in Southeast Asia as an offset. We try to look at our year holistically rather than focus only on what we spend in a month. Here in Ho Chi Minh City, we are spending less than $30 night. Thanks so much for watching! -Judy