damo & kath get lost: osaka & kyoto, japan

4 - 11 December, 2014

Konnichiwa peeps. Damo and I are now in one of our fave countries in the world - Japan! The land of sushi and snow and cherrie blossoms and sake and onsens and safety and polite inhabitants. Japan is great. So far we have checked out Osaka and Kyoto. Next stop is Tokyo and Niseko for some skiing before jetting back to reality, eek!

The highlights

Bikes! We always love bikes. They are so practical and not to mention FUN for getting about. We rode to every corner of Kyoto - down freeways, through villages, up mountains and alongside rivers. Bikes are so great. Especially Japanese bikes, they have tiny wheels and you don't need a padlock cause everyone here is so honest! A far cry from our double padlock situation in Central America.
Our groovy Kyoto apartment (another accommodation winner sourced by Damo), complete with floor mattress, a Jetsons-style stove top which doesn't get hot to touch but can boil porridge in three seconds flat(?!) and our friendly toilet that greets you by opening its lid, has numerous nifty buttons, a heated seat and an automated tap to wash your hands after.
Temples, temples, temples! We are sufficiently templed out. We visited Ginkakuji Temple (silver pavillion, that's not actually silver), Eikando Temple (with lots of gardens and nice views of the city), Nanzenji Temple (I just remember the acquaduct), Yasaka Shrine (was nice at night), Tenryuji Temple (which we got to sit inside like Japanese royalty from the 1200s), Osaka Castle (which we climbed to the top of for rad views of Osaka) and Todaiji Temple (which was in Nara - we did a day trip out there to see its temples and gardens). The temples were all stunning, but I liked the gardens best I think.
Checking out the more modern sights and lights of Kyoto and Osaka. Like, Kyoto Station which is an amazing architectural feat, the monkey park, Nishiki Markets where we did lots of wandering, the crazy gambling rooms, and a few izakaya or Japanese bars. We also visited....
Spa World - the greatest place on earth. It's in Osaka. And its the biggest spa in the world. We spent nearly 4 nudie hours in there and it wasnt enough.
Sushi train! Green tea flavored everything! Udon! Soba! Tempura! We at alll of it. We went to the same sushi train restaurant four nights in a row. It's amazing. You order on your personal screen and when your sushi is about to arrive on the conveyorbelt the screen plays music to let you know! It's magical. Restaurant gamification. Genius.

The Summary

Weather: so nice! Sunny and clear skies, but uber cold. 2-12C.
Activities: Bike riding, onsening, walking, eating sushi.
Food: soooo much sushi. We went every single night to this one sushi train that did 8 different types of salmon nigari alone. Yum! Also noodle soups and oats as always.

Beverages: Sake. Asahi. Green tea.

People: Lots of kind Japanese people.
Accommodation: Osaka was a cute tiny hotel, Kyoto was an awesome Japanese style apartment, our last airbnb pad of the trip.
Fun fact: Oh, I don't know... Gambling is illegal here. Smoking appears to be allowed in most restaurants. The Japanese are super honest and hard working - there's next to no theft and people work long hours. The country's in a recession. They invented sushi train. That's all I've got.
Budget: Just under!
Overall: We didn't see much of Osaka with only two days there, but it seemed pretty happening and fun. If nothing else, its worth a visit just to skulk about in Spa World! Kyoto was a gorgeous city with lots of temples and gardens and it's nice and flat for riding bikes around! We loved the city and especially our neighbourhood in groovy Gion. It also has the best sushi EVER. Do it.

Bye for now folks,
Kath (and Damo)

Pretty kimonos everywhere!

What was a cute little Japanese apartment before we trashed the place. I'm looking forward to not living out of our rucksacks soon! Ps. Yes, that's our bed in the back corner there.

Morning friendly toilet! He greets you with a lid opening and can do all sorts of unspeakable things. Just ask Damo.

My bike, Canary. She was such a trooper to cart me around half of kyoto with those little wheels.

Temple hopping by bike! Check out the miles we clocked today.

The temples around Kyoto are just gorgeous.

Uh oh, looks like someone just messed up sudoku.

This was the main event at Nara (the once capital city of Japan) which is where we took a day trip to to check out all its amazing temples and shrines.

Strolling around pretty Japanese gardens like a couple of dorks. Happy dorks.

Not so happy school kids.

More wanderings around Kyoto.

Last time we were in Japan for the cherrie blossoms, this time for the autumn leaves!

Best. A bamboo garden!

I forgot to mention that Nara also has wild deer. Damo nearly lost his marbles with excitement.

More pretty gardens. With pretty trees.

Cruising around the burbs of Kyoto.

This is the Philosophers path. It's nice for cruising. And philosophising.

Yogini me. Zening out inside one of the ancient temples.

I LOVE spa world. It's amazing. Over 20 different onsen pools to lull about in. If you go to Osaka, you must go there.

Another pool at spa world.

Lunch time = green tea, noodles, veggies and tofu.

Dinner time = all the sushi you can handle! And it comes via an online ordering screen which plays music when your fresh sushi arrives on the convoryabelt, amazing!

We went to the same place every night in Kyoto. This was a record plate count. Boom.

It's pinball for adults! And everyone here is doing it. Its smokey, loud and neon inside. Gross. But the worst part is that gamblings illegal here so you can only cash your winnings in for prizes. Lame.