Kyoto Royal Hotel

We boarded the Shinkansen at 8.15am bound for Kyoto and arrived about 10.30am, caught a taxi to the Kyoto Royal Hotel.  Because check in was 2pm we left our luggage and journeyed off to the Gion district which was a 15 minute walk from the Hotel, we ...

... was to find a coin laundry. There are so few of them in Japan now, most of the them are located in hostels. Unfortunately the Kyoto Royal Garden didn't have one and I didn't want to use their laundry service and be forced to pay Y500 for a shirt! Michi ...

... and from there we boarded a train to Kyoto.  Kazu's son, Koske, made us reservations at the Rhga Royal Hotel (one of the finest in Kyoto--).  We checked in; freshened up and took a taxi to downtown.  Found a Japanese restaurant that wasn't ...

... different during daylight hours. After a while, we veered down a new alley and found ourselves in front of the Royal Hotel Kyoto. Being daring, we went in and asked the hospitality desk staff for directions to some good antique shopping areas. They were ...

Kyoto Royal Hotel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kyoto was the imperial capital of Japan after Naraj, but before it was moved to Edo (Tokyo).    It's still considered the cultural home of Japan, because (from Wiki) "Kyoto was spared from ...

... with instructions on how to get to our hotel by subway.  In addition, we received the latest version of the Kyoto Visitor's guide containing tidbits of information about what to see and do. We also made adjustments to our departure JR tickets for an ...

... hour in and it was getting quite dark. Luckily we bumped into an American expat who suggested a scenic walk taking in a lot of Kyoto's traditional streets that ran alongside the canal. We would never have come across this route if it wasn't for our chance ...

... there in very bullet like fashion!  It was a great trip, if rather expensive.  The taxi took us to our very posh Kyoto hotel, which was very close to Gion and therefore walking distance of most of the sights we wanted to see.  The staff ...

... see how frantic people were acting to buy chocolate valentines gifts like there was no tomorrow. Touchy Lighty The shops in Kyoto station were running a promotion today. Anyone who had spent more than Y1000 would be entered into a tombola prize draw ...

... runway putting out flares on the ground to cordon off other vehicles. That was impressive. The moment we reached Kyoto, we were taken to Kinkakuji, the famous Golden Pavilion, which was created on 1397. The place was swarmed with ...

... We sampled some and found them delicious.  We later learned that they were called Izutsu Yatsuhashi, a well-known confectionary item from Kyoto. And so ends our sightseeing tour of Japan.  Tomorrow, we leave Kyoto early to head back to Tokyo, in ...

Our second day in Kyoto and we boarded a local train and went to see the Fushimi-Inari-Taisha Shrine in southern Kyoto.  The head shrine of some 40,000 Inari shrines located throughout the land, it was founded in 711 and dedicated to five Shinto ...

... protection from dirt, but no support whatsoever... Anyway, enough complaining about 'poor us' having to walk around Kyoto!!!  We got to the hotel, checked-in (with a mildly embarrassing moment as the clerk walked to us to the elevator, then bowed to ...

... . 6. Bus passes = YES totally worth it 7. Subway passes = NO, Not worth it. 8. there are so many nice hostels in Kyoto, Don't stay in an expensive hotel. You won't get a bigger room, you'll just pay more. 9. There is a City bus system, and a bus company ...

... this is not to say that there isn't some prostitution going on around here. Because we walked through the entertainment district of Kyoto tonight, and there's plenty of trouble to be gotten in if you're looking for it. One street was lined with ...

... way. Suddenly I started to walk up through more narrow streets that were getting steeper & steeper. Theses streets were like a royal mile of Kyoto with all the old style houses & shops out the front selling religious stuff to souvenirs. Most of ...

... First took the bus to Nijo Castle. This was a long zig zagged type building with sliding doors and wall artwork. Interior had royal courts re-enactments with manniquins, like in the movies, but no photography was allowed. Kyoto is like Gyeongju in Korea. ...

... First took the bus to Nijo Castle. This was a long zig zagged type building with sliding doors and wall artwork. Interior had royal courts re-enactments with manniquins, like in the movies, but no photography was allowed. Kyoto is like Gyeongju in Korea. ...

... ninja hanging on a rope. It was pretty creepy. We all had a fun time there and wouldn't mind going back. We went to Kyoto station. There was a huge escalator and a long staircase. Some of us ran up the stairs while others preferred the escalators. We ate ...