leaving main street – the sequel

For our first real trip outside Korea, we decided to take the quick 1.5 hour flight to Japan over New Years Week. With plans to visit Kyoto and Universal Studios in Osaka, it ended up being a very busy trip. Here is what we did right and what I wish we had done instead.

Getting to Kyoto from the airport in Osaka doesn’t seem that far on the map, but what you quickly learn is that everyone travels by train or public transport. So our trip to our hotel took about 2 hours using Japan Rail Express Train(yes, the Hello Kitty train) and a 30 minute cab ride from Kyoto Station. We did choose a hotel that was on the outskirts of town, which made travel times slightly longer, but we did learn we had a subway stop quite close, so that was helpful. Because we have been using subways and public transport in Korea, using the Japanese systems wasn’t too bad, familiarity was there, just some slight adjustments. It isn’t the most convenient or stress free, but cabs and shuttles are very expensive, so it quickly becomes your best option.

First up was exploring the City of Kyoto, the Nishiki Market and Gion district. Because of the New Years Holidays (which extend to January 3rd in Japan), there was larger than usual crowds, but we made do. Weather was warmer than Korea, so we were able to walk around all day with no problems. Much like Korea, Japan is clean and safe, both are equally wonderful as tourists. Most public restrooms are in great shape, and have heated toilet seats, which I appreciated! We ate some street food treats, Tonkatsu and had lots of different teas. Food was generally very good and easy to come by. Next up, Universal Studios.

We traveled back to Osaka (4 different trains) and made our way to Universal Studios Japan. It did not disappoint. With Harry Potter Land, Jurassic Park, and Super Nintendo World, it was just the dose of fun we needed. We all had a great time. We should have stayed in Osaka our first 2 nights and done this at the beginning of our trip to avoid the travel back and forth from Kyoto, but now we know, and we just might make a return trip here. I will say it is difficult to get tickets on USJ website, you needed a Japanese credit card, so all tickets had to be purchased from a 3rd party site. Nonetheless, we used the app to get around and had a great time!

For the next day exploring Kyoto, we hired a private tour guide with a van. This was mainly to help with ease of getting around to the various sites all over the City that we wanted to see, and so we could enjoy the day without worrying how to get around, checking maps and hopefully to get a personalized experience. It was the best decision, we got picked up at our hotel, and our first stop was the beautiful UNESCO heritage site, Kinkaku-Ji Temple. It was beautiful, peaceful and the I’m glad we were able to see it before the crowds. Next we headed to Arashiyama, where we visited the Monkey Park (it sits at the top of that little mountain with a view of the whole city), walked through the Bamboo Forest and shopped around town for lunch and goodies. Matcha, Mochi, lots of Ramen and delicious food everywhere. Lastly, we headed to Fushimi Inari, a very large and popular shrine (with the orange gates). While I am glad that we got to see it, the crowds made it much less enjoyable than our other experiences. We did get to walk through the surrounding area and I really enjoy the people watching and just seeing what you come upon while you are strolling the neighborhoods. All in all, we really loved a quick trip to Japan, and it gave us a lot of knowledge for how to plan our next trip as well.