Kyoto: Ekiben, Kiyomizu-Dera, Kyoto Tower

Day Four

BREAKFAST

Convenience store-bought  bread in the hotel. No photographic evidence (bad habit - I'm working on it).

SHINKANSEN AND EKIBEN

The shinkansen platforms to take were decidedly more confusing than the normal trains, but once our platform and leaving times were established, we allowed ourselves some time to buy ekiben. Short for eki bento (train station lunchboxes), there are a wide variety available from convenience stores, as well as shops that sell only ekiben. The wide variety caters for different palates, budgets, and stomach size.
Lucky shot of the bullet train

The seats for shinkansen are much more upright and straight-backed than aeroplane seats - however, the legroom is more generous, and the seats lean back further, allowing for a good sleep. The train ride took 2-3 hours, and during, we had lunch.

Yakisoba pan - fried soba noodles in bread. A little too heavy on the carbohydrates for our liking.

Colourful and nutritious. It's said that bento boxes should include five colours: black, white, green, yellow, and red. Unfortunately, we couldn't identify most of the components.

A less colourful, but equally delicious miso pork bento. If a little dry (and unfortunately cold).

KYOTO : HOTEL

We arrived in Kyoto at around 1 in the afternoon, dragging the luggage a surprisingly short 5-minute walk to the Kyoto Tower Hotel Annex. Here we came to the realisation that the size of the room is proportional to the size of the lobby. While it was not our favourite hotel, they provided us with complementary tickets to the Kyoto Tower, about 3 minutes' walk from the hotel - a nice touch. However, it was comfortable enough, and being situated 5 minutes' walk from two convenience stores, a cafe, Kyoto station, and various other things, it was a good location.



KIYOMIZU-DERA

We followed directions from the hotel concierge of how to reach Kiyomizu-dera (dera being the suffix referring to "temple"). At Kyoto station, we took bus 206 from either the C2 or D2 stop (I can't recall). Bus fare is a set ¥230 per person, and paid as you alight. Be warned when you pay - one slot is for coins for fare, and the other is for changing to smaller coins. Exact change is required, which is where the coin changer comes in handy.

 The path on the way to the temple itself is lined with small shops excellent for souvenirs. We put these off for the return journey. The entrance fee to the temple is ¥300 per person. While photography is allowed, they ask you refrain from taking photos of the prayer rooms out of respect, a common request for shrines and temples.
The gated entrance of the temple (no fee).

A stone statue guards the entrance
Accessible to everyone (no fee). The diversity of people is fantastic - here you can see a lady in a gorgeous pink Kimono using a selfie stick, common in Japan
Kiyomizu-dera

You can buy plaques and write your new year wishes on them. (Some ask for very strange things.)
Otowa-no-taki: using the poles provided (which are sterilised in their holders by UV light - go Japanese technology!), you collect water in the bucket on the end, wash both hands with it. Refilling the cup, pour the water into your hand and drink (some spit, which is understandable). According to Sis#2 the three springs grant different wishes. Drink from only one or two - drinking from all three means you're too greedy, and renders the wishes redundant.

 Outside the temple, there are multiple alleys that hold shops selling souvenirs, food, and household items, amongst other things. This is a great place to buy for family and friends, or just to browse and eat.
The streets. An adjoining street, this one is less crowded than the main one.

DINNER : PORTA DINING

Kyoto holds a lot of elite restaurants, and our options near Kyoto station was limited to McDonald's, cafes, convenience stores, or quite pricy restaurants. So we headed underground near Kyoto station, where there is a mass of eateries in an area called Porta Dining. Ranging from about ¥1,000 per dish in the restaurants, dining could still become pretty pricy, but it depended on where you look.

 We stopped off at one of the restaurants on the edge of Porta Dining area, a ramen store called [らーめん かんじん] (Ramen Kanjin). The menu is in Japanese.
This meal set, including a ramen of choice, half-portion of fried rice, and four gyoza (dumplings) was ¥980.
The ramen was good - I had the miso tonkotsu (miso pork broth) ramen, which I enjoyed, though the rest of the family liked the shoyu tonkotsu (soy sauce and pork broth) ramen (pictured above) more.

KYOTO TOWER

The entrance fee to Kyoto tower is about ¥700 per person. We entered an elevator that took us to the top. While it's not the tallest tower in existence, being my thrifty self, the complementary tickets made it worth the trip.
The view from Kyoto tower. Don't mind the reflection.
End Day 4

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