“Kyoto is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, Kyoto is considered to be the centre of Japan’s cultural life. With more than 1,600 Buddhist temples and 270 Shinto shrines, the city is one of the world’s greatest cultural treasures, and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Despite functioning as a modern city today, in many ways it stands in contrast to the metropolis of Tokyo. ”

— japanspecialist.co.uk

With the dip in travel fares following the MH370 and MH17 incidents, #babybaby and I managed to get an all-time-low rate on flights for our maiden trip to Kansai last December. The plan was to cover “the best of” Osaka and Kyoto at a comfortable pace so that we don’t end up needing a holiday from a holiday upon our return to Kuala Lumpur. :-D

Testing out the MAS "special meal" pre-order option

The "Seafood meal" (left) and "Fruit platter" (right) snack. Verdict: Don't bother with the "special meal" pre-order option unless you absolutely have to (for religious or medical reasons) because you get more value with the standard in-flight meal options.

Night flight

We left KLIA at 11.50pm and arrived in Osaka Kansai International Airport (KIX) at 6.50am the next morning. It was a full flight this trip!

Getting to Kyoto

Kyoto doesn’t have an international airport, so we flew in to Osaka’s Kansai International Airport (KIX) and took a 75-minute trainride from the airport to Kyoto (which was supposed to be the most efficient/cost effective way) on the JR Haruka Airport Express.

If you’re intending to do the same, I’d suggest the “ICOCA and Haruka discount ticket package” which you can purchase at the airport. On its own, a 1-way JR Haruka Airport Exptress train ticket from KIX to Kyoto would cost 2,980 yen (Non-reserved seat), but because we got the “ICOCA and Haruka discount ticket package”, we saved 1,730 yen.

How does it work?

Basically, the “ICOCA and Haruka discount ticket package” costs 3,030 yen and consists of:

An ICOCA rechargeable card preloaded with a 500 yen refundable deposit + 1,500 yen credit (that you can use on all JR and private trains, buses, and subway in the Kansai area)
One-way train ticket from KIX to Kyoto (on the JR Haruka Airport Exptress train)

You can top up the value of the card at most of the train stations in Kansai and get a refund on the unused balance of the card before you leave Japan. Just be aware that they will deduct 220 yen from the refundable amount, as a handling fee. You can get more information from their website: http://www.westjr.co.jp/global/en/travel-information/pass/icoca-haruka/

Unless you’re willing to spend at least USD$240 on a 1-way transfer to Kyoto, you may want to avoid the taxis altogether. Haha.

"ICOCA" IC card

Pre-charged with ¥1,500 when you get the "ICOCA & HARUKA" discounted package. It can be used on JR, subway, private railway and bus transportation; and for shopping in the Kansai Area and beyond.

Zombies

From the plane to the train. Doing our best to stay awake on the "HARUKA" Kansai-Airport Express train that brought us directly from the airport to Kyoto Station.

Breakfast

Snacking is permitted on the "HARUKA" Kansai-Airport Express, so we decided to 'tapao' our breakfast from a nearby mart before boarding the train. The canned coffee (next to my left hand) was hot BTW. :-D

Arrival at Kyoto Station

It's not the best picture, but can you see the snowfall? :-D

What to expect

If you’ve spent some time in Tokyo, you’ll find that comparatively, although public transportation is relatively efficient in Kyoto, getting around the outskirts of Kyoto (eg. Arashiyama area) may be a bit tricky if you don’t speak Japanese and you’re not familiar with the bus routes. Nevertheless, as long as you’re prepared to do some significant amount of walking and have constant internet connectivity to map yourself around, you’ll be okay. :-D

Mid-June to late July marks the rainy season in Kyoto while their summers are said to be hot and humid, so the best times to visit Kyoto are October-November (fall) and March-April (spring). When planning your trip, you may want to take note that most businesses are closed from December 29th to January 3rd for the shogatsu (New Year’s) holiday.

Arriving in Kyoto

Greeted by light snowfall :-D

Snowfall licking

A great tongue exercise mind you. Lol~

Cold!

2 degrees in Osaka on the morning we arrived

Budgeting for Kyoto

According to insidekyoto.com, Japan is the cheapest country to visit in the developed world, and you can be prepared to spend anything between Y7800 to Y16,500 per person.

http://www.chrisrowthorn.com/japan_prices.html

Sample Daily Kyoto Budgets (Per Person)

[Referenced from http://www.insidekyoto.com/first-time-in-kyoto]

1. ON A BUDGET

Guesthouse accommodation (per person): Y3000
Two simple restaurant meals: Y1800
Public transport: Y1500
One average temple admission: Y500
Sundry purchases: Y1000

Total: Y7800

2. MID-RANGE

Moderate hotel accommodation (per person/twin occupancy): Y7000
Two moderate restaurant meals: Y4000
Public transport plus one taxi ride: Y2500
Two average temple admissions: Y1000
Sundry purchases: Y2000

Total: Y16,500

Cheapest meal option

If you're on a budget, the 'onigiri' is a great and not to mention a very efficient meal option. ¥100 for rice wrapped in seaweed (with different filling options) which you can find in most marts/convenience stores.

Bento

¥238 for this - complete with rice, a variety of proteins and pickled veg.

Indian food

A must-try in Japan. I absolutely love the way they make their naan in Japan - soft and fluffy on the inside, nice and crispy on the edges. ¥700-900 for a 3-course meal with free-flow of naan and vegetable soup.

Yakiniku

7-course yakiniku meal from ¥5,000 onwards. We considered this "the splurge". Lol~

Where to stay

“When it comes to accommodation, you’re spoiled for choice in Kyoto. You can choose from traditional ryokan (Japanese-style inns), luxury hotels, ‘business hotels’, guesthouses, youth hostels and even capsule hotels. And this being a tourist city, you’ll find that most places are perfectly at home with foreign guests.”

— Lonely Planet

The ryokan experience

Our lil' splurge. The best part about our stay at this traditional Japanese inn was the food, although service was immaculate.

Downtown Kyoto

Tight but clean and very centralized. For first timers in Kyoto, the location of this hotel was perfect!

Being first-timers to Kyoto, we were really glad we picked downtown Kyoto as our base, given the convenience of the subway and train lines, food outlets and proximity to the main sightseeing areas. We went 2 extremes in terms of accommodation and opted to splurge on 1 fancy Ryokan and rough out the rest of our stay in a significantly smaller yet clean hotel room. Will share video reviews of the accommodation with you in the next few posts, but for now, here’s a map of Kyoto which may help with your bearings. :-D

Till the next post! Mwah!

http://www.insidekyoto.com/first-time-in-kyoto