In 2016, just 8 months after my previous Japan trip in 2015 I went to Japan again. Same reason as the previous one, I went there for Perfume's concert. After looking at the list of location they're having the concert, I've decided to attend the one held at Fukui and I used that opportunity to explore Kansai (関西) and Hokuriku (北陸) area.
The concert was held on 29th May, so I've planned to go there a week earlier to travel around Kansai and Hokuriku area. After doing some research I've planned my itinerary as follow: Osaka -> Nara -> Kyoto -> Kinosaki Onsen -> Kobe/Himeji -> Kanazawa -> Fukui. To save the traveling cost around those area, I bought the 7 days JR Kansai-Hokuriku Area Pass which cost ¥15k (SGD 193) at that time. For this trip, I bought ANA airline ticket again which cost around SGD 677.
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| Use this pass to travel around those area freely |
On 21st May, I took the morning flight from Singapore and landed at Tokyo Narita airport. Then I bought the luminous bus ticket at a discounted price using JCB card which was around
¥2,480 and took the bus from the airport to Ikebukuro (池袋). I got some free and easy time there before I take the night bus to Osaka. So I just wander around Ikebukuro, went to the Pokémon Center there and met up with my friend for dinner. At night, I took the Willer Express night bus to Osaka from Ikebukuro Sunshine Bus terminal. The one way trip to Osaka cost around ¥5,170 (SGD 64). It's the most budget way to travel from Tokyo to Osaka as taking Shinkansen will cost more than ¥10k. To me the bus ride was quite comfortable. The seat is quite spacious for normal size people and there is a hood attached to your seat so that you won't get disturbed by the light at night, and the highway stop is another level too if compare with Malaysia (LOL). It's definitely a good way to travel across prefectures on a budget plan.
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| The bus which I took to Osaka |
After 11-hour of bus ride, I reach Umeda in the morning. I got a day to spend in Osaka so I just walk around some places which I never go in my previous grad trip, like Shitennoji (四天王寺), Osaka station. At night I met with another friend who happened to be in Japan also that time at Dotonbori for dinner. My stay in Osaka was another capsule hotel called
Eco Cube Shinsaibashi which cost around SGD 24 per night. Unlike the previous capsule hotel I stayed, this one only have shower rooms. Not really a great stay but the location is good as it's only walking distance to Dotonbori.
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| Umeda Sky Building |
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| Saw an Ultraman event at Osaka station by coincidence |
Perfume's selection of Ichiran (一蘭) options
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| The iconic crab at Dotonbori, too bad it's not there anymore |
The next day (23rd May) early morning, I went to Nara (奈良) to see those famous deer using the JR Pass. To travel within Nara you'll need to take bus ride which is not covered in the JR Pass, so it is recommended to buy the
1-day pass (¥500) to enjoy unlimited bus ride, else each bus ride cost ¥200. My first stop at Nara was the Todaiji temple (東大寺). At the entrance there were already a lot of deer strolling around waiting to be feed. The Todaiji (¥500) main hall, Big Buddha Hall (大仏殿) is the world largest wooden building and inside the hall there is one of Japan's largest bronze statues of Buddha. It's worth visiting the temple.
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| Nara 1 Day Pass |
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| The deer is waiting someone to buy the shika senbei to feed them |
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| To be warn, once bought the senbei those deer will surround you and urge you to feed them quickly. Some may even bite you as well. My advice would be choose somewhere there is only 1 or 2 deer so you can slowly feed them. |
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| Nandaimon Gate (南大門) |
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| Todaiji's main hall - 大仏殿 |
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| Big Buddha bronze statue, his open hand alone is as tall as a human being |
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| Maple leaves inside the temple |
Nearby the Todaiji temple is the Nara park and I walked towards to the Kasuga Taisha (春日大社) which is free admission at the outer area. Since I bought the 1 day bus pass, I also went to other temple like Kofukuji (興福寺), Naramachi (奈良町), and Gangoji (元興寺).
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| After fed just lying down at the Nara Park |
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| The path towards Kasuga Taisha |
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| Kasuga Taisha (春日大社) |
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| The lanterns display in the shrine |
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| Kofukuji, the Eastern Golden Hall and Five-Storied Pagoda |
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| Kofukuji, the Southern Octagonal Hall |
After all the temple visit and photo taking with the deer, I went back to Kintetsu Nara station to have lunch and walked along the shopping district there. Along the district there are a lot of snacks to buy and also the famous green mochi in Nara. After spending half day there, I took the train and proceed to Kyoto. It was already 4 plus after I reached Kyoto and checked-in hotel. So I only went to Kyoto Pokémon Center and had my dinner at Daiichi Asahi ramen (第一旭ラーメン) which is not far from Kyoto station. I stayed 2 nights there at the
K's House Kyoto which cost around ¥4,224 for 2 nights.
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| Kyoto theme phone case |
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| The char siew cover up the ramen |
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| Always go to this shop whenever I go to Kyoto. However it's always a long queue during the dinner hour, so better to go there earlier to avoid waiting too long |
On my 1 full day at Kyoto (24th May), I planned to take photos at the Bamboo Groves and to avoid the big crowd there I woke up around 5 and reach there around 6 plus. I took the train to JR Saga Arashiyama station, from there just follow the path to the bamboo forest.
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| Glad that I went there early to have a clear path view |
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| Even at 7 plus, there was already some tourists |
From the bamboo forest, I walked along that area and towards Arashiyama. There is a
Monkey Park Iwatayama located at the Arashiyama mountain, so I went there but I never expected I have to hike for some distance to reach the park 😅. There is an admission fee of ¥550 for the park, once I'm in there I can see hundred of monkeys roaming around freely. There is a feeding booth where you can buy a pack of peanuts and feed the monkeys thru the fence. The monkeys there were well trained as they won't try to snatch the whole pack of peanuts, instead they will wait for me to offer the peanut and grab the peanut from my palm. I had a quick chat with one of the keeper there and she kindly introduced me the monkeys there like who is the big boss, the number 2, the family and so on. I asked how can she recognized all the monkeys because all of them look similar to me. Then she took out a note which list down all the special feature of the monkeys and told me it wasn't easy to memorize all but eventually she manage to recognize them. Impressed!
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| Arashiyama (嵐山) |
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| Togetsukyo Bridge (渡月橋) |
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| The entrance to the park |
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| The do and don't |
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| Need to hike up the hill |
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| 160m above sea level |
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| The view from the park |
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| The baby monkey with it's mom |
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| The feeding booth |
Around 1030 there is a feeding time, the staff will knock a bell and bring out a bucket of peanuts. The monkeys will gather around the entrance and wait the staff to spread those peanuts. That's the time when the visitors can have a closer view of the monkeys. It was really a great place to visit and there is a splendid view from the Monkey Park.
Feeding time
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| In Kyoto, can easily spot tourists wearing Yukata |
After wandering around Arashiyama in the morning, I met up with my cousin and went to
TOEI Kyoto Studio Park in the afternoon. The admission ticket was around ¥2,000. The studio park is just next to the TOEI Kyoto Film Studio and we can see the setup, the building where they shoot the Jidaigeki. Inside the park there is a few attractions like Haunted house, ninja experience and events of the TOEI superhero.
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| The Jidaigeki stars |
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| Ninja Cafe |
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| Lunch in the Studio Park |
Inside the Studio Park, there is also an exhibition displaying the TOEI animation and superheroes.
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| Kamen Rider Black and the Shadow Moon |
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| The Red Rangers |
The Heisei (平成) Kamen Rider
Since I already went to some of the famous tourist spots in Osaka and Kyoto in my previous grad trip, so during this trip I never visit those places again instead I explored some other places. So if someone going for their first trip to Japan and like to visit Osaka and Kyoto, normally I would recommend this route. Spend a few days in Osaka, then before going to Kyoto make a half day trip to Nara to see those deer.
After spending 4 days in that region, the next day I travelled to Kinosaki Onsen (城崎温泉) and started exploring other prefectures which I will continue next time 😊
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