I think 2 nights in a ryokan is a perfect amount of time to relax and forget about the world outside you. We started packing up because the morning tends to be a little rushed with breakfast at 8 and check out at 10. The nakai san knocked on our door to let us know that breakfast was ready for us.
Yesterday was an awesome experience of just eating delicious food and soaking in the onsen so why wouldn’t we do it all over again today?! The first time we did a ryokan experience it was just for one night. We arrived later in the afternoon and it felt like we were rushed through the entire time we were there and didn’t get a chance to explore other areas of the town.
It’s moving day again! I feel like every time I leave a city and I want to stay longer, it means that we had a good time and there’s reason to come back in the future. Check out was at 11 and check in at the Morizuya Ryokan in Kinosaki Onsen was at 3. In looking at Google maps, if we left right at check out and caught the train out of Kyoto, we’ll arrive an hour before check in so we had some wiggle room.
The plan this morning was to head to the Fushimi Inari shrine to see the 10,000 torii gates just south of Kyoto. We got up at 6am hoping to beat the crowds to get some pics without bumping into people but along the way we went to the wrong subway station, got on the wrong train which missed our stop, then had to back track on another train. We probably used up an extra 45 min trying to get to Ryukokudai-mae-fukakusa Station. Fortunately we saw other tourists with the same problems as us so it definitely wasn’t my poor navigation skills.
Yesterday was our first full day in Kyoto. After a few days in Yakushima where we had a few chill out days we were ready and rested for more sightseeing. First place to check out with Nishiki Market, which has a history of 400 years of being “Kyoto’s Kitchen”.
Saturday meant it was time for us to leave Yakushima Island and continue moving on with our trip. Naturally, it was beautiful and warm outside. Just in time for us to head out. I guess it’s better that we have nice weather to leave on the ferry otherwise we’d be stuck indoors again with heavy rains. We had our last breakfast with our new friends Matt and Julie overlooking this gorgeous mountain view.
I woke up this morning to heavy rain pelting the windows. Guess yesterday’s question of “are we going hiking today?” was answered. As I got ready for the day, the rain would stop and switch to mist which raised my hopes but then the mist turned back into sideways rain again within a few minutes.
When planning this week, I had intended on leaving the day after our long hike with a chill out day as I knew we’d be sore and immobile due to our old age of 35. Even if we wanted to go out and explore the island, Typhoon Marwar decided for us that it was not the day to do so.
I woke up randomly at 3:30am yesterday morning and wasn’t able to get back to sleep. When we first arrived, everything was overcast so you weren’t able to see the 3000ft tall Mt. Motchomudake in front of our minshuku. I looked out the window and saw that the clouds had gone and there were a bunch of stars out. This was probably the best opportunity to try taking a few pictures of the night sky. I still have a ton to learn about this style of photography but I think these turned out nicely without dedicated equipment besides a tripod.
Woke up yesterday morning with rain outside our window. It looks like most of southern Japan was going to get showers the next few days which made it perfect timing for us to leave for the next place. A few years ago, my friend Luke recommended a place called Yakushima Island for my next Japan trip as it’s a designated world heritage site due to having Japanese cedar forests with trees that are several thousand years old.
