Japan: Highs and Lows

Lisa @Heritage_io
6 min readJul 8, 2020

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As lockdown measures relax in the UK (to some degree) there have been conversations about the likelihood of getting away for the summer holidays. On one hand, I think we still need to be mindful of the fact that we’re still living in a pandemic. So travelling abroad is not a priority for me. So I’ll be continuing to reminiscence from my bank of travel memories. In this post, I’m reflecting about a time when I went out of my comfort zone. What comes to mind was my first proper solo trip — to Kyoto, Japan!

I can’t lie, Japan has been on my list for a while, thanks to my dad — who was the first person I knew who travelled solo — who had some amazing things to say about his trip to Tokyo.

While my trip was mainly for work, I squeezed in some time to explore Kyoto and ventured out to Osaka — which was definitely a highlight!

Highlights

Piece Hostel

After my experience of awful accommodation in Hong Kong, finding the right accommodation was a priority. I had learned my lesson and made sure to read through all the reviews of potential hostels before making a booking. During my search, I came across Piece Hostel — which I would highly recommend! The Piece Hostel was a) close to Kyoto station, b) had single rooms available at a decent price and c) had some sort of system in place where cleanliness was prioritised by staff and residents. I’m now kicking myself that I didn’t take any pics around the hostel or my room (which was so cute!). But just know the aesthetics were minimalist (in a stylish way) throughout the building. I was most impressed by the concise instructions around the building reminding residence how to treat the space(s) we occupied. Especially in the dining/ kitchenette areas and the showers. And I think this was a key factor in these spaces remaining clean (which was one less thing to stress about). If you do plan to stay here — post-corona travel of course — just know that the showers are downstairs.

Food

After doing some quick research, it dawned on me that fish is used in lots of ways within Japanese cuisine. Dashi stock — which forms the basis of popular dishes such as miso soup — is a key ingredient for other Japanese dishes. This was something I had to be mindful of as a vegan. But this didn’t cause many issues as the Happy Cow app signposted me to a range of vegan restaurants across Kyoto. Most of these spots meant cycling for around 20 minutes away from my hostel but I didn’t mind as this was another excuse to see more of Kyoto — especially at night.

Names of the spots I can remember:Taiwan Vegetarian Muku (pic 1) and veg out — vegan cafe (pic 4), Author’s own image.

Things to do

I only had a few days after my work commitments to explore Kyoto (and Osaka) so I decided to visit a few places that were outdoors and incorporated walking. I found the Inside Kyoto blogpost’s really useful to make sense of the transport system in Kyoto before flying over , which made it easier to navigate once I arrived. Since, I was in Kyoto for a week I purchased a two day adult pass — for the bus and subway — and used the bikes provided by the hostel for the rest of week. Just be mindful that you can’t park your bike on the street. You would have to locate a bike rack close to your destination (which you would have to pay for). Some store owners let me park my bike out front which was extremely useful — especially at night.

Day trip to Osaka

I went to Osaka for the day and plotted some sites to visit (inspired by other bloggers of course) which you can see from the pics below.

Osaka Castle, Author’s own image.
Views from Osaka Castle, and Whity Umeda shopping mall, Author’s own image.
Views from Dotonbori Canal, Author’s own image.

Fushimi Inari Shrine

As I have mentioned in previous blog posts, I try to squeeze in at least one hike whilst travelling. This hike involves walking through and alongside thousands of torii (Shinto shrine gates) which have been donated by various people or businesses over the years. The Fushimi Inari Shrine was dedicated to ‘the God Inari of rice and sake by the Hata clan in the 8th century’ (Kyoto City Official Travel Guide). As I walked up the mountain, I noticed there were statues of foxes dotted around which depicts the God Inari (Tsuangu Japan).

Me underneath a torii gate, entrance to the Fushimi Inari and statue of fox depicting the God Inari, Author’s own image.

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

On my final day in Kyoto, I popped to the Arashiyama Bamboo Groves. Despite the number of tourists at the actual grove, it was quite peaceful to be amongst the bamboos and just marvel at the strength of this member of the grass family. While I didn’t have the time to explore the rest of the area as I was flying home, I’ve read that monkeys roam freely up Arashiyama mountains and there are several temples to visit (Japan Guide).

At Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Author’s own image.

Lows

Judgement at the airport

My arrival in Japan started off a little rough. After collecting my baggage and making my way to security, I was asked the usual questions about if I had any illegal drugs in my bags (which I answered no). However, when the immigration officer asked me this question, they specifically pointed at marijuana. I said no. They asked again and I said no again. I know drug laws in Japan are pretty strict so this could be the reason for the emphasis on the immigration officers questioning. But I was also thinking if the fact my hair was in braids at the time was perceived to be locs which has history of being associated with the use of marijuana. This encounter made me feel uneasy at the time but I didn’t experience this type of behaviour during the rest of my trip.

Apart from this encounter at the airport, my trip to Kyoto went smoothly. People were respectful on the whole and when I asked for directions people went out of their way to direct me on the right track. There are also designated smoking areas which I became a bit too accustomed to.

Kyoto as a city has a lot of history to explore and since I only had a very short introduction, I know I’ll be back very soon.

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Lisa @Heritage_io
Lisa @Heritage_io

Written by Lisa @Heritage_io

Hi I’m Lisa | Based in Brum, UK | Writer | Blogging to challenge the idea that history, art, culture and heritage is irrelevant| Twitter & IG: @heritage_io

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