Travel: Japan - General

[TheAnswer]

Nebbermind:

TheAnswer:

[quote=\"Nebbermind\"]Suggested itinerary for Kyoto.


http://www.insidekyoto.com/kyoto-itineraries

Thanks kor kor.. I just briefly looked through.. looks good..
Have u personally visited any of the places?

I remember spending only one day in Kyoto coz we weren't staying overnight there so covered only a small fraction of what is listed.[/quote]Ic.. we will be spending 5 days in Kyoto..
Anything u recommend to buy?

[dimitri_can]

TheAnswer:

Eastern Kyoto
- Kiyomizu Dera Temple (Pure water temple)
- Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion)
- Higashiyama district
- Gion district
- Maruyama Park

Northern Kyoto
- Ryoan-ji Temple
- Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion)

Southern Kyoto
- Fushimi-Inari Taisha Shrine
- Daigoji temple

Western Kyoto
- Tenryu-ji Temple
- Okochi-Sanso Villa
- Sagano Railway

Central Kyoto
- Kyoto Imperial Palace
- Nishiki Market
- Pontocho

South Eastern Kyoto
- Tofuku-ji Temple

Osaka
- Rinku Premium outlets
- Universal Studios
- Osaka Museum of History
- Osaka Castle
- Peace Osaka

Kobe
- Arima onsen
- Mount Rokko
- Sake breweries
- Kobe harborland

A few words of advice.

For lodging: Kyoto`s lodging is expensive. You might want to get Osaka`s lodging instead if you are on a budget..

Kyoto
How about Fushimi Inari Shrine. It`s one of the most visited places in Kyoto by foreigners.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3915.html

Arashiyama is also worth visiting.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3912.html

For Kyoto souvenirs, try the below:
https://www.tsunagujapan.com/20-kyoto-s ... nitely-buy

Osaka
For Osaka, consider Osaka Aquarium. Better than what we have here in SG.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4004.html

https://www.tsunagujapan.com/20-must-bu ... from-osaka

Number 10 is one of my favourites

Kobe
For Kobe, you can try Kitano as well. Quite a nice place.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3550.html

Kobe souvenirs:
http://createeathappy.blogspot.sg/2014/ ... -kobe.html

When will you be heading to Japan?

[dimitri_can]

TheAnswer:

Princess? No princesses.. just me and hubby.. huh? This cup noodle design kids love more? TA is a kid at heart..

How the cup noodle bag look like.
http://janneinosaka.blogspot.sg/2008/03 ... useum.html

[TheAnswer]

dimitri_can:

TheAnswer:

Eastern Kyoto
- Kiyomizu Dera Temple (Pure water temple)
- Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion)
- Higashiyama district
- Gion district
- Maruyama Park

Northern Kyoto
- Ryoan-ji Temple
- Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion)

Southern Kyoto
- Fushimi-Inari Taisha Shrine
- Daigoji temple

Western Kyoto
- Tenryu-ji Temple
- Okochi-Sanso Villa
- Sagano Railway

Central Kyoto
- Kyoto Imperial Palace
- Nishiki Market
- Pontocho

South Eastern Kyoto
- Tofuku-ji Temple

Osaka
- Rinku Premium outlets
- Universal Studios
- Osaka Museum of History
- Osaka Castle
- Peace Osaka

Kobe
- Arima onsen
- Mount Rokko
- Sake breweries
- Kobe harborland

A few words of advice.

For lodging: Kyoto`s lodging is expensive. You might want to get Osaka`s lodging instead if you are on a budget..

Kyoto
How about Fushimi Inari Shrine. It`s one of the most visited places in Kyoto by foreigners.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3915.html

Arashiyama is also worth visiting.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3912.html

For Kyoto souvenirs, try the below:
https://www.tsunagujapan.com/20-kyoto-s ... nitely-buy

Osaka
For Osaka, consider Osaka Aquarium. Better than what we have here in SG.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4004.html

https://www.tsunagujapan.com/20-must-bu ... from-osaka

Number 10 is one of my favourites

Kobe
For Kobe, you can try Kitano as well. Quite a nice place.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3550.html

Kobe souvenirs:
http://createeathappy.blogspot.sg/2014/ ... -kobe.html

When will you be heading to Japan?

We will be in Japan from 5 Nov to 13 Nov.. We are not on a budget.. Hotels already booked.. Main part of the stay will be in Kyoto.. Thank you for the additional links. I need to read up.

Do u happen to have a list of places to eat at as well as things that we must buy home?
Can you also advice which places I should remove from my list? Many thanks.

[TheAnswer]

How much cash should I change for 2 adults? Do most places accept credit cards?

[Dnls_mum]

TheAnswer:

Dear parents, I need some advice.


We intend to go to the following places. We will be in Japan for 8 to 9 days. Can someone help me arrange itinerary into something suitable? Also help me to eliminate places not worth going to? I will be on vacation with my hubby. Thanks.

Eastern Kyoto
- Kiyomizu Dera Temple (Pure water temple)
- Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion)
- Higashiyama district
- Gion district
- Maruyama Park

Northern Kyoto
- Ryoan-ji Temple
- Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion)

Southern Kyoto
- Fushimi-Inari Taisha Shrine
- Daigoji temple

Western Kyoto
- Tenryu-ji Temple
- Okochi-Sanso Villa
- Sagano Railway

Central Kyoto
- Kyoto Imperial Palace
- Nishiki Market
- Pontocho

South Eastern Kyoto
- Tofuku-ji Temple

Osaka
- Rinku Premium outlets
- Universal Studios
- Osaka Museum of History
- Osaka Castle
- Peace Osaka

Kobe
- Arima onsen
- Mount Rokko
- Sake breweries
- Kobe harborland

You can used the walking guide in Japan guide as a reference. This is the link:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3950.html

We have done the Northern Kyoto, Arashiyama half day and Eastern Kyoto walk suggestions and they were great.

Nijo castle in central Kyoto is worth a visit too. Remember to get the audio guide if you go.

If you like Hello Kitty or is looking for a price to take a break when visiting Higashiyama, do to the Hello Kitty Cafe. Just opened last Nov and was a nice price which served great Kyoto sweets/dessert. Conveniently located along the streets of Hiashiyama as you approach it from Kodaiji heading towards Kiyomezudera.
This is my review on TA:
http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserR ... Kinki.html

[Dnls_mum]

Nebbermind:

TheAnswer:

[quote=\"Nebbermind\"]Suggested itinerary for Kyoto.


http://www.insidekyoto.com/kyoto-itineraries

Thanks kor kor.. I just briefly looked through.. looks good..
Have u personally visited any of the places?

I remember spending only one day in Kyoto coz we weren't staying overnight there so covered only a small fraction of what is listed.[/quote]Actually need a few days to really cover Kyoto leisurely. Also different season shd visit different places. We went during Cherry Blossom season. Hope to visit again in Autumn!

[Dnls_mum]

TheAnswer:

Do u happen to have a list of places to eat at as well as things that we must buy home?
Can you also advice which places I should remove from my list? Many thanks.

This is a good tempura restaurant in Kyoto:
http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserR ... Kinki.html

Kobe must try Kobe beef. I rempcommend thus one:
http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserR ... Kinki.html

Osaka, shd can try the all crab meal:
http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserR ... Kinki.html

If you like Yakiniku, this is a popular one which many people like but maybe because of the hype, I expected too much and so thought it was so so only.  I had tried a better one in Takayama:
http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserR ... Kinki.html

[dimitri_can]

TheAnswer:

How much cash should I change for 2 adults? Do most places accept credit cards?

My advice would be 15000 yen a day for each adult. Assuming you have 2 kids. So 2 adults and 2 kids will be 30000 yen/day. Restaurants and hotels generally accept credit cards. so not to worry. For the expensive items, suggest you use credit card to make payment. Banks charge about 2% extra on top of the exchange rate.

[dimitri_can]

TheAnswer:

Eastern Kyoto
- Kiyomizu Dera Temple (Pure water temple)
- Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion)
- Higashiyama district
- Gion district
- Maruyama Park

For Eastern Kyoto, the flow should be something like this
Kiyomizu Dera temple->Higashiyama District->Maruyama Park->Gion (at night)

i think you can leave Ginkakuji out.

For food, these are my recommendations:

Tenya Tendon (Tempura)
Menu: https://www.tenya.co.jp/menu/
Shop at Namba
Address:
〒542-0076 大阪府大阪市中央区難波2-1-3 (just copy and paste on Google map)

This shop is generally visited by Japanese natives only, not many foreigners know about this. Not to fear, they have English menu. The special thing about this restaurant is that their prawns are reared in a pond, not fished out from the sea. That makes the prawn very crunchy and delicious..

http://uds.gnst.jp/rest/img/r62wm8pa0000/s_003r.jpg?t=1392020864\">
http://i.gzn.jp/img/2013/10/22/tenya-ebi-before-after/00_top.jpg\">

Ichiran Ramen
Shop at Dotonbori
Address:
7-18 1F Souemoncho Chuo-ku Osaka-shi Osaka-fu
〒542-0084

Originated from Fukuoka, this ramen is a MUST-try.

Site: http://www.ichiran.co.jp/english/html/kin_douton.html

http://niigata.way-nifty.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/11/08/photo_2.jpg\">

For beef, you can refer to Hotpepper (equivalent to our Hungrygowhere site) for the top ranking by Japanese.

https://goo.gl/ESS1Gz

Other Osaka food
1) Kushi katsu
2) Tako yaki
3) Okonomiyaki
4) Yakisoba
5) Kitsune udon

Feel free to translate the below page for more info.
http://gurutabi.gnavi.co.jp/i/p27/gm101