After spending the morning in Hakone, we made our way back Odawara station to ride the Shinkansen again to Kyoto. We had a 2pm ride and arrived in Kyoto about 4:15pm.
We took the subway, to our hotel which was the Candeo Hotel Kyoto Karasuma Rokkaku– super impressed with this hotel chain, the room was definitely an upgrade from the APA hotel and roughly the same price, and 15 minutes from Kyoto Station. We got the executive King Room, and were surprised when we saw the luggage we left at Tokyo station was already in our room when we arrived! The room was really beautiful, modern and clean and in a quaint neighborhood.
We walked to dinner at Nasu Oyaji Hanare, a little restaurant known for their curry, coffee and live music. And then we got our ice cream snacks at the local Family Mart before calling it a night.
Thursday Morning and Afternoon
We booked a tour through Get Your Guide for our first day in Kyoto. The tour was about $100 each, and it was an early morning- beat the crowds tour with a local. We met at Kyoto station and took the subway to visit three locations: Fushimi-Inari Shrine, Kinkaku- Ji Golden Temple, and the bamboo forest in Arashiyama.
Fushimi Inari
After the tour, we got lunch at Ramen War– for some pork ramen bowls.
We got coffee at Tribute Coffee and then made our way through the alleys of shops on Teramachi- Dori street which were filled with shops of all kinds.
Thursday Evening
With another recommendation from friends, we had dinner reserved at M-Iso Stand. We’d tried to go the night before, but they’re only open 5pm -close and there were no reservations left. It’s a cool vibe, small and cozy- and the food was epic! The restaurant is known for their miso stews, which was brewing in a huge pot near the entrance, they have an open kitchen behind the bar seating so you can see everything being prepared.
We had the stew, tempura vegetables, fried chicken, and minced tuna. The highballs were also on point, definitely one of my favorite spots we ate at!
Friday Morning
We started off with the breakfast that came with our hotel reservation- a delicious bento box of seasonal delicacies, miso soup and tea.
Wife & Husband- this was our first stop of the day, to visit a small artisanal coffee shop we saw on Everybody Feed Phil‘s Kyoto episode. It’s owned by a husband and wife, and the coffee is carefully brewed one cup at a time. They also offer toast and it’s the best toast I’ve ever had. Another perk is they offer a picnic reservation, where you can take your carafe of coffee to go, and walk about 100 steps to a river bank where there is green grass and trees. The even rent stools, mats, umbrellas and hats in case you need! This was a really sweet way to start the day- make a resi now!
Friday Afternoon/Evening
Nishiki Market– we headed here for more souvenir shopping and lunch.
Saturday, we took the Shinkansen from Kyoto Station back to Tokyo Station for our last night.
