Arashiyama is about 15 minutes by train west of Kyoto.
The area is designated as a Historic Site as well as a Place of Scenic Beauty. You’ve probably seen photos from Arashiyama before showing the world famous Sagano Bamboo Forest.
Kotokikichaya (Kotaki Tea Shop), Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan
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I visited Beer Komachi on my first visit to Kyoto a couple of years ago. I checked the reviews to see if 1) it was still in business, and 2) if the craft beer bar still had good reviews, which it did, so decided to make a second visit.
Beer Komachi, Kyoto, Japan
I’d been waiting for my first yakitori, aka barbecue meat on a stick, meal since I’d landed in Japan.
A quick perusal of the usual review websites lead me back towards the area I’d eaten a couple of nights before.
Yakitori Akiyoshi, Kyoto, Japan
After a morning exploring the temple area to the east of Kyoto, I started walking through the Gion area looking for lunch.
Using Yelp, TripAdvisor and Google I noticed a quite well reviewed ramen restaurant not too far from where I was so decided to give it a try.
Musoshin Gion, Kyoto, Japan
In the morning I’d jumped on a Shinkansen and then a local train to get to Hikone to explore the castle and surrounding area.
It was a hard slog given the temperature and number of steps it took to get upto the castle, but it was worth it.
As I wandered back towards the station to return to Kyoto I was looking out for somewhere to eat but nothing stuck out so I decided to wait until I returned to Kyoto to have lunch.
I chose to take the slower local train back to Kyoto as I was just looking for air conditioning by this stage!
The major train stations in Japan are little cities – full of shopping and places to eat. So I knew I’d get something good.
Spicy Masala, Kyoto, Japan