Sometimes, it's hard to be proud of AirAsia when they make mistakes like these. Plus it was on their front page too. Guess it shows that they are only human after all. Gambateh!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Japan2012: Kyoto 5D/4N Itinerary - Day 5
Date of travel: 2-6 April 2012
This is our final day in Kyoto, and the weather wasn't too kind either. We exchange our coupons at Kyoto Hana Hostel and rented 2 bikes for the day for free. We rode all the way back to Sanjo Kawaramuchi area from the night before, and managed to find an official bicycle parking for ¥100 for the first 3 hours. One place we always wanted to visit was The Loft. Having been to The Loft in Bangkok, we loved to browse all the cutesy stuff they have in there. Turns out Kyoto's The Loft was just as cute.
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| Cycling along the Kagawa river |
Japan2012: Kyoto 5D/4N Itinerary - Day 4
Date of travel: 2-6 April 2012
Today was our lucky day. After Sukiya beef bowl (yes again!!), we decided to visit the Gold temple Kinkakuji. On the bus ride there, we passed a craft market which we totally forgot we wanted to visit. This is also known as the Umekoji Park Craft Market, that opens only on the first Thursday of each month. About 6 rows of 20 stalls selling items from handicraft, wooden toys, clothes, to plants and cakes. I bought 3 bars of handmade soap and a donkey house for Monica.
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| Umekoji Craft Market - First Thursday of each month |
Today was our lucky day. After Sukiya beef bowl (yes again!!), we decided to visit the Gold temple Kinkakuji. On the bus ride there, we passed a craft market which we totally forgot we wanted to visit. This is also known as the Umekoji Park Craft Market, that opens only on the first Thursday of each month. About 6 rows of 20 stalls selling items from handicraft, wooden toys, clothes, to plants and cakes. I bought 3 bars of handmade soap and a donkey house for Monica.
Japan2012: Kyoto 5D/4N Itinerary - Day 3
Date of travel: 2-6 April 2012
To start the day, we decided to try out the closest temple to our hotel, which is Nishin Honganji. The moment we entered, we saw about 1000 women on the grounds, all dressed in suits and heels. Turns out that it was some orientation for the Kyoto Women's University. The temple is known for its gardens, but the temple itself was nothing to shout about. Would have skipped this on hindsight.
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| Entrance to Nishin Honganji Temple |
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| The main temple inside, very huge |
Monday, April 30, 2012
Japan2012: Kyoto 5D/4N Itinerary - Day 2
Date of travel: 2-6 April 2012
Day 2 - Shopping & Kiyomizu Temple
Today's weather forecast was rain, rain and more rain. What else can you do in a brand new city when it's cold and wet? We go shopping! Not wanting to get wet, we chose an indoor shopping area starting at Shijo Street at the Kawaramachi intersection. There are 3 great areas to explore here: Nishiki Market, Teramachi Shopping Arcade and Shin Kyogoku Shopping Arcade. All of them are individual shops in covered alleys. We started at Nishiki Market by taking a bus to Shijo Street.
Buses are convenient for tourists. It covers almost every tourist spot in Kyoto, for a flat fee of 500¥ per day. You can buy these passes at the Kyoto station via vending machines, but we got them from Hana Hostel itself. To use them, hop on the bus from the back entrance and look for a ticket machine (if there is one) and insert your ticket. Some buses charge a flat fee, and some charge based on the distance traveled. Upon exiting, head to the front entrance and insert your ticket again. If it is the first time using your ticket, the date will be stamped at the back of the ticket.
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| Kiyomizu Temple at night |
Day 2 - Shopping & Kiyomizu Temple
Today's weather forecast was rain, rain and more rain. What else can you do in a brand new city when it's cold and wet? We go shopping! Not wanting to get wet, we chose an indoor shopping area starting at Shijo Street at the Kawaramachi intersection. There are 3 great areas to explore here: Nishiki Market, Teramachi Shopping Arcade and Shin Kyogoku Shopping Arcade. All of them are individual shops in covered alleys. We started at Nishiki Market by taking a bus to Shijo Street.
Buses are convenient for tourists. It covers almost every tourist spot in Kyoto, for a flat fee of 500¥ per day. You can buy these passes at the Kyoto station via vending machines, but we got them from Hana Hostel itself. To use them, hop on the bus from the back entrance and look for a ticket machine (if there is one) and insert your ticket. Some buses charge a flat fee, and some charge based on the distance traveled. Upon exiting, head to the front entrance and insert your ticket again. If it is the first time using your ticket, the date will be stamped at the back of the ticket.
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| Inside Nishiki Market |
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Japan2012: Kyoto 5D/4N Itinerary - Day 1
Date of travel: 2-6 April 2012
Kyoto is great! It is an all-rounder city that has everything packaged into one place. The transport system is topnotch and easy to navigate to all the tourist areas with a single daily pass card. The city is super clean where you won't find cigarette butts on the floor. Tourist sites are naturally beautiful and very tourist friendly. Shopping is great with most major departmental stores on one street. I loved it!
Day 1: Adjusting to customs
Our AirAsia flight landed at Osaka Kansai airport at 3:45pm. Having been pre-warned by others, we ran for our lives out of the plane (we were the first one out) and arrived first at the immigration counters. Another flight had landed before us and there were about 100 people ahead of us in the queue. It took us 45 minutes to clear immigration! I do not know how long those poor people had to wait after us.
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| Kyoto Tower from Kiyomizu Temple |
Kyoto is great! It is an all-rounder city that has everything packaged into one place. The transport system is topnotch and easy to navigate to all the tourist areas with a single daily pass card. The city is super clean where you won't find cigarette butts on the floor. Tourist sites are naturally beautiful and very tourist friendly. Shopping is great with most major departmental stores on one street. I loved it!
Day 1: Adjusting to customs
Our AirAsia flight landed at Osaka Kansai airport at 3:45pm. Having been pre-warned by others, we ran for our lives out of the plane (we were the first one out) and arrived first at the immigration counters. Another flight had landed before us and there were about 100 people ahead of us in the queue. It took us 45 minutes to clear immigration! I do not know how long those poor people had to wait after us.
Review: Hana Hostel, Kyoto
Date of travel: 2-6 April 2012
This is the very first time I have ever stayed in a hostel in my life. Japan is after all a very clean place, and should offer top notch facilities even in hostels. Plus it has great reviews on TripAdvisor. Having heard so much about it, I was anxious to experience it for myself. This stay was actually forced upon myself, due to the high prices of accommodation in Kyoto. The most basic 3-star hotels were going at about RM550 per room per night, whereas this place was 3400¥ per person per night for a Private Twin room with ensuite bathroom. This works out to be about RM260 per room per night. In short, we loved it!
Upon arrival, we had to pay a 1000¥ deposit for the key, which is refundable upon checkout. Since we were staying for 4 nights, we were each given a coupon to redeem for either 1 day's worth of bicycle rental, a set of postcards, or 200¥ off per person. Kyoto is a great place to cycle as it is relatively flat, so we opted for the bicycle ride which would have cost 500¥ otherwise.
This is the very first time I have ever stayed in a hostel in my life. Japan is after all a very clean place, and should offer top notch facilities even in hostels. Plus it has great reviews on TripAdvisor. Having heard so much about it, I was anxious to experience it for myself. This stay was actually forced upon myself, due to the high prices of accommodation in Kyoto. The most basic 3-star hotels were going at about RM550 per room per night, whereas this place was 3400¥ per person per night for a Private Twin room with ensuite bathroom. This works out to be about RM260 per room per night. In short, we loved it!
Upon arrival, we had to pay a 1000¥ deposit for the key, which is refundable upon checkout. Since we were staying for 4 nights, we were each given a coupon to redeem for either 1 day's worth of bicycle rental, a set of postcards, or 200¥ off per person. Kyoto is a great place to cycle as it is relatively flat, so we opted for the bicycle ride which would have cost 500¥ otherwise.
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| We got Room 205, which was at the end of the corridor |
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| Open the main door, and this is what you'll see. A closet on the right, a toilet and a bath straight on |
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| The closet has extra bedding if you need it |
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