Translated by Atsushi Ito
Hello everyone,
Welcome to Kyoto, my home town.
I will introduce how and where to get some sightseeing done in Kyoto because it is a really good place with good food, historical sites, and beautiful scenery.
Contents
This is only a throwaway image about the directions of places that I will introduce below around Kyoto station.
Wi-Fi
I think Wi-Fi in Kyoto will be quite bad. Places where you can use free Wi-Fi are limited to chain stores like Starbucks, Mcdonald’s or a few random shops.
If you can afford it, I recommend a mobile wi-fi which you can rent on the 1st floor of Kansai Airport, which is about \500 to \1000 per day.
English
Please do not expect having too much of any English conversation with Japanese. In general, Japanese have a very limited ability for listening and speaking English, so you will have some trouble with it. If you do manage to find a Japanese person who can speak English in the city, it is kinda like pulling a Mythic rare.
Also it might be surprising, most Japanese can read and write English. So if you want to communicate by any means, it might just be better to use a paper or smartphone.
Purchase a smart card
What to purchase first in Japan is a smart card for public transportation at a train station.
For example, they usually require a \500 deposit and however much money you want to charge it with ex. \4500, not having to worry about exact fares for trains will help you so much when staying in Japan.
ISome of the merits as seen below.
A lot easier to move around and travel to your destination.
Public transportation in Japan is done mostly by train, and nearly every station uses a ticket gate system that will be hard to understand at first glance.
In that respect, if you have a smart card for public transportation, there is little need to worry about losing it and you can use any train, bus or taxi with it.
Can be used to pay with in stores & for vending machines
That’s another reason why I recommend to purchase a smart card. You can usually pay with it in a lot of stores (Restaurants usually don’t accept them though).
It’s especially useful for convenience stores. In any Japanese city you will find convenience stores nearly everywhere, and they sell most of anything you could need. (How many stores? Common rarity).
Just charge in nice increments of ￥1,000
Because we all know how small change is bothersome right?
This is why I would recommend you to buy a smart card.
Around Kyoto Station
Gogoichihourai (Meat Buns)
- Address
- Near the central entrance of Kyoto station
- Business Hours
- 9:00-21:00
- Price
- Less than \1,000
- More about
Ginjouramenkubota (Ramen)
- Address
- 563 Nishimatsuyacho Shimogyo-ku Kyoto Kyoto
- Business Hours
- 11:00-14:30 / 18:00-22:30
- Price
- Less than \1,000
- More about
Nara
- Transport expenses
- Less than \1,000 (for one‐way fare)
- Official Nara Travel Guide
Nara is about an hour away from Kyoto station by train. It is takes a while to get there, so sightseeing after the Magic a event might be good idea.
Sagano
- Price
- Transport Expenses: about \300 from Kyoto to Arashiyama (for one‐way fare)
- Romantic train: about \700 (for one‐way fare)
- River Boat Ride: about \4000 (except that it can be cancelled if flooding)
- Sagano Romantic train
- Hozu-gawa River Boat Ride
Go by train, return by the River Boat Ride. Also there is a great hot spring there.
Fushimi
There is almost nothing around the GP Kyoto site so I recommend to go other places as soon as you are finished at the event venue.
Fushimi Inari Shrine
Cotelette (Tonkatsu – Pork cutlet)
- Address
- 296-1 Kataharacho Fushimi-ku Kyoto Kyoto
- Business Hours
- 11:00-21:00 (closed every Thursday)
- Price
- Less than \1,500
- More about
Shijou Kawaramachi
This is the center of Kyoto. You can look for some souvenirs while enjoying a tour of all the great food Kyoto has to offer in Nishikiichiba or Shinkyogoku Shotengai. Also you can find lots of Izakaya or Karaoke rooms there.
I like “Obanzai Viking” for lunch, which is a buffet with a focus on vegetables grown in and around Kyoto suburbs.
If you don’t have a lot time and finish lunch quickly, you can go “Depachika” which is B1 floor in Daimaru department or Matsuzakaya department. It is like a specialized prepared food area of a grocery store……ah, it’s difficult to explain [Think Delicatessen/Deli].
I think it is a taste unique to Japan so I recommend you to drop in.
Gion Matsuri festival
July in Kyoto means Gion Matsuri festival season but to put it simply it is similar to hell for anyone who dislikes big crowds.
A ot of people will come for the festival and the humidity is terrible… If you got a hotel near Shijoukawaramachi during the GP week, you should check the schedule of the festival and be prepared for the heat and crowds.
PATISSERIE AU GRENIER D’OR (Cake, Sweets)
- Business Hours
- 11:00-19:00
- Price
- Less than \1,000
- More about
Kafekarirenge (Shaved Ice)
- Business Hours
- 11:00-17:00 (closed every Thursday and Friday)
- Price
- Less than \1,500
- More about
Rufu (Omurice)
- Business Hours
- 11:30-15:00 / 17:00-22:00 (closed every Tuesday)
- Price
- Less than \2,000
- More about
Wajouryoumensugari (Ramen)
- Address
- 471-1 Kannoudocho Nakagyo-ku Kyoto Kyoto
- Business Hours
- 11:30～15:00 / 18:00-22:00
- Price
- Less than \1,000
- More about
Aje (Horumon (BBQ Offel), Yakiniku (BBQ Beef))
- Business Hours (Weekday)
- 18:00-23:00(closed every Thursday)
- Business Hours (Holiday)
- 17:00-23:00
- Price
- Less than \5,000
- More about
Higashiyama
Shijoukawaramachi, Gion, Maruyamakouen Park, Kodaiji temple, Sannenzaka, and Kiyomizudera temple is the classic course for sightseeing in Kyoto.
Just In case, the entry fee for temples or shrines in Kyoto ranges from free to about \700 and has to be paid in cash.
% ARABICA Kyoto Higashiyama (Coffee)
- Address
- 87-5 Hoshinocho Higashiyama-ku Kyoto Kyoto
- Business Hours
- 8:00-18:00 (closed irregularly)
- Price
- About \500
- Shop website
- More about
Kagizenyoshifusa (Japanese sweets)
- Address
- 264 Gionmachi Kitagawa Higashiyama-ku Kyoto Kyoto
- Business Hours
- 9:00-17:45 (closed every Monday)
- Price
- Less than \1,000
- Shop website
- More about
Giwonkomori (Japanese sweets, Parfait)
- Business Hours
- 11:00-19:30 (closed every Wednesday)
- Price
- Less than \2,000
- More about
Demachiyanagi
Demachifutaba (Japanese sweets, Daifuku)
- Business Hours
- 8:30-17:30 (closed every Tuesday and fourth Wednesday)
- Price
- Less than \1,000
- More about
Heianjingu Shrine
This is next to the PT site. If you want to take a stroll around the area, I recommend taking a walk from Nanzenji temple to the Lake Biwa canal.
Yamamotomenzo (Udon)
- Address
- 34 Okazaki Minamigoshocho Sakyo-ku Kyoto Kyoto
- Business Hours
- 11:00-17:30 (closed every Thursday and fourth Wednesday)
- Price
- About from \1,000 to \2,000
- More about
This place has some of the best Udon in Japan, but it usually has a nightmarishly long line and during summer that is something I can’t recommend standing in.
If you still want to brave the queue to enjoy the best Udon, you should get in line from about 9:30 a.m. which is about one and a half hour before opening.
Marushinhanten (Chinese)
- Business Hours
- 11:00-Next morning (closed every Tuesday)
- Price
- Less than \1,000
- More about
Reasonable price and decent sized servings. If you can’t read the menu, it will be a good idea to take a photo of the item you want in the display window in front of outlet by smartphone and show them it.
Kitayama and Saiin
This is northwest of Kyoto. Kinkakuji temple is so popular but I would recommend the two temples below.
Ryuanji temple
- Business Hours
- 8:00-17:00
- Entrance fee
- \500 (cash only)
- Official website
This is the most famous traditional rock garden in Japan.
Genkouan temple
- Business Hours
- 9:00-17:00
- Entrance fee
- \500 (cash only)
- Official website
Shikura (Ramen)
- Address
- 14 Hirano Miyakitacho Kita-ku Kyoto Kyoto
- Business Hours
- 11:00-15:00 / 18:00-22:00
- Price
- Less than \1,000
- More about
That’s it for today. I hope you will all enjoy your trip to Kyoto and Japan!
Shuhei Nakamura
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Shuhei Nakamura is tied with Kai Budde and Yuuya Watanabe for the number of Lifetime wins at a Grand Prix with 7 wins. He has played on Sundays of a Pro Tour for an extraordinary 6 times which is also a record he shares with fellow Japanese players Kenji Tsumura and Masashi Oiso. He plays all around the world, and was elected to The Magic Pro Tour Hall of Fame in 2011 as a representative of「Play the game, See the World.
Some people see him as a cynical character, but he thinks of himself as an advisor, something like a mentor, ready to teach younger pro players and guide them along their way to the Pro Tour.
