Our last day in Kyoto begins! We wake up early, and by around 8 AM, we’re already on the move. Before hopping on the train, we grab a quick breakfast from the kombini next to the hotel (this time, it’s a Lawson) to eat on the way to Arashiyama. After two transfers, getting off at the wrong station (which meant waiting for the next train), and almost an hour of travel, we finally arrive at this beautiful district on the outskirts of Kyoto. Here, we see lots of people out and about—cycling, running, strolling… and after a 15-minute walk, we finally reach the bamboo forest.
The visit is fantastic—the forest is absolutely stunning and really well maintained. But even at 9 AM, the heat is already getting intense.
After wandering around for a bit, we head back to the train station and decide to visit Kyoto’s Imperial Palace, which is free and turns out to be a really beautiful and interesting place. We use an audio guide app that explains the history behind each building and gate as we explore.
Then, we hop back on the train toward Kyoto’s city center. By the way, as beautiful as this city is, it’s a shame that it’s practically split in half by the train station. Between the regional train station, the bullet train, and the subway stop, there’s a maze of shopping malls built on top, making it nearly impossible to cross from north to south without feeling like you’re in some kind of extreme navigation challenge—think Paris Dakar but indoors. And with this heat? No way we’re walking all the way around! 😅
When we finally manage to cross to the south via the Kyoto Sky Walk (a walkway on top of the shopping center’s dome), we decide to stop for lunch at a grill restaurant above the station. We try Wagyu beef and beef tongue—pretty tasty, but honestly, not as mind-blowing as we expected. Oh well. After that, we head to Don Quijote because we desperately need a new suitcase—ours are now way too small. Once we’re done shopping, we drop everything off at the hotel and take a break from the heat.
A couple of hours later, we head out again, but the heat is so unbearable that we scrap our plan to visit the Golden Pavilion and instead opt for somewhere with air conditioning. In the end, we spend the evening browsing stores and picking up some clothes at Uniqlo.
By the time we get back to the hotel, it’s a bit late, and the restaurant I had in mind for dinner (right next to the hotel) won’t let us in anymore—we missed the cutoff by 10 minutes (it closed at 8:10 PM). And since we’ve already walked over 25,000 steps today, we settle for some fast food—not my first choice, but I can’t really ask the girls to do any more at this point.
All in all, a great day, though the heat is making things a bit tough—it’s no fun sweating non-stop from 8 AM onward…
And tomorrow morning, we’re off!