For the past few weeks I was searching for a nice getaway for my birthday.  It was a Sunday when I bought a Manila Bulletin newspaper and there it was the advertisement for a promotional fare from Cebu Pacific Air to Osaka.     That made the decision easier and so I booked the ticket through the website.  However, after submitting everything, I did not get a confirmation message immediately.  Instead I saw a message saying that the credit card I used was still being checked and so the booking was still pending.  The credit card I used was a foreign card so I wasn’t surprised.  I immediately called their customer service and after a long long time of waiting I finally got an answer : they said I just needed to wait one more hour.  I also called my credit card company and found out that they already did approve the transaction.  Two days after, it was still pending and I frantically called the customer service of Cebu Pacific Air.  This time they told me that they will prioritize my issue.  Later on, I was about to give up.  I still did not receive any confirmation e-mail.   But then when I retrieved my booking I was surprised that my booking was finally confirmed!

The next thing I did was to search for a place to stay and interesting places to visit within the area of the Kansai Airport.  First I looked around Osaka.  I was particularly interested in staying in a traditional Japanese inn (ryokan).  However, I had trouble finding something that fits my budget and there were no special places that really interested me there.  While looking around, I found out that Kyoto was actually just a few minutes away.  Travel from Kansai to Kyoto was 70 minutes while Osaka was 50 minutes by train.  After making a quick search of interesting places and available inns in Kyoto the decision was made.  We were going to Kyoto.

After reading a lot of reviews I found a budget hostel in Kyoto and emailed them to book a room. In a few hours I got a very apologetic reply that all their rooms have been booked. The good thing though is that they recommended another place within the area called the Tour Club. I booked a double Japanese style room and hoped that they would respond back the next day. The next day I got a response from them saying that the only private room with private bathroom left is the triple room. The price was okay so I took it.

On our day of departure, we took a taxi from our condominium. We were 5th in line for the taxi. At least after around twenty minutes of waiting our turn came. We arrived at Terminal 3 more than two hours from our boarding time. We found out that soon that we could proceed immediately to the check-in desk. There was already two lines. The lines were not that long but it was moving very slowly. When it was our turn, we found out that we could not hand carry our luggage because they were over the limit of 7kgs. each. And so we ended up just checking them in. We arrived at the gates quite early and with no hassle. Around five hours later, we were at the Kansai Airport and lining up at immigration. It was quite a typical port of entry exercise except that they also collected our left and right pointer fingerprints using an ultra high tech modern finger print capturing device and also took a facial photograph. And that was it!

After that we went down to the baggage area and almost immediately we saw our two bags. The next thing we did was to find our shuttle guy. I have reserved with MK Shuttle for 3,500 yen per person. Someone was already there holding a placard with our name on it. We spotted him easily. I approached him and asked him to wait a little bit since we needed to get some cash. Overall, I had money just enough to pay for the hostel and the shuttle — which was a big mistake. Looking back I should have withdrawn enough for the whole stay since it wasn’t that easy to find an ATM or cash machine which had English translation and accepted our card. Anyways, at least we were able to arrive in time before the hostel closed and luckily our room was still held for us. Whew! It was already 8:15 when we arrived at the Tour Club.

The guy in the reception spoke perfectly good English and directed us to our room which was on the second floor. He gave us a small tour and presented the house rules. The common areas close at around 11pm but there is another door that is always open and gives access to the rooms. The size of our room was almost the same as our bedroom back in Mandaluyong.

The private toilet was small but extremely well designed and efficient. It had a bathtub which was just half the size of normal tubs but still fits one adult. It had both hot and cold water, a shower with strong water pressure. It was also able to fit a toilet bowl and a sink as well! One thing that really impressed me is that the owners of this hostel had thought over every possible thing that a traveler would need. It has a big bottle of soap and a big bottle of shampoo.
Inside the room there was a small pantry with lots of cups and a kettle. We left our shoes before we stepped on the platform. The floor was covered with Tatami Mats, a traditional mat made of woven soft rush straw. The huge ball of light and the futon added to the coziness of the room. However, that night I didn’t have a good sleep. In fact, I had a nightmare. The next few nights I would either find it hard to fall asleep or have nightmares. This makes us suspect that the room is haunted. The room is equipped with a small LCD tv and an airconditioner/heater. We also found out later that free highspeed wireless internet was also provided for us. They also provided a blue binder that includes everything you need to know about the hotel, food, sightseeing, etc. They even provided a 3-day and 4-day plan plus a rainy day plan! The rainy day plan includes sites that look wonderful in and after the rain or indoor areas. For our dinner, they gave us a small area map of the surroundings. The map includes dining POI’s (points of interests) that include Ramen (chinese mami), Donburi (rice toppings), yakitori (grilled/skewered meat), and sushi/sashimi. There was one problem though. We only had around 2000 yen left! So we had to make sure we find a restaurant that accepts credit cards or find a cash machine along the way. Along the way towards the JR Kyoto train station we found lots of interesting eateries but either those did not have English menus posted or they seem to only accept cash. This is one thing I learned now when going to Japan. Cash is indeed king and you better have enough ready all the time. We ended up in a charming and cozy Japanese restaurant with good ambience and food models displayed in front. We also confirmed that they accepted credit cards. It was indeed an upper-middle class restaurant judging from the prizes and the type of clientele. However, a lot of the food we ordered were not familiar so some were not really what we expected such as the Duck Stew. The Duck Stew was actually a duck soup instead. And it was pretty bland. The rest of the food was nothing special. But at least we’re so glad we had a good meal and great and ultra-fast service. That night, we decided to try our luck with getting a volunteer tour guide. We sent an e-mail to the Good Samaritan club.

The next day, we woke up quite late (around 10:30) so missed a whole morning of sightseeing. We first stopped by a fast food called Sukiya which would later become my favorite. They served rice toppings and they did it well at the right price. Our total bill was less than 1000 yen. That was the only cash left in our wallet. Next step was to find an ATM and some sightseeing information. Just one block away was the central station with an underground area called the Porta. There we found an information desk with a nice lady that could understand us. First, we inquired about the Raku (sightseeing bus). According to her, we could use the day ticket for that bus and all the other city buses. I guess that is what we wanted then! The only thing left is to find the ATM machine. After a few gestures we were able to get our answer from her. The cash machine was located at the Post Office. We also found some atm’s where we are but those did not accept our debit card. At the ground level, we found the Central Post office and next to it was the bank and a bunch of cash machines. And there we were able refill our wallets.

Right next to the Central Post Office, about two minutes of walking we found the Raku bus stops. There’s the Raku 100, 101 and 102. We took the 100 first. It would have been nice if it wasn’t raining that day. So then, we decided to just stay in the bus and watch the city from our seats. Only thing we didn’t anticipate was that the waiting time to connect to another bus took so much time. We also found a covered/hidden outdoor shopping street and had a great time looking around.

When the day cleared, we decided to actually go and see something — to see Nijo Castle. It was already too late. The castle closed at 16:00 and the current time was already 17:00. After this, we went to the Gion District. This area reminded us so much of London or the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. It is a long street filled with shops, department stores, teahouses, restaurants, and entertainment places like a Kabuki theater. It was where all things happened. if you are lucky you could even find Geisha here. At the end of this street lie the Yasaka shrine.
While there, we saw a huge march of protesters. Lots of people marched it took around 30 minutes or more and we still didn’t see the tail end of the march. At that side of the street, it took us sometime to find a place to eat. Just when we were about to give up we found a mysterious but charming small traditional restaurant with low tables. We chose to eat traditional style. At that time, I was quite tired and a bit on the sentimental side. We spent a few hours talking seriously about our life. It was good that the place was very quiet. After that, we went home.

At the hostel, we were so delighted to see a reply from the Good Samaritan Club when we checked our e-mail.  It was from a law student.  He agreed to meet us at 9AM  at the Nijo Castle.

The next day, we were in a hurry to get to the Nijo Castle that we didn’t have time for breakfast.  When we got there, we were a bit early.  Luckily I spotted a 7-Eleven close by and so I asked MrC to pick up something to eat while I wait for our tour guide.  At exactly 9, our tour guide arrived.  I introduced myself to him.  I found out he lived quite close by and that he volunteers about twice a month in order to practice his English.  Overall I found his English quite good, although at times I had to ask him to repeat some words.

We paid the entrance fee for us and the tour guide and went inside the Castle. 
The tour guide proved very useful in giving us bits of historical information while touring the Castle.  For instance, we found out that the floors were designed to squeak so as to prevent assassins from sneaking in to kill the shogun.  The heights of the platforms also are a political statement in itself, so the higher you are seated reflects your political position.  Things like that.  He also showed us where the apricot trees are.  Those were the only trees that already had blossoms.  Cherry blossoms show up early April I think.  It was an awesome place indeed.

That day, we decided to save a lot of time by using the taxi instead.  We had our guide to speak to the taxi driver anyways so that won’t be a problem. Another nice place we visited was the Golden Temple, otherwise known as Kinkakuji Temple. It was interesting to note that it was built to look like it was floating. There we bought some lucky thingies as gifts and amonth of March lucky souvenir for me.

When the tour guide asked where we preferred to eat lunch I broke the silence by saying: “I would like ramen or rice bowl please” :-).

Armed with a tourbook he browsed his map and found a couple of places.  He said it was a few minutes walk.  Later on, he realized it was too far so we took a bus.  There we found our Ramen Noodle house.  It was indeed the real thing. We sat on the bar and after looking a bit confused asked our guide to help us.  We ended up ordering all the same thing: a huge bowl of pork roast noodle soup.  There we found out how this Ramen noodle soup which we just call mami back home is being eaten.  To say the least, the noodle is slurped in a rhythmical fashion, like a slurp every second.  It was quite fun to see and hear but I tried to hide my sense of awe so as not to make him conscious.  It didn’t matter that the soup was steaming hot.  He was able to slurp them just the same.  Meanwhile, I did it my way: slowly and with a bit stolen little blows here and there ;-).   And yes, the soup was really that good!

After this, we decided to go to the Romantic Scenic Train Ride in Sagano.  We took a taxi to the train station which was only a few minutes away from where we were but the area seemed to be out of the city.  The train is indeed an old style train, mostly wooden.  And yes, the ride was quite scenic and romantic.



  And a bit chilly too.  Midway in the ride we went to the front which was open air.  We were able to see the cliffs, mountains, valleys, rivers because the train was literally at the edge of the mountains.We also passed through the Arashiyama bamboo tree forest.  At the terminal, we took a little toilet break and had a hot cup of cocoa to warm us up.  After this we took a 10 minute stroll right next to rice fields towards the Metro/Subway station where we took a train to Kyoto Central.   I was quite  tired and a bit sleepy.

At the Kyoto Station, I tried to look for a toilet — found one but it was the traditional kind.  You have to squat and do you deed.  Wearing pants and not physically fit I found it impossible and inconvenient to actually use this.  With the help of our reliable tour guide we found out that handicap toilets are guaranteed to have the modern toilet style.  This is what I am really surprised with Japan. There is no arguing that they are high-tech in many aspects but on the other side they do cling heavily towards their traditions.  One of which is this kind of toilet.  I am sorry but this is really not very merciful towards us women.  I found out that most of the other toilets, were indeed modern.  In fact ultra-modern that these even have advanced features like two types of bidet sprays, heated seats, butt dryer and even a fake flushing sound!  I took note of the brand: Toto.

The latter part of the day was spent walking around the Gion District shopping for crafts, souvenirs and whatnots.  At half past 5 our tour guide left us after having dessert.  He said that he will be watching his girlfriend perform on stage so we said goodbye and thanked him for everything. After this, we went shopping and walking around a bit more until we got tired.  Just about this time, we found a Pachinko place and decided to try it.  It was very very noisy my stomach was churning inside while we played a Little Mermaid themed pachinko slot game.  I only understood half of what’s going on after about half an hour of watching balls falling into buckets.  One hour later a man watching our game told us we were just one step away from the jackpot and talked to my husband and urged him not to give up yet. We followed his advice but kept our losses to only one bucket of balls.  After emptying one bucket and having 2 buckets left we decided to call it a day.  We had no idea what our prize was.  My hubby was given a few pieces of candies and two plastic cards which was later redeemed on another place next door.  There we got our little surprise.  Wow! we got the equivalent of 90 euros for the 5 euros we spent!  We had a late dinner at our favorite corner diner called Sukiya which was right next to a mini convenience store called Lawson’s.



On Sunday, we had to checkout at 10:30am but luckily we could leave our luggage at the hostel.  We first had breakfast at our favorite Sukiya and then went to the Porta at the JR Kyoto station.  Later we went on towards the BIC Electronic stores.  This store was surprisingly huge and had many floors.  We bought a remote shutter for my Canon DSLR, and a lens hood for one of the lenses.  The shop attendants were very helpful and knew which products we needed and where to find it.

We then took a taxi back to the hostel only to find out too late that hubby wanted to have a coffee first.  However, our schedule is tight and in like half an hour our shuttle will be there to pick us up.  When we arrived at the hostel, we found it so quiet and empty.  We were not able to hangout at the common living room because they were currently housecleaning.  We spent the last few minutes sitting next to the computers.  Soon our shuttle arrived.  We found out later that we were the only ones inside the shuttle on this trip.  The cost of the trip was 3,300 yen per person.  We arrived early enough to not have to hurry and not too early to get too bored.  We had an early dinner right at the airport on their semi-secret foodcourt right at the 2nd Level.  It was just wonderful food to end our trip!

Here’s a list of Volunteer Tour guides or Groups in Japan:

Suggested reading:

• April 13, 2008 -- Brugge, Belgium