Where Will I Wander Next....: Osaka Tokyo Adventure: Day 6- Kyoto, Arashiyama, Higashiyama

Warning... this may be another long one... We decided to spend one of the days on this trip in Kyoto. We had big aspirations, but I'm just too old to do them all in one day, so we did what we could without pushing ourselves to the limit. We never made it to the Monkey Park or Fushimi Inari Shrine the last time cause we were sick.

At Kyoto station, we decided to get some snacks in case we get hungry. Paul was happy to find some chestnuts.

We then transferred to get to Arashiyama. We went there last time and checked out the bamboo forest, kimono forest, and again when we got off the river cruise. We were heading to the Monkey Park this time and walked through the main part of town. They had a Miffy bakery! So cute!!

So you have to cross the bridge to get to the monkey park. This is the area where you get off the boats.

We soon found the Monkey park and paid our admission. Just a word of warning.... Its a very steep hike!!!! I'm so glad we trained before our trip on stairs, but no amount of training would've prepared me for that treck. I had to take frequent rest breaks and was breathing heavily. I felt like I was the only one. This map shows you the rest of the trail. We had only just made it to the first turn. I actually wondered if I could make it all the way up.

Here's me tired out....

I tried to take pictures of the signs... this one warns you about their expressions so you know if you are pissing them off or not. Don't look them in the eye!!

First Monkey sighting...

Once we made it to the top, I forgot how tired I was! The view was beautiful!!

This made me laugh... people in the cage! This is where you can buy food to feed them. We bought some apples and they LOVED it!

This mama kept watch over her baby...

Cutie pie!

Paul debated trying to slide down this slide, but we decided that our butts were too big. LOL!

The forest was beautiful too! The walk down was not nearly as hard. I felt better when I heard other people panting while going up.

Here is my badge of honor! That monkey stamp is located inside the feeding area. I stamped it on my ticket to show I made it!

After we finished coming down the mountain, we headed back to the main shopping area. I was hungry after all that hiking and wanted to try some street food. We saw everyone in line at this tempura type shop, so we stood in line too. Right? So on the sign it said that this was their number one seller...

Yuba Cheezu.. Its deep fried cheese in tofu skin (aburage). It was surprisingly delicious!! I would go again!

So after our treat, we headed back to the station. On our way back, I saw a cotton candy place. I noticed it earlier on our way down, but didn't stop then. Something told me to check it out cause their cotton candy didn't look like your typical cotton candy. Sure enough, when I checked the flavors, they were very different from what you normally see. You could either get it on the stick or take a bag to go. I decided to take a bag to go but what I should've done was had one on a stick then take one to go! I couldn't decide between the tea or the sakura milk, and went with the sakura milk. I'm so glad I did! Now I wish I bought more. If you are in Kyoto you need to check it out. From the station, go straight and before you turn right to go into the main part of town, it will be on your right. There will likely be people outside eating cotton candy on the stick. The store is called Zarame- here's the logo... Memorize it... and bring some back for me.

So before tackling the Inari Shrine, we took a detour for lunch. Randy said this is a "MUST DO" in Kyoto, so we took his advice and headed to eat Fire Ramen. I don't even know the name of this place. Just google Fire Ramen and I'm sure you'll find it! It was quite a walk from the station, but worth the show.

Here's their card:

BTW its laminated. LOL!

When you get there.. sign in. On that cart there is a charging station you can use- but don't be like me and forget our phones there!

Sorry, I can't seem to rotate this picture. This is the instructions they give you when you first sit down. The important things are- stay seated no matter what, don't touch the bowl cause its hot, don't scream, and the owners guarantee that it is safe. "We have been serving Fire Ramen for more than 30 years but nobody has been dead for now," LOL!

They gave us our bibs. Can you tell how I'm feeling?

Ok let's just take a second to appreciate how saavy this owner is. He has totally embraced social media to the point where he has selfie sticks mounted so he can shoot video for you. You then should hastag them #fireramen. Nuff said.

Here is the "Boss" man himself. Even his nametag says so. LOL!! LOVE IT!!!

And love these posters on the wall...

Paul is going to make a poster like this when he recruits for Taiko.

All joking aside.. it was pretty neat I must say. I will try to post a link when I can upload Paul's video of it here. The ramen itself was pretty good too, but you go more for the show. He was nice enough to ask us where we were heading to next, so we told him Kyoto Handicrafts and he gave us directions to take the bus. Super friendly staff and a fun experience! You should go at least once! Oh yah... and no screaming!

We then headed to Kyoto Handicrafts in Higashiyama district. I didn't take any photos but I did buy a few things. It kind of reminded me of Oriental Bazaar in Harajuku. They also had classes too, but I didn't take any.

By then I was beat. I didn't think I could make it to the shirne, so that will have to wait till our next trip. On our way home, we stopped at this intriguing kiosk and got a strawberry cheesecake thing.

It was really good! They gave us a sample of the chocolate one too. That was good too. I would buy again.

So after we rested a bit at our hotel, we headed to Dotonbori for dinner. We always have a hard time cause we don't really plan it out...we just go and see what looks good. This is where we ended up eating...

We saw a sign, followed the directions to go to the 2nd floor and got lucky that they would seat us with no reservations. Its called Matsusakagyu Yakiniku. When we met up with Randy, he said that Matsusaka was another type of beef famous in Japan along with Oumigyu beef. He said everyone only knows Kobe, but Oumigyu is where the Kobe beef is actually brought in from. Anyway, when I saw Matsusaka on the sign, I told Paul we should try...

Sorry, I can't rotate the next photo. Its the salt, BBQ and soy sauces.

This info was on the menu...

The staff was super friendly here and spoke English. Yay! You could go ala carte or order a set if for 2 people. We opted for the Special Course at 5800 yen each. Seemed like a bargain compared to the 2500 yen I spent last year on street food Kobe steak.