Ohayo gozaimasu!
Currently in bed not feeling so well but hopefully it will pass soon. I owe you a post about last weekend’s long weekend so here we go!
Osaka:
This was my first time staying at an air bnb and it was fabulous! We hit the roads as soon as we could but hit traffic and got lost a couple of times so we didn’t get to Osaka until around 9:30 -___- But we met the guy, Ian who we were renting the apartment from. It was a close walk to a nearby station and a couple restaurants so it was super convenient. It wasn’t big by any means but there was a big bed and a comfy pull out couch so it we just fit! It was definitely a cheaper option but really a great fit for us. As soon as he gave us the tour, we got ready to hit the town. Ladies night, duh.
We had lots of fun and bounced around a couple of places and made it back way past my bedtime. It was so fun to be silly and shake our booties. We know we all have those nights where you go out and say “I just wanna dance”. That was definitely this night 🙂 We had a great brunch of okonomiyaki which is one of Osaka’s specialties! We shared a couple different dishes and it was so nom.
We were debating going to Universal Studios since I’ve been dying to go to Harry Potter world but we were all pretty tired soo we decided on shopping which Osaka is known for too. We hit up h&m which is way nicer here in Japan and I got some great things 🙂
I might go back for Universal Studios but I’m not sure. Osaka was fun to go out in, some good food and shopping but still kinda like a normal city. I was pumped to head back to Kyoto!
Kyoto:
Luckily the drive from Osaka to Kyoto wasn’t too bad at all. We were starving humans so we hit up the first restaurant we could find that seemed edible which was sushi.
I was really excited that we had heard about Fushimi Inari since I didn’t get to do that with Sherry when she was here. The biggest surprise was that we thought it was going to be just a little stroll but it was more like a 2 hour uphill hike with stairs. It was a nice sunny day too so I was SHVITZING (sweating) and had to strip down to my tank top. But it felt good to move and groove and see lots of tori gates (the big red ones) and also see tons of shrines along the way.
Sadly we were a bit disappointed with the view since it was so cloudy 😦 We thought it would be better from the top but it wasn’t really at all.
I was so happy we went here because I was running out of the lemon honey I got when my parents were here. I got another one and a mango honey 🙂 This place is AMAZING.
The second place we were staying at in Kyoto was also on air bnb but a much different experience. First of all we got lost the first night and when putting the address into google maps it took us to a place with the same name (apparently it’s a chain) but not in the right area. We kept ringing the doorbell and nothing happened so we figured it couldn’t be right since the person we were in contact with said they were waiting for us but couldn’t see us.
It was pouring and we were trying to contact the place but they weren’t really helpful at all. This old man saw us walking in the rain trying to get our lives together and invited us into his shop. After they insisted on talking to the place for us, they ended up driving us to show us how to get there. I know mom, you’re probably reading this thinking LINDSAY WHAT HAVE I TAUGHT YOU?! But only in Japan would this be okay. They were the sweetest couple and I wish I had taken a picture of them to remember them forever because they are absolute angels. Anyways, it was an 120 year old Japanese style guesthouse/ryokan that had be renovated.
The nightmare continued thought because I was in charge of navigating and on Sunday night after a a nice Italian dinner we tried getting home. We saved the pin of where we were staying this time so I used that and somehow WE ENDED UP BACK AT THE OLD PLACE. Anna held her hands up and was like nooooooo. Positive me didn’t want to believe it I was like no no it must just be around the corner. But no it wasn’t -___- thankfully a cab was only about $20 but I still felt so bad. The nightmares continued…
Sooo Saturday night I woke up in the middle of the night to a message from Anna to all of us saying “ARE YOU AWAKE”. I forgot to ask about it in the morning but when I went to go into the shower the receptionist working at the ryokan knocked on the door and pointed to this sliding door and was like “You did last night? You broke glass?” I had no idea what she was talking about until I realized the entire pane of glass almost was broken. Turns out Anna was in the bathroom area to do a video chat for a possible job. She had asked if she could move the receptionist desk and chair into the bathroom area for the skype so she wouldn’t wake up other guests. The chair somehow broke and she fell backwards into the glass and it shattered on her!!! Very very scary. So here’s my advice: don’t go to a Machiya ryokan ever because you will get lost multiple times and might need to find the nice old couple to drive you. Also don’t do an interview in a bathroom because chances are the little Japanese chairs can’t hold you so you will break it, fall and break glass. Oh and they will charge you $700 on a scrap piece of paper. Take this advice seriously. Case closed.
That’s all for now! I’ve been loving the weekend trips and looking forward to more soon 🙂
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone ❤
Sayonaraaaaaa for now
The Traveling Teacher 
Hi Lindz,
Once again love following your travels. You look amazing and I can feel your inspiring energy.
Be safe. Miss you!
Love Aunt Randee
Regards,
Randee
Sent from my iPhone