Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kyoto

We went to Fushimi Inari Shrine, twice.  1st one was on our 1st day in Kyoto.  2nd time was on our last day in Kyoto.

 We did not sleep much on the flight that night, after check-in to the hotel, bath and had some rest, we all still have some energy left, so off to Inari we go.  It was raining that day.  Light shower.

Fushimi Inari Shrine is the #1 must go on my list.  Without wasting much time, we begins our Kyoto exploration in Fushimi Inari.  The shrine is easily accessible by train.  The main Torii gate is just a few steps away from the Inari train station, JR line.

We arrived there around 5pm, it was raining, gloomy and almost dark.  I am kind of sad thinking that our photos will come out with gloomy look.  But no,  turns out that there's not much people around, we can take our time getting our photos right and the kids can move around freely.

We went again the 2nd time on our last day in Kyoto.  You know that Fushimi Inari is famous for its thousand torii, right? So, it just does not feel right that I did not have my own mini torii to bring back with me.

Because it was already late when we were there the 1st time, the shops were closed and we didn't get to see the street market.  Ohh how I love markets.

So, on the last day, we packed our things early and check out from our hotel at 10am, we left our bags at the locker in Kyoto Station.  2 train stations later we were already in Inari, again.

We just follow the crowd and instinct to find the street market, yup it's just right at the corner,  turn to your left if you are coming form the Inari station.

The street market was bustling with life;  people, food, souvenir, and mini torii, you name it, torii keychain, torii fridge magnet, torii for display.  Ohh I am so glad we came back.

And of coz we tapau lots of other souvenirs here, hubby bought a mini samurai emperor or whatever they called it.

So yeah, enjoy the pictures..

 

 

These BBQ 3-layer pork at Inari street market is soooo good.

Tasty, juicy and the skin is not tough at all;

just eat it like a satay, with a bit of sauce if you prefer.

Fushimi Inari Shrine (伏見稲荷大社) is famous for its thousands of torii gates.  The torii gates are donations by individuals and companies, you can find the donator's name and the date of the donation on the back of each torii.  So kalau nak tangkap gambar, better ambil dari arah yang bertentangan tau.

Shopping for handbag in Kyoto

Louis Vuitton on Shijo Street not far from Nishiki market.

 No, I did not purchase any bag from the above brand.
 I am looking for something local, something made in Japan.

Here's my catch..

Made in Japan, it is.  The leather is soft and it smells good too, i loike.

As a tourist, if your purchase is more than 5400yen, you are entitled to claim back your 8% tax.  Just bring your receipt, passport and your purchase to the Tax Refund counter, and you will get your cash back, even if you were paying using a credit card like I did.  Hihi more cash for me to spend at the market.

Refund must be done on the same day of the purchase.

From KIX to Kyoto

Muka mengantuk waiting for our midnight flight.  Thank God all 4 flights kami pergi dan balik semua on schedule, takde delay.  Thanks AirAsia.

Touch down at KIX dalam pukul 8am.

Perkara pertama selepas selesai immigration check point - Information counter at KIX.

 Pastu, gi tengok2 simcard, semua kat vending machine, tak sure nak beli yang mana satu, last2 memang whole journey kami kat Japan langsung takda beli simcard, semua depends on free wifi je, jimat gitu ;)

OK, singgah kat Family Mart beli air & snack dulu.

Ini Smoking Room, banyak juga jumpa smoking room ni kat area Kyoto, bagus sangat, biar diorang berasap dalam tu, takde la asap terbang ke sana-sini.

Jum beli train passes.  Seorang je yang perlu beratur, passport semua kene tunjuk kat counter.

Ini la tempat beli Haruka Express + Icoca card. harga dalam 3,600yen per person.

Jum masuk train terminal, ini kat depan tempat beli tu card tadi je, semua dekat-dekat, takde yang jauh kene jalan beribu batu macam kat KLIA2..haiss.

Ok, kita tunggu Haruka Express, train dah sampai jangan terus masuk tau, pekerja akan membersihkan tempat duduk dulu, pastu tempat duduk tu akan pusing (auto la) tukar arah.  Pernah tak tengok documentary pasal bende ni? Saya pernah, impress tau!

 Tunggu train kene beratur, kat mana2 train station memang kena beratur. Naik escalator pun beratur gak.
 Haruka Express ni akan berhenti kat station Tennoji & Shin-Osaka; for info Shin-Osaka tak sama dengan Osaka Station.
Dalam 1 jam 30 minutes anda akan sampai ke Kyoto Station.

It was raining on the day we arrived in Japan.

Here's the video of our journey from KIX Osaka to Kyoto via Haruka Express

My Spending | Kyoto-Osaka 2016

Day 1
Texas Chicken, KLIA2 - RM41.30
Famous Amos - RM20

Day 2
JR Haruka + Icoca - 13600JPY for 2 Adults 2 children
Harves - 250jpy
Lunch at Aeon Mall - 980jpy (ramen + rice + fried chicken) + 450jpy (takoyaki)
7E - 450jpy
Dinner - fried chicken 520jpy + Ebi tempura 880jpy

Day 3
Breakfast - sandwich - 197jpy
Entrance to Kiyomizu dera temple - 400jpy per adult, 200jpy per child
Mee Soba + cola, Otowan Waterfalls - 700JPY + 200jpy
Bun + green tea icecream - 350jpy each
Sushi belt - 630jpy
Gion - Bus ride + train
Icoca top up - 3000yen
Instant ramen - 220jpy
Dinner at Aeon 1600yen
Apple at Aeon - 198yen each

Day 4
Nishiki Market - Breakfast 680yen, shisheido foundation, 7500yen for knives, 800yen for octopus, berry - 498
Lunch at Aeon
T-shirt - 999yen
Isetan - 16800yen
Dinner at Aeon
Groceries at Aeon - 648yen for 2 peaches, Kit Kat Kyoto special ed.

Day 5
Haves - 102 for a pack of nuts (mamengo)
Fushimi Inari - 500yen for fried chicken, 500 BbQ pork, 350 for each keychain, 480 for each fridge magnet, 1020yen handkerchief, 4 Geisha Fridge magnets.
Lunch at Kyoto Station 1200yen
Icoca top up - 2000yen
Dinner 980yen

Day 6
Osaka Aquarium - 7700yen Kaiyuken passes for 4 person.
Aquarium keychains - 160yen each
Hamsandwich - 198yen, berry 120yen
Kuromon - 500 Scallop, 849yen for 2 peaches, 398 for strawberries
Lunch - 920yen
Dinner at Dotonbori - 1800yen
Sugi drugstore - 7500yen

Day 7
Breakfast take away from Kuromon Market
Lunch at Hanyu Food Gallery
Dinner at Yodobasi - 3900yen
Asnas store - 631yen

Day 8
Breakfast at Hankyu
Daiso - 1280yen
Lunch at KIX - 1890yen
Departure Hall - RM114

Day 9
Texas Chicken - RM22
Wantan mee - RM17.90
Gardenia - RM8.30

Flight tickets KCH-KUL-KIX for 4 - RM5k.
Bus ride within Kyoto city is at fix rate of 230yen per adult, 120yen per child.
Hotels in Kyoto & Osaka range between rm450-rm850, more expensive during weekend.
Tune Hotel, KLIA2 - RM220

Hotel New Hankyu Osaka

This hotel is linked directly to Hankyu Umeda train station and right infront of the JR Osaka Station. You have a choice of taking the express bus to KIX or you can take the train, all are accesible from this hotel.  This time we take the non-express train, I think that's the cheapest way to KIX, takes about 90 mimutes ride.

The hotel room itself is quite small, but we felt so comfortable here, the beds, the pillows and comforters were soft and comfy.  Huge window with view and good size washroom make it a really good choice to stay if you are in Osaka.

The check-in area at the lobby

Our room on the 6th floor

The good size bathroom, with bathtub

Video of the hotel lobby

Osaka Fujiya Hotel

Located in the lively area for especially for night activities in Osaka.  Walking distance to Kuromon Market, Dotonbori and Shinsaibashi.

We took the quadruple room.  Nice big room size with 4 single beds.  The only problem is the tiny washroom; its so tiny that I feel like I am in an airplane washroom, except this one is equipped with a bathtub.

Hate-hate-hate the tiny and low ceiling bathroom.

Time to check-out, Hotel New Hankyu Osaka, here we come.

Tanahmas Hotel, Sibu

I have just came back from a 2D1N official trip to Sibu this morning.  I stayed at Tanahmas Hotel.

Here's my room on the 11th floor.

Yesterday evening, we had ramadan buffet at the same hotel with our business partners.

The food..

What's on my plate..

Thanks ATR 72 for the ride.

New Miyako Hotel, Kyoto (2016)

We had a pleasant stay at New Miyako Hotel during our holiday in Kyoto recently.

Located right in front of Kyoto Station, opposite side of Kyoto Tower, the quieter area.

 

Hotel Lobby, check-in area 

Vending Machine area at ground floor

Comfy bed

  Inside our room on 6th floor

 

 The washroom - clean and non slippery floor, super like.

View from our room

 

KIX Aiport | AirAsia counter

Everything about Japan really impress us.  From the 1st touch down at the airport, the super fast immigration check point, up till the final minutes of our stay, Japan really lives up and beyond our expectation.

KIX ni takde la besar maner pun, smaller than Hong Kong Airport.  Nak navigate around sangat senang, jalan ke terminal pun dekat je, untuk ke terminal low cost (AirAsia) ada tram disediakan.

Tapi di sini saya nak cerita sikit betapa impress nyer kami dengan perkhidmatan di counter checkin AirAsia di KIX.

20 minutes sebelum counter dibuka, petugas dah sedia susun elok-elok barricade untuk membahagikan: 3 counter drop bag, 3 counter check-in, 1 counter information.  Diorang siap tanya passenger dan tunjukkan ke lorong yang disediakan.  3 minutes sebelum counter buka, petugas berkumpul dalam bulatan, depan counter, depan passangers, masing-masing ada kertas di tangan dan ketua memberi taklimat.  Tepat waktu untuk checkin, semua petugas berdiri depan counter masing-masing dan tunduk hormat ke arah passenger yang tengah beratur, dan counter pun di buka.  

Serious kami sangat impress. Tak terkata!

Ini masa petugas tengah briefing.

Sekian, nanti kite sambung cerita KIX dalam post lain ;)

Hong Kong International Airport | Terminal

The arrival..

 The queue is so long (macam ular) at the immigrant check point, luckily the service was fast.  There were officers managing the queue, they will let the elderly or family with young children to use the shortest route.  Very efficient I must say.

 Us in the shuttle bus and baggage claim area.

Breath the fresh and cool Hong Kong air, but the sky was too cloudy.

The departure..

 Fresh flower at the drop off area..

Large open area once you enter the terminal, this is where you do the check-in.

Lots of duty free shops at the international gate.

Here's my catch..

ohh... I saw the same watch at KIX last week.

*Hong Kong March 2015

Father's Day 2017

Our Father's Day meal at Sausage Gourmet..

Combo Burger + Sausage

Mashed patato

Cheesy chicken pasta

And we also had a homemade Chocolate lava at home,  thanks children for being extra helpful :)

Happy Father's Day to the fathers out there.

Kyoto - Osaka 2016 | The Planning

We have just came back from our Kyoto-Osaka Trip.  It was a last minute decision to visit Japan this summer.

It has always been my dream to visit Kyoto.  Our initial plan was to go there at the end of the year.  However, looking at the tickets price that gets higher and higher during Autumn/Winter season, we make a decision to purchase the tickets just 10 days before our departure.  After getting approval from our bosses, we bought the tickets and we were on our way to KIX.  On our departure day, we still not yet complete our hotels booking.  Thanks to online booking and free cancellation, we don't need to worry too much about accommodation.

Since it was too last minutes, we had to divide the task between me and hubby; normally I did most of the planning.  This time, hubby was in-charged of accommodation and transportation.  Me, flight tickets and itinerary.

Thank God our adventure went well.  

We love Kyoto so much and we will come again; God's will.

In My Kitchen #38

Kasam babi hutan + daun ubi

Ham

Fried chicken

Cookies for gawai