japan day 4 – kyoto . sanjusangendo . hisago . ichiran

Quick breakfast from Family Mart before we rush down to the shrine. Got the braised pork onigiri which was from the premium range and a chicken & egg sandwich. Both are very nice! Very filling.

Soymilk smoothie with fruits. Waaaa… I really like this leh! Why Singapore don’t have? Smoothie is very thick due to the bananas, had to wait a while for it to come out. 😆

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Sanjusangendo. It was closed when we came yesterday.

Let me just go somewhere to steal some pictures first, so that I can show you how amazing this place is. We’re not allowed to take pictures inside. ☹

Tadaa!

Some brief history from Wiki.
The main deity of the temple is Sahasrabhuja-arya-avalokiteśvara or the Thousand Armed Kannon. The statue of the main deity was created by the Kamakura sculptor Tankei and is a National Treasure of Japan. The temple also contains one thousand life-size statues of the Thousand Armed Kannon which stand on both the right and left sides of the main statue in 10 rows and 50 columns. Of these, 124 statues are from the original temple, rescued from the fire of 1249, while the remaining 876 statues were constructed in the 13th century. The statues are made of Japanese cypress clad in gold leaf. The temple is 120- meter long. Around the 1000 Kannon statues stand 28 statues of guardian deities. There are also two famous statues of Fūjin and Raijin.

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Got my fortune again! It’s still good. 😥

We are allowed take pictures outside the praying hall.

This looks like cherry blossom? Not sure. 🤔

Plum blossoms.

Freesias smells very niceeee.

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Another temple. Don’t know the name. Hahahhahahaha! It was somewhere nearby.

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Maple pretzel for a snack before we head for dinner.

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Oyako don at Hisago! I have craved a long time for this. It’s still good. 😋😋😋 Can never find anything that’s close to this in Singapore.

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Then favourite dango with sweet salty miso sauce for dessert! Shop’s name is Tanbaya. This is a must get!

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Coffee at Tsukiji Cafe, not the fish market. The decor is pretty.

Ordered assam tea, tastes just like lipton tea. Chocolate is meh. Weiner coffee is coffee with cream.

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Just strolling around.

Saw these cute easter treats.

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Then it was time for a late dinner at Ichiran. Safe place for ramen.

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One last supper in Kyoto, clearing the food that we still have.

japan day 3 – kyoto . disney store . nishiki market . katsukura

This building. 😂 Don’t know who so evil, stick the sticker there. TC thought we are really staying in NASA. 🤣

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Took a walk along to river to town

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Shopped at the Disney store. They have things like dollhouses and those Alice in the Wonderland home decorative items are so pretty!

I’m here for only beauty and the beast. 😍 Too bad I can’t find tsum tsum for the rest of the characters. Gonna try the store at Osaka.

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Food galore at Nishiki Market.

Saw Mike Chen’s Kyoto youtube video, there’s this tangerine mochi and TC has been wanting to eat it. Yes, tangerine is juicy, just a little sweet but the mochi around it tastes like the skin around snowskin mooncakes. Really not a fan of snowskin. 😐

Bought a packet of Houjicha tea leaves here. Packet was filled to the bream.

These scallops. 😍😍😍

Although I don’t like butter but it doesn’t have the milky taste that I hate and most importantly there’s a sweet corn fragrance. I’ve looked at the other stores, it’s either just boiled in water or grilled until it looks dry.

Best. Big, juicy and sweet.

I always crave for this tamago. Really don’t know how they make it so smooth.

Soft mochi in soybean powder. 😍😍😍

The flowers. 😍 Too bad, I can’t bring them back.

Snooppy shop. Very cute but I didn’t get any.

I saw a shop selling custard filled porcupines and chocolate croquette. Please skip them. Just interesting but doesn’t taste good.

Soymilk store. We had the matcha soymilk ice cream, it’s not the creamy kind, it’s more like ice; frozen slushie. Soymilk donuts are good; fluffy and mildly sweet.

Tofu skin is the best! Eaten with soy sauce and a little bit of wasabi. 👍👍👍👍

Bought a pack of sweet strawberries for tonight.

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There’s a mini Kitano Tenmangu Shrine near Nishiki. What’s different is that they have moving mechanisms.

You can enjoy the plum blossoms here too.

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Wanted to visit a few other shrines but they close early during this period until 28 Feb.

Nevertheless, it was still a good stroll.

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That’s Kyoto tower.

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Headed to Isetan for Pork Cutlets. Katsukura at The Cube, it’s at the 11th floor’s Eat Paradise. Would take quite some time to find.

We ordered from the premium range, costs around ¥2,000 for 120g. Pork is really tender. Even the barley rice is good. 👍👍👍👍👍

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If you have time, since you are already at the top level, go take a look at the scenery around.

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Ballroom range for Sylvannian Families! 😍😍😍

Argh! Why so pretty? That sprig of cherry blossom. 👍

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Supper

Got the hotpot set from the supermarket, the soup packet is included at the bottom. Surprisingly good.

Donuts are from a little stall at Kyoto Station. Very doughy. Meh. Just cute for pictures.

japan day 2 – kyoto . elk cafe . kitano tenmangu . kinkaku-ji . sushi no musashi . mcdonald’s . premium cup noodles

On our way for some yummy food.

At ELK Cafe, they serve soufflè pancakes. The place may be a little too cosy. 🤣

Order croque monsieur and chocolate cookie & banana pancakes. Had coffees too, which I think you can skip.

Pancakes are very very soft and airy, like clouds. I loved it!

Everything in the croque monsieur works so well together, even that little bit of spinach on top adds a good tinge of flavour. 👍👍👍👍👍

Another hit! Although the chocolate wasn’t sinful, it was just nice. That whipped cream surprised me, I thought it was ice cream but not cold??? Hahaha! Creamy, airy and smooth, best part is there’s no milky smell. 👍👍👍👍👍

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We’re taking the public bus to Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, following Google’s direction of course.

There’s a festival every 25th of the month at the shrine, hence the crowd. There’s flea market along the way selling food, crafted items and second-hand stuffs.

What a long queue to see geishas! All the way in. 😅

Can you spot the geishas?

There’s even a long queue for praying. 😓

Can’t finished the food but I don’t want to waste it. This is what I do. 👌

Got my fortune! Luckily it’s good.

Plum blossoms everywhere. If you can’t go for cherry blossoms season, come earlier to see plum blossoms instead.

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Decided to walk to Kinkaku-ji Shrine

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Stopped for a quick rest before we step inside the Shrine. Takoyaki in soup 🤔 and croquette. Never had soaked takoyaki before, still tastes like it but just wet.

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They give amulets as admission passes. Haha! That’s nice. ¥200 per adult.

Here’s the famous golden shrine.

Gold carp in the lake.

Other things around the shrine.

Bought a few charms, all they need to do is sell one that says ‘good health for pet’. Take my money.

Also bought my stamp book here; ¥800 for the book, ¥300 for the stamp. The calligraphy is really nice to look at.

Got my fortune here too! It’s still good. 😥

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We’re having sushi tonight! Sushi no Musashi, Foursquare recommended this place to us and it has a score of 8.8/10.

After seated, we were quite surprised because the servings aren’t as generous as the ones we have been to before. Oh well.

Mentaiko is salty. 😂

Scallop is sweet but I think it’s only half scallop each.

I never like tuna until I had this fatty tuna. 😍

Just look at the grain and fats.

Uni sushi. Another love. Can never find a good one in Singapore. It’s like creamy egg yolk.

On to the sweet stuffs; beancurd skin, tamago and sweet potato.

We only had 12 plates, it’s quite affordable.

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Shopped at one of my favorite place, Flying Tiger Copenhagen. Only managed to get 2 items for the house though, the selection is not as much as the last time I was here which was 2 or 3 years ago?

Got this for TC from Loft. He can be batman for 15 mins. 🤣

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Headed to McDonald’s for some food because laoniang’s gastric is acting up.

Shared a Chicken Tatsuya burger meal. It was damnnnnnnn good. Omgawd. Well marinated, full of flavour and tender. Can Singapore McDonald’s bring in this???

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Late night supper! Everything from 7-eleven.

Cup noodles from their premium range. Obviously, I wouldn’t know what’s the flavour.

Has little packs of oil which has to be added after the noodles are cooked.

Don’t know why TC always somehow has a lot of green onions in his food. 🤣

Anyways, the yellow one. Noodles are thick and chewy. Soup is thick. Really good. 👍👍👍👍

Brown. The oil has this salted fish smell which I hate because I don’t like salted fish. Doesn’t smell that bad when eating. Noodles are thin. Soup wise is just salty? Can’t really comment. Haha.

Added vegetables to the diet because we hardly had vegetables. The vegetable is very good because it has a natural sweetness.

Guess it’s the peach season? Yes to Calpis Peach Soda. 👍👍👍 No to Peach Coke, it’s like have soap fragrant drink. Ewww… I threw the wjole bottle.

japan day 1 – kyoto . matsuya

Not sure if anyone notices this display of mini clocks at the Airport Terminal 2 before. The feature playing was very pretty, I was awed.

The feature stopped playing and was showing the time when I tried to take picture. By the time the picture was taken… it was like that. I didn’t realised it too. *facepalm*

Light breakfast before the flight.

Cya in 7 hours? Or 8?

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Lucky! We have an empty seat beside us! I could lay down to sleep, best sleep in plane ever.

We were also in a newer plane, the windows will dim or brighten depending on the settings that we apply. It’s in a shade of blue though, so everything looks blue outside unless you are at the brightest setting.

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Lunch comes with a Ritter Sport chocolate bar and green tee. Had the chicken thigh and tomyum fried rice. Fried rice is pretty good. Chicken passable.

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Toilet ootd. 🤣

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Landing soon!

.

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Heading to Family Mart to fill our tummies with chicken yakitori onigiri, crab onigiri and mochis.

The yakitori chicken onigiri is very good; tender and flavourful.

Mochis too sweet. The one with strawberry is slightly better because it has a tinge of sourness.

Pear flavoured water is refreshing.

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Getting the JR tickets to Kyoto.

We used our Pasmo cards to take the train but still had to top up another ¥1,940 because it’s an express train.

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Found these cute donuts at the Kyoto Station! Cute!!!

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Finally got to our Airbnb. It’s a old building, as you can see… the lift is old. It’s cheap with basic amenities, good enough for the both of us.

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Finally, we are having a proper meal at Matsuya (松屋). The beef with egg is awesome. 😋😋😋

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Took a walk, visited the arcade. Interesting stuffs, looks easy but don’t get cheated.

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Visited the convenience stores and bought a lot of snacks, plus a small tub of hydrating gel for myself. So cold and dry, I think my skin is going to crack.

There’s even a magazine with only egg recipes. Too bad I can’t read Japanese.

The Sakura Starbucks packaging is pretty! Too bad I don’t like milk.

osaka & kyoto airbnb booked

Can you see that I already can’t wait to take out all my knitted wear?!!

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Kyoto apartment and Osaka apartment booked!
Not the prettiest but most importantly, very centralised. I can go around until very late and go back whenever I want to!

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Today got feels for vegetarian and this is only $3!

First time at Newton Circus. Probably never going back. 😅

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My loves. 😗

tickets to osaka booked . loof

Woohoo! 3 mths to Osaka!!! Finally got something to look forward to, before depression sets in. 😂

🤔 it’s going to be very cold though. I might get frozen.
Then I will secretly hope that it will snow during the week I was there. 😁

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Lunch! Just ordered the cheapest thing on the menu.

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Colleagues lead me out go eat snake, then boss also at the same place. Hahahhahaha. Seriously wtf. Whatever la, don’t care. It’s not like they are really working too.

Colleague kept saying the wanton skin very nice, then he kept craving for it. But it damn normal la. So easy to make. 😑 $14 for this… just wanton skin and imitation crab salad.

I give them points for the matchstick.

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TV time with family.

japan day 7. kyoto. kiyomizu-dera

Today we are going Kiyomizu-dera Temple!

It’s a beautiful day.

The reviews for efish are good on Foursquare, so we ended up here for breakfast.

It’s another designer store plus cafe.

Quite a good selection.

Seated right beside the full-length open window.

The view that we are looking at.

Got cranes to see.

And a flying one.

The designer stuffs.

Tea and coffee pots.

I’m still quite addicted to ‘gu niang’ coffee but the coffee here is thick and rich.

We had a cream soup.

And a tuna avocado sandwich. This is good. I wanna replcate this.

I’m starting to love Kyoto for being a quiet and serene place. I could just sit in the cafe the whole day.

And we are on our way.

We kept walking straight up.

Stepped into a little shop that sells bowls, plates and some other small ceramics.

This is what I bought 😄

We just kept following the crowd. Gotta go up a slope.

Almost!

Beautiful trees.

Crowded. 😮

I didn’t write down my wishes here.

I wonder what are those strips of paper that people are tying.

We prayed. Just follow what the person in front of us is doing.

Got construction going on. 😐

Getting tickets so we could get in.

Tadaa~

Here got a guan yin.

The guan yin is actually in a middle of the well. Then this is the small window for praying.

All that detailing.

Kids trying to carry the heavy spear-looking thing.

And heavy shoes.

Does the monk in the past really use these heavy things?

Charms for sale.

Get your fortune read here! Just shake that wooden container.

Yeah! Mine is 吉! Woohoo!

Use google translate app to decipher yourself. Then again…actually I don’t understand the translation myself.

And! These are the strips of papers that people are trying.

japan day 6. kyoto. songbird coffee. kichi kichi

At Osaka Train Station, we’re going to Kyoto! The other couple will be heading to Tokyo.

Tickets as usual.

Going towards this side. Yes yes, don’t get lost. We were quite lost. Lol!

Kyoto! It’s a very fast trip. Lol.

Pretty skies.

I like train tracks too.

We had to walk quite a distance to the subway train station. Got a little confused initially.

Finally! Our hotel is at Kujo.

Sakura Terrace.

Got free snacks and drinks for us to enjoy.

Nearby convenience store and bus stops available.

Room is quite okay. Got more space then the one at Hiroshima.

Probably the only hotel we’ve been to with english channels. This is where I found out the TV show ‘Forever’ is nice. Gotta go back and watch.

Clean toilet. 👍

Kyoto has too many places that I want to go. Cannot waste too much time.

Heading to somewhere near Nijo Castle. There’s a cafe thatI want to try.

Got vending machine at the station platform!

Fuji apple flavour.

Heh. Cute.

Walked past the manga museum, normally boyfriend and I would have wanted to go in and read the mangas. But logically, I did read reviews… the mangas are in Japanese, there’s no way wewill be able to understand.

Better not waste time.

I like the houses.

Ah neh! This one.
You see the word “Close” at the door?

I was quite sad… they had to close early on this day. 😢

I was looking forward to their egg sandwich. 😭

Name of the cafe.

Continue walking in search of our late lunch location.

More pretty houses to see.

More trees and clouds.

And kawaii fortune kitties.

Ended up here.

Looking good. They sell furniture on level 3 too.

Quiet and cosy place.

I’ve been trying to update. I really did but it gets so tiring at the end of the day, I just didn’t have any more energy to do it.

Plus the amount of images… 😵😵😵

I still have to back them up tonight before the memory card is out of memory.

I’ll update slowly when I’m back in Singapore.

Everything bunny.

Waiting for my Sherpa Coffee and french toast!

They do take their time to prepare food.

Still on his phone.

Boyfriend chose the third coffee blend, it was very very bitter.

Sherpa coffee is bitter too but not as much. Tasted sour after adding milk and sugar. I think it’s nice. Boyfriend prefers this too.

Boyfriend’s curry rice. Mmmm… damn. This was good.

Piece of art. Lol.

I’m gonna insert a video here when I have the time to edit it.

Here’s mine! French toast. Cafés in Singapore should just close down la, seriously.

I wanted to order an egg sandwich initially and changed my mind when I saw the waiter serve the french toast. My eyes went 😍.

Many bananas at the back!

Toast was crispy outside. Soft, fluffy and soggy inside? I don’t know how to explain but it was fabulous. Soggy because of the egg that was soak through into the toast, I guess, before it was fried.

I love it.

Need very trusty shoes for all that walking.

What I keep doing literally… while walking around. ‘Oh-so-pretty’ then take picture.

Nijo castle was closed by the time we got to the entrance.

Didn’t really want to payfor the entrance fee anyway. See from outside also good enough.

There’s a shop nearby selling swords.

Old stuffs.

The price. 😲

Got cheap ones too.

Next! I’m gonna look out for some geishas!

To Shijo!

Sorry. Let me fall in love with these floras for a while.

😍

Something that my previous workplace couldn’t achieve. I still don’t understand why… so scared of so many things…

There’s a lot of shopping here. In fact, I prefer the shopping district here more than Osaka.

Almost there. Keeping eyes wide open, looking for geishas. If I’m lucky I will get to see them walking very quickly to their workplace.

Looking aimlessly…

Don’t see any leh… maybe I have missed the timing?

I’m going to go shopping first before my dinner at Kichi Kichi. Made reservations already and it’s not time yet.

There’s this very nice place to shop. I highly recommend it! The things aren’t very expensive and quality is good too.

Flying Tiger Copenhagen.

Look at those stuffs. I don’t dareto take picture so openly.

See… nice right.

Waaa… Kichi Kichi quite difficult to find…walked past it a few times and we didn’t even realise…

The menu. Due to weight constraints… I’m only getting the half size which I will regret soon.

Friendly staffs and the chef.

Soup comes first.
Bagus. Have to fight with boyfriend. 😂
Too good.

Our drinks. I had umeshu with soda.

I like the chef. When he cooks, he makes it like a entertainment show for us to enjoy. He makes sure he attends to every single one of us in his restaurant.

Pro.

I must upload the video.

My mini rice. 😄

The omurice is so so so good… I can come single everyday. If you know how much I love eggs… I’ve tried so many omurice, nothing is as close as this… perfection. 👌

Must take pic with my mini omurice. (Should have gotten the regular size.)

Had to walk so far to the train station… There are 2 Shijo Stations in Kyoto and they are not connected in any way at all. Omg!

Thanks for helping me lose weight. 😂

Dessert back in the hotel.

I highly recommend this. If you ever see this in Kyoto’s 7-11 must get it! I couldn’t find this in Tokyo! 😢

Cold and refreshing matcha mochi. 😋

japan day 5. nara park.

Starting my day with a mentaiko bun.

Heading to Nara today, that’s why the train fare is higher.

Usually it will take an hour to reach. If you realise there are certain trains that are normal, express or super express. The express trains will skip certain stops hence it’s faster.

The fee will be the same no matter which train you take.

If you need help, there’s a tourist counter just outside the train station.

They have collectables here too!

There’s a shopping area nearby but we are going to the end of the street or 2 streets for lunch!

Continue on to the next street that’s opposite.

You’ll see these black houses at the end of the street.

This.

Highly rated in tripadvisor for their unagi. So I’m here to try.

Change into slippers.

Got to our table.

Tatami dining.

Prices aren’t on the low side. I’m having the mini-ju set by the way.

Mushroom tempura.

The set with the beef sukiyaki.

Sorry. Didn’t take picture of the price. Lol.

Boyfriend had this.

My mini-ju. Not that mini also because there’s so many other things.

My verdict is that the unagi isn’t really good? The serving of unagi is quite small. Then the eel like don’t have enough to eat, so thin.

I has chawanmushi.

With a leaves.

Those fish ball things in my miso soup very soft. It’s weird.

They have got normal seating too.

The place itself is scenic.

I specially make my way here just to see what’s around the restaurant.

Might as well take a selfie since I’m here.

I wanted to take this picture to show you all buy my camera not cooperating well.

There was a group of people dressed in traditional clothing sitting man-pulled carriages with some drumming going on.

I have no idea what kind of tradition os going on but it doesn’t look like a wedding. Anyway that was quite fun to watch, even the Japanese in the restaurant stood up to watch the commotion.

It’s quite funny because everything is peeking through the small window.

Back to shopping along the street.

See beef.

This beef looks really yummy.

Some zakka shops along the street.

The mochi looks good and they only sell one kind. It must be super good that’s why dare to only sell one flavour, right?

It’s quite good. Has herb in it? It tastes weird initially but it got better when you are used to it.

Crackers looks good but I didn’t get them.

Many deer merchandises.

Cute lehhhhhh!

Must enjoy the scenery.

I love trees. I love going to parks and forests much much more than going to beaches.

Nice fabric print.

First deer I saw hiding behind a huge rock. 😃

There are stalls where you can get crackers for deers. That’s like $2 for a stack of it.

Because even traffic lights look pretty here.

These guys are everywhere and they really follow you for food.

See. Everywhere.

The only deer I see that has horns? But very smelly leh. The fur very matted already, perhaps a old deer.

Many many poop. Have to be very careful when on grass.

This one… paper also want to eat.

Sunbathing.

Ooh oooh! Here’s my chance!

I stole a few branches from here.

Om nom nom.

Have more. I’ll post the video over here soon.

Lol. It just stood there like a statue.

Walk further down the street.

I don’t know who tried it but sounds like it’s awful.

Eat ice cream.

I say… the matcha ice cream in Nara is better than Kyoto? Because Kyoto’s has a lot of milk in them, tastes a little commercialised.

It gets even more scarier after stepping into this shrine.

The amount of people. 😲
Plus, the amount of deers chasing people. 😲

Get it?

Japanese monk?

This is so cool.

A little bit of autumn here and there.

I love autumn and I embrace every single one of them.

So pretty. 😍

We walked to a main road.

And took a public bus in front of this temple entrance. It was quite fun but I don’t have pictures of the bus. Lol.

Going back.

This is where the train master sits. He’s at the other end…

Go pray pray at this little temple before we have tea.

Famous for the mossy buddha. I guess?

Tea time at Arabiya!

The place where I first realise that I actually like ‘gu niang’ coffee. Lol.

The prices.

We were seated at a cozy little corner.

There are counter seats too.

Website right there. 👉

This looks really really nice.

Black coffee.

Hot chocolate.

And my cappucino.

Okay. The coffees here are light which may mean diluted to many but I like it. It’s like having tea that’s a bit stronger.

Honey toast is omg super good. We really like this. If only I could stuff another one in my tummy.

We had a egg and ham sandwich. Egg so fluffy… damn… I need to know how to make this.

Separated with the other couple so that we can have some moments of our own. They can shop for their own stuffs while we shop for ours.

Found this place for dinner. Highly recommended on tripadvisor.

Tatami dining.

Calpris.

I would say the omu-rice here is old-school. The kind that never goes wrong, like canteen food. Lol.

I wouldn’t recommend thid place though.

2 omurice and a calpris is already SGD$28… Not very worth it if you ask me.

Late night snack!

Mmm… smells very good, tastes good too.