This morning started with a hasty repack of all our bags ready to head over to Osaka. Having bought some new threads, it was a case of "one person sit on the bag, the other do it up" but we managed it this time!
We headed over to Kyoto station so that we could put our bags in a locker and see a bit more of central Kyoto before leaving. We had to make a quick stop at the post office as we'd accidentally stolen the key to our hotel from day 4 and wanted to return it, a process that was actually surprisingly simple! Plus earned us good karma to make sure we have a good reincarnation!
After that we went to a couple of temples in the station area - we'd purposefully left them as we knew we'd have some time today. The first was Nishi Hongan-ji the second Higashi Hongan-ji. They were both very similar, but were both vast and incredibly beautiful, so quite glad they were similar.
After that we went to a garden called Shosei-en, which was nice enough, but would probably have been nicer in a couple of weeks!
Our final call in Kyoto was the Nishiki Market, a very long street full of all sorts of crazy food and random stalls selling souvenirs. We were looking for a cafe that was meant to be very pretty, but couldn't find it amongst all the other things. It doesn't help that the guidebooks are written using the English alphabet, whilst all the signs are written in Kanji. Lesson learned: Google what the front of the shop looks like before heading there!
With much sadness in our hearts, the time came to leave Kyoto and catch the shinkansen to Osaka. We were on the quickest train possible, covering the 60km journey in just 13 minutes.
Our first destination, as with everywhere we go, was the tallest thing we could get to the top of. In this city, it's the Umeda sky tower. At 40 stories high the views are very impressive. And, even better, it had a bar with a great selection of world beers.
At 5:30 we were able to check in to our final apartment. It's a similar set up to the last one with a death ladder up to a sleeping platform. It's smaller than the last, but much more comfortable and has a balcony over looking the Dotombori river. Very nice. It has an awesome host who has given us a long list of things to do and places to eat. We also have pocket WiFi again, which should make getting lost a lot less likely!
We showered and did some washing before heading out for dinner - more ramen, this time an extra rich broth with lots of garlic. My favourite so far. We then took a walk through Dotombori arcade - it's very gaudy (think Soho meets Camden meets Picadilly Circus) and not really our scene, however it's definitely a sight to behold.
Hidden away in amongst all the craziness was a lovely whiskey cabin. Barely big enough to hold 6 people standing up, it still managed to have a very impressive selection, with some particularly excellent Japanese choices.
Then it was home time (with a quick stop at a craft beer bar we saw one the way)
Good day, but already missing Kyoto.
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