Travelling Bunnies - Kyoto Day Trip (Day 4)

On Saturday we went to Kyoto for the day. It takes about a half hour from Osaka on the Special Rapid train and is really cheap (only 530 yen each way). On the 21st of each month there is a huge outdoor market in the grounds of Toji Temple.

Japanese couple in traditional dress kindly posed for a photo

The market was very crowded and hot

We walked to get to the market. It was a super humid day in Kyoto so we were extremely hot bunnies! The market was big, loud & colourful. On offer were ceramics, second hand kimonos and yukata, fresh octopus, tea, mystery foods on sticks, and a mixture of second hand goods (a bit like a trash and treasure / flea market set up).

Octopus

There was so much to buy but we restrained ourselves - we need to keep our baggage allowance free for fabric. We walked back to the station for lunch and air-con.

Kyoto Station itself is a popular landmark - the roof is amazing. According to Wikipedia it is "Japan's second-largest train station building and is one of the country's largest buildings. It includes a shopping mall, hotel, movie theatre, department store and more under the 15 storey roof. Photos of the roof just do not do it justice, nor do they impart the scale of the place - it really is a place to see to believe. There used to be a cool Tezuka (creator of Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion) museum shop at the train station but we were very disapointed to discover that it closed earlier this year.

Kyoto train station

After lunch we jumped on a bus to our favourite fabric shop in Kyoto - Nomura Tailor for a spot of fabric shopping. Cloud's feet by this stage were swollen up to the point that her ankle bones couldn't be seen anymore - they had moved beyond 'cankles' to 'thankles' (ie: swollen up to become part of her thighs :P). Time to head home!

~ Ky & Cloud