Byodoin (平等院)

It was still super early when we arrived at Uji station. As you can see from my pictures, these 2 shop that I am interested in are still closed when we walked past.

Next time, when I have more time in Kyoto, I would love to explore the streets here.

At Byodoin, 平等院.

Due to COVID-19, we wanted to avoid crowds. Hence, we start our day super early.

The temple grounds is pretty and peaceful.

There is a small museum there with exhibitions on Buddhism in Japan.

Right outside the museum is the tearoom which I am interested to try, but it wasn't open yet when we were there.

As it was the end of Feb then, ume was in bloom.

Can't get enough of this beautiful view~

After that, we decided to cure our hunger and to kill some time in the nearby Starbucks.

This Starbucks is spacious and gives a nice vibe.

Sakura themed drinks and baked goods were already available then. Having the sakura chiffon cake again!

A blackboard with a map of the surrounding area, drawn with coloured chalks.

I don't think I have been to such a quiet and serene Starbucks before. Other than the location, the timing we were there could also be the reason why it was pretty empty.

Fushimi Inari

Finally visiting the famous Fushimi-Inari Shrine.

The station looks beautiful and new, not sure if it has just been renovated recently.

We were initially headed towards the wrong direction when a nice local lady directed us to the right place.

 

While it was still early when we visited, there were more people than expected. I guess if it wasn't because of COVID-19, there would be more people there.

Thankfully for the camera stand that we were able to take pictures of ourselves.

When we were about to enter this tori area, we met a very interesting photographer who was super friendly. He snaps really nice pictures of sceneries all around Japan. So friendly that we even added him on facebook! I'm guessing that he does talks a lot to tourists.

The gates goes on and on and we decided to just stop before the midway point. Maybe next time, when we are not so rushed for time, I would like to explore the entire area.

Us with our camera gears!

It is really nice to be able to take pictures as you feel like with a camera stand as long as you don't mind carrying a heavy stand everywhere you go.

 I really like this place when it is empty like this and make a nice background for pictures. I will definitely want to return again for more pictures here.

The world is your oyster!

After this stop, we had to quickly make our way to our next destination as we only had a few short days here in Kyoto and there are many places that I want to visit.

Spotted this interesting looking building on the way back to the station. I wonder what is this building used for.

Our next stop is Uji!

Koe Donuts

After dinner, we walked around Kyoto-kawaramachi area and came across Koe Donuts.

As you can see form this picture, the place was pretty empty by this time and many of the donuts were already sold out.

We saw that there were still quite a number of people inside enjoying their meals and they were still accepting orders, so we decided to dine in.

The interior is interesting thanks to these baskets that are hanging from the ceiling.

Simple but stylish.

The inside is spacious and there are many seats. We went to this big shared table in the middle, that was empty at that time.

The blue tag that I am wearing if not a name tag, but a tag that was supposed to help clean the air of viruses. I wasn't sure if it would work but I thought that I'd give them a try as they were available in the drug stores. At a time when masks were no where to be found, I spotted it in the drugstore and we decided to buy one each, just to test them out. Obviously, we still have no idea if it actually works.

We ordered the white cheese donut which was yummy! Love the light cream cheese on the donut.

During this trip, we were in our masks most of the time, except for when we are eating or when we wanted to take pictures when there are less people around us.

After that, we continued exploring around the area and eventually came across the Kyoto Minami-za.

Next up is the Yasaka Shrine.

Even though it was late, the gound was still open and we were able to enter to have a look around.

While borders to China have closed at this time, but the borders are still open to other countries so Kyoto wasn't without tourists during this time.

Chaos Spice Diner カオススパイスダイナー

Exploring around the area before dinner.

For dinner, we decided to dine here Chaos Spice Diner (カオススパイスダイナー).

Before our trip to Kyoto, I found this shop being introduced in a Japanese website and thought that the curry looked delicious.

Website: https://khaos-spicediner.com/

From below, you can smell the spices.

The place was small but spacious and you can sit comfortably.

Even though we were there for early dinner, their famous chaos keema curry was already sold out.

We ordered the chicken curry and their gaiyang chicken plate. Both dishes were flavourful and super good. The spices were spot on! I can see why their signature dish sold out so quickly.