Tendon Makino Kyoto Teramachi 天丼まきの京都寺町

Kyoto Teramachi

Lunch was at Tendon Makino Kyoto Teramachi (天丼まきの京都寺町).

As it was lunch time, there was already a short queue outside when we got there.

Luckily, it didn't take long before we got seated.

We had a counter seat near their main entrance.

The view from here is great if you do not mind a little bit of smell from the oil. You get to see how fresh the ingredients are, how the tempura are made and how they are plated.

Other than a tendon, we added a bowl of clam soup each.

Look at the size of this tendon! The tempura was crunchy and not oily. I also like how they topped the egg with some ikura.

Our tendon also had some yuzu accent to it as yuzu peel was grated directly on top before serving.

The clam soup is also a must order as the taste was good. This also had some yuzu accent to it and the clams were meaty. However, as the portion is big, it might be best to share the soup if you are a small eater. We were super full after this meal.

Look at the number of people outside after we were done.

After the very full lunch, we exercised for a bit by walking to the Kyoto Imperial Palace (京都御所).

As you can see from this map, this area here is huge. This whole area is the Kyoto Gyoen National Garden.

At one of the many entrances into the area. This is the Teramachi Gomon Gate. As you can see, the locals parked their bikes directly outside to enter. There are surprisingly many people there for recreational activities.

The area is huge with long stretches of pathways like this.

In front of the Kenshunmon Gate.

This place gives a relaxing feel and reminds me a bit of the stone pathway to Meiji Jingu. Walking on stones somehow has a calming effect on the mind from the sound of the stones as you step on it. Is it just me? If only the sun was not as glaring when we were there it would've been better.

After a tiring walk, we took the bus back to gojo-zaka and dropped by Somon (総門) on our way back to the hotel to picked up our bags to move to a different hotel.

Right in front of the Butsuden (仏殿) of the Buddhist temple.

We kept passing but this area during our trip as this was between the bus stop and our hotel, but we never entered. Since this was our last day of the trip in this area, we decided to drop by. After picking up our luggage, we took the bus to Kyoto station, where our next hotel is. 

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest (嵐山 竹林の小径)

 Woke up super early in the morning to take the early bus to Arashiyama.

There was only 1 other couple walking along this path with us when we were there.

We walked past Nonomiya Shrine (野宮神社), which is a well-known shinto shrine which provides blessings for marriage while on our way to the bamboo forest.

It seems they also sell enmusubi charms.

Finally at the bamboo forest!

We were not alone as there were several groups of photographers there to get the best spot for pictures too.

We too set up our tripod for some pictures. These were all taken with a tripod.

While J was preparing the tripod for us to snap a picture together, I was standing in front of the camera so that we will know where to shoot. Just as the timer was set and I was rushing for J to get in front of the camera next to me, he took out a ring and proposed.

I definitely didn't expect that and didn't know how to react at that time as there were other people there too, who were passing us by. I think the first thing I probably said was, "There are other people looking!". Not a romantic response, but I did say yes!

So that was how the surprise proposal happened on 29th February 2020.

Here are more pictures to commemorate the moment! :D

J put the ring on me but as it was too big, it had to be resized.

With the ring safe in my bag, we continued on the journey of exploring Arashiyama.

As it was cold, we got hungry quickly and decided to grab a second breakfast at a Tully's nearby.

As it was a second breakfast, we decided to just share a hotdog sandwich.

This was actually my second time in Arashiyama. I had visited many years ago with Dad.

I guess because it is such a popular tourist spot, the place is continuously being renewed to look nicer.

There were also new attractions like this Kimono forest which lights up at night.

We also crossed the famous bridge Togetsu-kyō (渡月橋) bridge to the other side, where we took the bus back to Kyoto Teramachi.

This bridge is always on the the news when they want to show how busy Arashiyama is. It is usually filled with tourists. But again, as we were there early and none of the shops are open for lunch yet, there weren't many people around.

As I'm always visiting Arashiyama only during winter, I would love to be back again during autumn to catch the autumn colours.

Uji & Ramen Sen-no-Kaze Kyoto (らーめん 千の風 京都)

After our Kyoto cuisine lunch, we explored a bit around Uji. We crossed the Asagiri Bridge (朝霧橋) to cross the Uji River to the other side.

According to Google map, this is the 宇治十帖石像 (Uji Jujo stone statue).

The red  Asagiri Bridge.

In front of Uji Jinja (宇治神社).

We had to hike up a small hill to get up here to the 

After that, we made our way back to Uji station. 

Along the way, I found a shop that sold Uji green tea cream puff and decided to buy one to try. The taste was ok considering that it wasn't a fresh cream puff, but I think I prefer fresh ones from the bakery.

As Uji is famous for green tea, you can find shops selling green tea food items which originally do not have green tea in them such as green tea gyoza, ramen or takoyaki.

There is also a shop which sells these interesting looking ice cream.

Near the station, you will see this interesting post box.

After that, we took the the bus to the Nishiki market shopping district, where we grabbed dinner at Ramen Sen-no-Kaze Kyoto (らーめん 千の風 京都).

This place seemed really popular as there was a queue outside despite COVID-19 and flights to and from some countries already cancelled. Inside the restaurant, there are stickers which showed that this place was voted one of the Top 20 Japanese restaurants in Japan with foreign tourists in 2016.

I can see that this place is still popular with tourists as there are some Western back packers there too when we were there and they have an English menu.

I had the Yamato no miso, which was delicious! I like the soup and the burnt char siew. It is easy to see why it was so popular with tourists and locals alike.

J ordered the Kyo-fuu sen no shio, which was really good too. This one had some yuzu accent to it which makes it supper appetising.

We also ordered the gyoza and it was delicious!!

I would definitely revisit this place. 

This place tourist friendly as you can get by without knowing any Japanese. Best of all, the ramen is really good.