72 hours in KYOTO, Japan! 🇯🇵 (Our MUST-VISIT spots & experiences!)

For the next [music] 72 hours, we're exploring Kyoto. Once the capital of Japan, Kyoto is steeped [music] in history. Here you can find streets lined with traditional buildings, countless temples and shrines, and cultural experiences. All while being surrounded by beautiful natural sites, and of course, plenty of delicious local foods to try. Some of which we'll get to make ourselves. [screaming] It's easy to see why this is one of the most visited places in all of Japan, [music] and we can't wait to experience a little bit of it for ourselves. >> [music] >> Yesterday we took our first ever bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto going a speedy 300 km per hour which as big fans of train travel was such a cool experience. Fastest we've ever gone on land. This is crazy. And this morning we are up bright and early to begin exploring [music] the city. Kyoto is pretty famous for having some insane crowds. So, our strategy while here is to try to get an early start when we can. And first, we're wandering around Nin Zaka and Sanin Zaka, which are two of Kyoto's [music] most picturesque old streets built in the early 800s that lead to Kio Mizera Temple. While originally founded in 780, the current buildings were constructed [music] in 1633 with the main hall and 13 meter tall wooden stage being built without any nails. Instead, these wooden pillars and beams are expertly joined together [music] and the temple gets its name after the OOA waterfall located on its grounds with Kio Mizuera translating to pure [music] water temple. This waterfall is divided into three streams with each having different benefits like longevity, success at school, and a fortunate love life. And to reap the benefits for yourself, you're able to drink from the streams using cups attached to [music] a pole. But don't get too eager. Drinking from all three is considered greedy. It's really good water. We read that each of the streams has a different benefit, but I asked a woman working here and she said they're all the same, so we just chose one. So, I'm not sure which benefit we got, but they're all good things, right? [laughter] >> I don't know if we need success in school. >> Yeah, we'll take it as like a we'll take it as a school of life. We're just keep learning, lifelong learners. [music] >> [music] >> There are countless temples in Kyoto and we won't be able to visit all of them, but the main reason that we chose this one is because it has amazing views of the city and surrounding [music] mountains. And something else I love about it is the mix of the red buildings and the wooden [music] buildings. Some temples we've been to only have the red buildings while others just have wooden buildings. And I love how this [music] one merges them together. >> [music] >> We had a very early morning and we're in desperate need of some coffee. So, we stopped by [music] Goodman Roster to get some flat whites and some little snacks to hold us over until a very tasty activity this afternoon. [music] Carrot cake is one of my favorite cakes of all time. And this one is so pretty. It's nice and moist, but also still fluffy. And I love the cream cheese frosting on top. Gives it that nice little tang. >> We're going to smooth out some of this. >> Yeah. We're not totally sure what that is. >> Looks like cinnamon butter or something. [music] >> We have eaten quite a few bowls of ramen since being here in Japan. It is easily one of our favorite Japanese dishes. And this afternoon, we're going to a ramen making class at Ramen Factory to learn the process of making it. But before we go, we want to give a huge thank you to Trip Adviser for sponsoring this video and our ramen making experience. Trip Adviser is the world's largest travel website. It makes it easy to find hotels, restaurants, tours, and activities, plus read traveler reviews. But they also have 400,000 experiences you can book directly through Trip Adviser. Some of our favorite travel memories are the tours and experiences that we have gone on. And Trip Adviser offers unique and fun experiences all around the world, like street food tours, multi-day hiking trips, exhilarating off-road adventures, plus cultural experiences like sumo wrestling, tea ceremonies, lantern making classes, and so much more. And to make booking experiences on Trip Adviser even more exciting, they recently launched Trip Adviser Rewards, where you can earn 5% Trip Cash on any hotel or experience booking made in their app, which can be applied to future in-app bookings. Plus, you get other perks when booking in the app, like price match guarantee and flexible booking options in case your plans change. To see what experiences they have for your next adventure or just get inspiration for the future, scan the QR code on the screen or click the link in the description to download the Trip Adviser app. And to get 10% off any experience, use our code A+ K10. But now it is time to go make some ramen. And I am so excited and also very hungry. [music] [music] >> Let's make some ramen. >> And our first step, preparing the meat, which in this case was chicken. We rolled it and marinated it, cooked it for a bit, and then later sliced it up and finished it off with a nice sear. Ah, [screaming] but the most important part of the process was making our homemade noodles, which involved mixing a ratio of flour and water with the water amount varying depending on the humidity levels, plus a bit of strength to create the perfect dough. Use your muscles. [groaning] Squeeze. >> Oh wow. >> Oh my gosh. Does your hand hurt? >> Not really. [laughter] H how? [screaming] [screaming] >> That is a great way to like let out some aggression. >> Oh my gosh, >> that was intense. My hand kind of hurts though. I have never made noodles before. This is so exciting. >> Wow. >> Cool. >> And then it was time to create our broth with a few different ways to customize it before quickly cooking our noodles in boiling water and assembling our bowl of ramen. [music] So, they give you a few different options to flavor your broth. You can do miso, soy, or fish. I went with the fish just because I haven't had a fishy ramen yet, and it smells so good. And you can also dress it up how you want. These are fried onions. And I've got some hard-boiled eggs. And this is the chicken we made earlier. And then green onions. You can add some chili oil, garlic oil, and uh some chili flakes. You can kind of customize it how you like. >> I didn't think it was going to be this good. It is really good. >> As you may notice, my ramen is a little bit darker, and that's because I did half miso and half soy. It looks so good. Oh, the noodles are so good. Way to go, me. The broth is so flavorful. Not just saying this cuz I made it, but one of my favorite bowls of ramen ever. That ramen cooking class was a ton of fun. That was actually our first ever cooking class and we're definitely going to be doing more of those. Our teacher, Ami, was so funny and so patient and such a good teacher. We not only ended the class with some delicious ramen to enjoy, but we also got the recipe so we can make it at home again and again. A huge thank you again to Trip Adviser for supporting our adventures and giving us such a fun and tasty experience. If you want to make your own ramen here in Kyoto, we'll put the link to the exact tour we booked below, or you can scan the QR code on the screen. And don't forget to use our code A+ K10 for 10% off any tour booked on Trip Adviser. [music] Just like everywhere we've been in Japan, the public transportation in Kyoto is excellent. The city is home to both buses and trains. And to get to our next stop, we just took a train down to Fushimi Anari Shrine, which is one of the most iconic sites in Kyoto. The Fushimi Anari Shrine is one of the most important Shinto shrines in Kyoto, honoring the Shinto deity Inari, who is said to bring blessings of [music] bountiful harvests of grain, including rice. And it is famous for having thousands of vermilion red Tory gates that lead up to Mount Inari. >> These are a lot bigger than I thought they'd be. >> Tory gates symbolically mark the transition from the mundane to the sacred. And each one of these gates have been donated by an individual or business with their names marked on the back of the gates. There are many sections of these densely packed gates which are pretty magical to walk through. This is one of those spots we would have loved to come to at sunrise to try to beat the crowds, but unfortunately we did not have a free morning. We got here 2 hours before sunset and the entrance was madness. But we heard the further you go, the more the crowds thin out, and that is definitely proving to be true. The crowd started thinning out pretty soon into it and we just passed the city viewpoint and now there's hardly anyone up here. There are so many steps here. This is one of those places that you see so many photos of and you're not totally sure if it'll live up to the hype, but we loved it. It is unlike anything we have ever seen. And when we got those very small windows with no one else around, it was so serene. >> The shrine is free to visit and open 24 hours a day. And we do highly recommend either visiting at sunrise or sunset so that you can see it both in the daylight and the darkness. [music] >> [music] >> We're ending our day with guozas, which are pan fried dumplings with different fillings. Oh, that's so good. Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. So much flavor. This is one with ginger and pork in there. Oh, man. Such a strong ginger flavor. I need like two more bits of these. Oh my god. It's >> like crispy and gooey at the same time. >> It's a really cool spot, too, because we just sit right at the bar, watch the guy making them, cooking them. Couldn't get any pressure. >> Oh my gosh, I love them. >> I think we are going to get a second round. >> For sure getting another round of this. >> And their cucumbers. Their cucumbers are so good. Oh my gosh, I'm in heaven right now. >> [music] [music] >> Yesterday we visited some of the most famous areas of Kyoto, but this morning we're going on a bike tour with the Good Day Veellow to see some areas of the city we have yet to explore. [music] Cycling is one of the best ways to [music] explore Kyoto. And over the course of four hours, Naoki took us all around the city, sharing tons of insight about what life is like in Japan and taking us to many lesserk known spots that we likely wouldn't have gone to on our own are definitely not appreciated as much without his insight. We rode along the famous philosophers path and through Guon, learning all about the history of geishas along the way, plus visited different temples and shrines, including a temple with a beautiful historic aqueduct and a shrine dedicated to ending bad relationships or any other negative influences. Here, people write what they'd like to break up with on paper and then crawl through a hole in a large stone, which symbolizes breaking ties. But not only does Naoki offer bike tours, he also runs a coffee shop. [music] So, we of course had to end the tour with some coffee. >> That is basically my dream business, bikes [music] and coffee. His motto is slow bikes, slow coffee, sweet life. And I couldn't have put it any better. That was a wonderful way to spend the morning. Now that we have biked for over 4 hours, we have worked up quite the appetite. So, we have headed over to Nishiki Market. This fiveb block market is over 400 years old and is referred to as Kyoto's kitchen with more than 100 shops and stalls selling fresh seafood, produce, and a variety of snacks, plus cooking related souvenirs like high-quality knives and personalized chopsticks. >> First impressions, the ceiling is really cool. And also, it is bustling in here. There are tons of little shops and tons of little food stands. We have a list of foods we want to try and they're mostly all foods we haven't tried here in Japan yet. >> [music] >> The first food item we're trying is unagi, which is eel. And this is charcoal grilled unagi. And it's cooked in a a sweet caramelized sauce, and it's over a bowl of rice. This place has been open since [music] 1912. So, I think they know a thing or two about cooking unagi. I really like that sauce on there. It's It's good and sweet. And then you have the charcoal grilled flavor. You can really taste the smokiness and then also the skin is nice and crispy. >> One very important thing to know is that many restaurants and even some coffee shops here in Japan require everyone to order something. So, I had to get my own. So, I'm really hoping that I like it. M. Oh, yeah. It's really crispy and juicy. The sauce is delicious. Next up, we have Taco Tamago, which is a baby octopus with a quail egg stuffed inside the head, cooked in a sweet and salty sauce. I'm a little nervous about this one. [laughter] You're supposed to eat it all in one bite, but she said that this one's a little bit big to do that. And I agree. We'll go with a tentacle first. >> Good. meaty. The meat's a little chewy. The sauce subtly sweet, subtly salty. You mostly taste the octopus. All right, now for the part I'm nervous about. The head. >> This tastes like an egg and octopus. It's >> really good. >> Not nearly as scary as you thought. >> No, not at all. I'd eat it again. >> [music] >> One of my favorite food items from the Kinis are these fruit sandwiches with whipped cream. I saw them a bunch at the beginning of our trip, but lately I have not seen them very often. So, when I saw one here, I knew I had to get it. Plus, this one is strawberry, which is fruit that Japan is really known for. M. And the strawberries are so firm and [music] sweet. The whipped cream is the perfect amount of fluffiness and sweetness. And the bread, all the bread for these kind of sandwiches here in Japan is just so soft. It's like a dessert sandwich. It's so good. >> It's almost like a strawberry shortcake with this kind of bread. It's almost like angel food cake softness to it. So good. >> Also, one very important thing to know about [music] eating in Japan in general, but especially at this market, is that you are not supposed to eat while walking. They have signs all over the place telling you not to do that. So, whenever you buy something, you're supposed to stand right outside of the stand and enjoy it right there. >> They also announce it over the public announcement speakers. >> Yeah. >> They want you to >> Yeah. They really don't want you walking >> and eating. They have a woman that comes over and reminds you in case you have not read the signs. [music] So, this right here is curry pon, which is a bread that is stuffed with curry. And then this one is rolled in golden sesame. >> It's so crispy. And all the golden sesame started flying off. I didn't even get the curry yet. >> A little messy, huh? >> Yeah. >> You got it all over. >> Very messy. The dough kind of tastes just like an unsweetened donut. It's very >> Do you want to wipe your mouth off? >> The curry is so good. I wish there was a bit more curry in there, but the curry is delicious. And I think there's some beef in there as well. >> I love the crunch on that. It's pillowy. Got to say it. That bread is pillowy. [music] For our final food item, we got soy milk donuts. And you can get them plain, but we got them with soy flour and brown sugar. And they made them right right in front of us. They're hot and fresh. M. They have a good kind of bouncy texture to them. Lightly sweet, not overly sweet. >> Just smelling them, I can smell that soy powder. It gives it a little nutty smell to it. M. Got a good bounce to them. Good chew as well. >> And they're not overly fried. No, no, they're not. >> They're kind of light. >> Mhm. Yeah, they're kind of light and airy. I could eat a whole dozen myself. >> Nishiki Market is definitely more of a tourist spot than a local spot, but we still recommend going because it is a great place to try a bunch of different foods at once. But for the rest of the afternoon, we're heading to a tea ceremony, which is a ceremonial way of preparing and drinking green tea and is one of the most popular cultural experiences you can have here in Kyoto. But first, we need to look the part. They had hundreds of kimonos that we could choose from, but I chose this one cuz it felt very tropical and then they do your hair and put flowers in it. Very fun experience. Traditional tea ceremonies, also called chado or way of tea, usually last multiple hours, but we experienced a condensed version. Our ceremony started with learning about some of its principles including ichigo ichi which means one time one meeting and is a reminder that we will never have this exact moment again. And to soak up this moment we completed a short meditation [music] before watching our host go through the tea ceremony process. And then it was time to enjoy a couple tea ceremony sweets and make the tea ourselves. I was a bit worried going into the ceremony that it would be gimmicky, but it was a fantastic experience. Our host, Mommy, was wonderful and it was just so relaxing and just such a beautiful thing to be a part of. It is our final morning here in Kyoto and we are once again up bright and early. And this morning's plan is to visit Arashiyama, which is famous for its bamboo grove. It's located all the way on the western outskirts [music] of Kyoto. So, we first have about an hour's worth of train rides to get there. This is really beautiful. >> What I love most about it so far is just how peaceful it is in the morning. All you hear is just birds chirping. There's some people here, of course, you just hear their footsteps and just like the breeze gently like blowing the tops of the bamboo trees. The bamboo grove is just one tiny part of Arashyama Park. Here you can find different pathways through a forest, a garden, observation points, and access to the Katsura River, which is also called the Oi River or Hosu River, depending on the section. And for the rest of the morning, we're going to be taking the Sagono Romantic Train for about 20 minutes up the river, and then we'll be hopping on the Hosugawa River Boat Ride to float all the way back. So, we booked our tickets in advance on the Sagao Romantic Train website, and we specifically booked car number five called the Rich Car because it's an open air car. And we read that the side to get is the side with the even numbered seats because it has views for most of the ride. That was a ton of fun. Way more than I expected. >> To get from the train to the boat, we had to take a quick 10-minute bus ride. And they have the buses waiting for you right when you get off the train. So, it was super easy. This river was originally utilized to transport logs that were used to build many of the famous temples and castles [music] in Kyoto and Osaka. And during the early 1600s, the river was widened so that it [music] could be used to ship rice and other cargo. But with the creation of trains and trucks, river [music] transport became obsolete. However, the boats were brought back for sightseeing and offer visitors a chance to ride on traditional style flat bottom boats, which are navigated by boatmen with orars and bamboo poles. Our 2-hour ride was during very low water, so we had many [music] calm sections to relax, while other moments were a bit more exciting. [laughter] I am drenched. And just before getting back to the dock, we hooked up to a boat where we could buy snacks and drinks. >> Sauce is really good. >> That boat ride was a blast. Literally, I got blasted with water. I think I'm the only person on the whole boat that got soaked. My jeans are so wet right now. It feels like I peed my pants. But I loved getting to combine the train and the boat together. It was just a really unique way to experience this area. [music] [music] We've had a lot of Japanese food over the last few weeks and we have a lot more planned for our next video. So today we decided to switch it up a little bit and get pizza for lunch. So this one's the copa with a basil pesto base, mozzarella, pushcido, and walnuts. And this is the diavola, which I believe is just a margarita with salami added. >> I believe this spot is owned by an Italian, so it is legit. >> That is so freaking good. Amazing basil pesto. The pushcuto is nice and salty. The crust good and chewy, perfectly cooked, and I love the crunch from those walnuts. >> So this is actually our third time having pizza in Japan. Whoops. But sometimes you just want to eat pizza and all of it has been incredible. You can never go wrong with pizza no matter where you are in the world. [music] [music] >> [music] >> We grabbed some drinks from 7-Eleven and came down to the Kamo River for sunset. And it was the perfect way to end a fun few days here in Kyoto. But for our final adventure in Japan, we're heading down to Osaka for a delicious day trip.