A different kind of Tiger mom - Onitsuka - Japan Day 4

The previous post in this series is here..

After we had lunch near the golden pavilion, we took an Uber XL to Kyoto shopping area. It was already early evening and we went to the Onitsuka Tiger shoe store.

The little one had told us that we need to get her a pair of shoes at this store as it is a Japanese product that is cheaper in Japan than in the US. Also not all designs are available in US.

The Tiger mom went into overdrive to make her cub happy. We saw the line at the store was really long. Our friends saw the madness and said “we will go rest in the hotel. When you finish this and come back to the hotel, we can all go back for dinner”.

We stood in line for 2 hours just chatting with others in the line. Then our chance finally came. I had also selected a shoe in blue but it was sold out. Still we picked the version for the little one and also decided all of us should get one given the two hours spent in the line.

Then we made it back to the hotel. There is a Puma store right next to this one and we got socks for my buddy on the way there. We hope the Onitsuka’s are noticed on Bubb road during the local walks.. given their price, I might as well do pooja for it or carry it on my head instead.

Things we do…

We were to have dinner at a vegan place in Kyoto. Again a Jr. selection and she had made reservations. The food was good as was the service but the price was very high compared to other options we had seen. We were happy with the food. Then we made our way back to the hotel.

A very short video..

Our original plan had us spend another day here. We did change plans the previous day. We were going to our next stop a day early. It was going to be our last night in Kyoto..

Will start with our next stop in the next post..

The Golden pavilion or Kinkaku-ji Temple in Kyoto

The previous post in this series is here..

After leaving Nara, we came back to Kyoto and I had three places to see in Kyoto mainly from a photographic interest. One was an ancient street which was supposed to be captured at golden hour, the other was the Golden pavilion and the third was downtown Kyotos main shopping street.

The cloud were everywhere and it was drizzling and there was going to be no golden hour. So historic preserved street wasn’t going to happen. We had to go back to the shopping area in the evening anyways.

so that left the Golden Pavilion or Kinkaku-ji temple. It is a gold covered Buddha temple in the middle of a lake on a hill.

We took two cabs and went straight from the station to the temple, stood in line and got tickets. Then it started pouring. There was a large crowd there to see the temple and every umbrella was dripping on to other peoples feet. There should be a minimum umbrella distance maintained and it was not to be. With wet shoes we were walking around the lake still trying to take pictures and joking around. It was a memorable experience although not a great one. As a group we generated fun. That is the best way to put it. Then again we could be in a gulag and still generate fun. We were just happy traveling together.

This temple is absolutely breathtaking. Even in that rain. Here are the photos.. from all sides of the lake that we were allowed to see!

We walked around the lake, took pictures and walked down the hill to a restaurant scouted by Jr. It was supposed to be a popular vegan place. Yet again, as her luck would have it, it was closed! So we found another place a block away which had vegetarian options in the menu. I ate a plain brown rice noodle (it was just unflavored sevai) while the rest of the group had soup, salad and noodles. We got an Uber XL and stopped at the shopping district. It was early evening already, but the group had at least had something to eat and we were done with sight seeing on a schedule.

A short video highlight of our Kinkaku-ji temple visit.

The next post is definitely a social study..

Japan Trip Day 3 - First evening in Kyoto

Previous post in this series is here..

It was close to 6PM when we got to our hotel in Kyoto. It was a massive hotel, the Miyako opposite Kyoto Train station.

We were formally introduced by Jr. to Uniqlo store in Kyoto. I have been to this store before once in bay area and once in Taipei. Didn’t understand the hype given the prices. Turns out the price is right for Uniqlo in Japan. The clothes are amazing and lightweight and fit me wonderfully! We promptly planned for a lot more purchasing at Uniqlo. After the intro shopping we were late for the dinner.

Jr. had already picked a vegan Indian place to dine for the night. So we took an Uber XL and went to the shopping area. We walked around the stores and then made our way to the place only to find it extremely busy.

We begged the owner at Vog and he said “if you can eat and leave in 30 minutes, will give you a table for 6. we have another party coming in 30 minutes”. We told him if the food comes fast we will eat fast.

We had an amazing meal at this place even if it was rushed. Towards the end he came and gave us another 10 minutes but by that time the food was licked clean off the plates. We were full. This place gets a two thumbs up from all of us!

We walked back to the Uber pickup spot. We were told by the little one that as penance for her not being with us, we should get her a branded shoe only available in Japan. We saw that there was a line for the shoe store a mile long and after a certain time they close the line. This had to wait for another day.

A short video of the. evening.

We made it back to our hotel and called it a night. The following day was going to be busy as well. We had already changed the plan for the day while on the bus.