Kyoto Day 2: A Day in Kimono

It's our second day in Kyoto and today is one of the highlight which I have always been looking forward to do in Japan: Wearing a Kimono! 

We had a light breakfast of donuts and hot drinks at Kyoto Station before heading to the Kimono fitting shop.  We picked the counter seats facing the station where we could see people getting on with their daily commute.

Once our tummies are filled, we headed over to the bus interchange to catch our bus which will take us near our Kimono rental shop.  

Transport is actually a key part of tourism, as it brings us to places. I enjoyed taking different modes of transportation, and it also allowed me to experience the locals' daily commute.

We actually boarded from the back door and alighted from the front. It is interesting that passengers are charged a flat far no matter the distance and are only required to pay as they alight. Modes of payment could be done through cash (coins), ICOCA card or bus pass. For those who want to get the one-day bus pass, they could also purchase it from the bus captain.

We got off at Higashiyama Yasui bus station which was around a 20-minutes journey from Kyoto Station, and another 3-minute walk to the shop.

So excited to try on the Kimono! When I'm happy, my eyes can't be seen when I smile :D

I was spoilt for choice even though I was given only two racks to choose my kimono from. Lastly, I settled with this black cherry blossoms kimono. Actually the ideal kimono that I originally had in mind was a bright or pastel coloured one, however, I kinda fell in love with the cherry blossoms prints and the black made it stand out. 

The kimono fitting made me feel like a dumpling. I remembered putting on an underclothes on top of my thermal wear before wearing the kimono. Then, a sash was wrapped skillfully around my stomach area and that was when they started tightening the cloth (three times). All I did was to stand there and in less than ten minutes, I was halfway on my road to being Japanese for a day! 

After the fitting, I proceeded to the make up room to get my hair done up. Again, I had to choose the hairstyle design that I wanted. Undecisive me just shortlisted two designs and asked the hairstylist to make the final choice for me. While she was doing my hair, I had to choose the hairpiece that I wanted, they allowed unlimited hairpieces, but for me, I only chose one (also cherry blossom) as I believe less is more. 

We also paid an extra 1000 yen to get a professional picture taken (one on left), the original picture before the filter is actually quite overexposed...  and we were only able to choose either a soft or hard copy, we opted for the soft copy instead.

I'm lovin my kimono! I guess the hairstyle also played a key part in my entire look, everyone seemed to become pretty and demure in Kimonos.

In our wooden clogs, we slowly walked the cobbled streets. I love the old world charm of Kyoto where the streets are filled with traditional wooden houses. Locals and tourists alike donned in Kimonos and Yukata as they strolled on the streets. 

Everywhere is a photo spot! We passed by a restaurant which has an outdoor area that has a Japanese pine tree and a seat. That was also when I knew that the Japanese really love the Sakura season. One Obasan actually came up to me and spoke to me in Japanese. Before I even understand what she was talking about, she stood beside me and her friend took a picture of us. 

After that, we stumbled upon a garden outside Yojiya which has CHERRY BLOSSOMS! While admiring the flowers and busy snapping pictures of them, an angmoh came to me and he actually congratulated me. He said that it was a nice sight to see that I was dressed in a cherry blossoms kimono during this season.

A couple picture at the pretty garden which was helped taken by a photographer.

After the couple photo, the photographer asked if he could take a solo picture of me with his camera. Thanks to him, Pigg stole his angles and managed to get this shot for me. Suddenly, I kinda became a model as another female photographer took my picture too. 

Casually taking a stroll in another garden

Not forgetting our signature hand holding pose

On our way to Kiyomizu-Dera Temple, we passed by this willow cherry blossom tree where everybody stopped to take pictures of. 

After many stairs and steps later, we finally reached the temple!

It's so crowded!

Spotted some girls who were taking pictures at this area and I figured we should take one too, and people started queuing behind us for a picture

The majestic architecture and intricate details 

Pigg looked like a Dad waiting for his daughter to come home

And I looked like I'm that daughter 

Should have hidden that thermal wear... Actually the kimono kept us quite warm as its quite thick

Cheesy pose but it kinda worked...

Found another area where the cherry blossoms are brighter pink, like the shade of my hairpiece

Everywhere there's cherry blossom, we must stop and take photos! 

I guess Pigg's favorite pose is to hide his hands in the Yukata sleeves? Or is he just cold?

After leaving Kiyomizu-Dera, we came upon a store which sells Yuba & Cheese, which is actually fishcake with mozarella cheese wrapped in fried tofu skin. I love fishcake and this snack is totally up my alley. 

In Kyoto, the three foods that we must try is tofu, soba and matcha. As soba is quite commonly found and eaten in Singapore, we decided to go experience a traditional tofu course meal. The restaurant was quite popular and we were required to wait for around 20 minutes before we got a table.

The experience included the making of tofu and we had to constantly stir the soy mixture till it coagulates.

We have to stir for as long as time in the hourglass, so we took turns stirring.

We had all kinds of tofu, steamed, boiled, cold, hot, dried, torched...  

However, my favorite was not the tofu but the tempura... 

 Verdict: I guess the tofu cuisine is not really for me and I do not know how to fully appreciate the taste of tofu, which is quite bland... The entire tofu course meal was not cheap too, it was around $40 per person if I did not remember wrongly. Oh well, at least we tried and now we know how it tastes like...

Sakura soft serve! And again, it was made from tofu... but a much enjoyable form of tofu

We then slowly made our way to Camellia Flower for our tea ceremony experience. Our hostess started off with sharing of the history and background of tea ceremonies, tea schools, philosophies, and also the benefits of drinking matcha. Our tea ceremony experience was around an hour, but a full fledge tea ceremony can actually go up to 4 hours! 

As I was seated the furthest away from the door, our hostess told us that my seat is actually the seat of the guest of honour. Therefore, I had the honour to drink the first cup of tea that is made by her. 

Before starting the hostess made a bow and said something like: I would like to make you a cup of tea.

She then took out a napkin from her kimono belt and flapped it, making a sound, as an action to ward off bad luck/spirits

She then used the napkin to wipe the matcha container

And then she picked up the tea bowl and gave it a wipe

She then proceeded to scoop out hot water from the traditional iron pot

Into the tea bowl

Then using the brush, the brushed a few times

She then picked up the matcha container and add the matcha powder

Then she added hot water again and using the brush, she made a frothy matcha 

And I was given the bowl of matcha as I was in the seat of the guest of honour for the day!

Time to make our own matcha!

We were given a piece of sweet each, starting from me, we picked up the sweet with our right hand and place it on the paper. 

This sweet might look hard and unassuming but it is actually quite soft when bit into.

The paper is actually the same material used for the doors, windows and lamp

The matcha making tools: a bowl and a brush

In order for the matcha to not taste bitter, we were told to put just one scoop

 While brushing, we have to make sure that the brush does not touch the base of the bowl to prevent it from scratching, and we need to flick our wrists in fast motion to make the matcha frothy.

Verdict: The entire tea ceremony was around 45 minutes and we really learned a lot during the short period of time. Being able to experience the ceremony in a kimono made me felt like a local. Surprisingly, the attendees of our timeslot were all westerners, and we were the only Asians. Although we were unable to film the ceremony, it allowed us to fully concentrate on the experience. I would surely recommend the tea ceremony camellia plan to enjoy a discount off the kimono rental. 

As we still had time before we had to return our kimono at 6pm, we headed off to Kodaiji Temple which was behind our kimono rental shop.

At the temple, we decided to buy amulets for our relatives and loved ones. 

Different amulets carried different blessings and each one costs 500 yen.

While we were there, we decided to hang our wishes too

Hopefully this would all come true and we can visit again when we are married or when we are older

And that concludes our day in Kimono, we decided to go back to the shop to return our kimonos before heading off to Yakasa Shrine.

Where you looking at Pigg?

Back in our own clothes but my hairdo is still there 

Hundreds of lamps, I am sure if we visited at night when it is all lighted up, it would be a sight to behold

Instead of praying with joss sticks in Japan, they prayed by making their wishes and ringing the bell after with a small donation.

Once we left the Yasaka Shrine, we were greeted by a busy street and on the opposite, is actually Gion shopping street where we went crazy with souvenirs shopping!

As promised with my Malaysian cousin, I found a store selling postcards and sent one to her.

And down to our last highlight of our day in Kyoto: Pufferfish dinner!

As you all know, pufferfish is a highly poisonous fish and it requires skills and license to prepare. Even though we want to try this delicacy, we did not want to risk our lives eating at some dubious street stall in the market, we made a reservation at Guenpin Gion, the #1 pufferfish restaurant in Japan.

We opted for their Tenraku course, which was a 8-course set.

First course: Parboiled tiger pufferfish sashimi

It tasted relatively chewy and rough, as if eating cuttlefish, but the sauce made it delectable 

Second course: Thin sliced tiger puffer sashimi

Personally, I do not eat raw food, but I certainly enjoyed pufferfish sashimi as it was thinly sliced, and it totally had no fishy smell at all! It was soft and it goes down easily.

Third course: Deep Fried Tiger Puffer

This one tasted like chicken karaage to me, except that some of it had bones.

Fourth course: Tiger Puffer BBQ

My butler Pigg is in charge of the BBQ while I'm in charge of just eating. 

Bonus course: Soft roe aka Pufferfish Testicles

We upgraded our meal with soft-roe, can't believe I'm eating pufferfish testicles, but it actually did not taste that bad... it was soft and creamy...

Fifth and Sixth course is a combination

We had Tiger puffer hot-pot where tiger puffer collagen jelly topped with goldleaf was added

Seventh Course: Japanese Rice Porridge

Using the broth from the hotpot, rice and egg was added, totally not wasting any drop of the collagen left in the soup! 

And last but not least, we had the dessert. I think we opted for yuzu sorbet which helps to cleanse our palate at the end of the meal. 

Verdict: I would surely recommend pufferfish cuisine to everyone! To be honest, I was quite skeptical and there was this psychological fear since pufferfish is poisonous! But judging that the restaurant is well known and has so many branches all around Japan, I was assured! We had made a reservation on Klook for only $0.65 and for 10,000 yen spent, we were able to get a 1000 yen discount! 

It was a luxurious dinner, but one that was well spent!