Garden View Lunch: Kassui-Ken in Himeji Kokoen

Happy Cyber Monday everyone! :) 

Anyone buying gifts today? Unfortunately, I won't because that would only mean that I would have to somehow bring it back home >.< Good luck to those of you who are finding those super sales and deals though! :) 

Today's post will be from my day trip to Himeji. In the past, I prioritized taking pictures and getting to my destination over eating and would usually pick up a small snack from the conbini to hold me over. This year, I've been trying to sit down and enjoy a meal after arriving at my destination :) Inside Himeji Kokoen is a restaurant called Kassui-Ken (they open around 11:00) that offers unobstructed views of the garden so that you can enjoy the outside scenery while sitting down to some yummy food. And you can be sure that I was the first person to go inside once they opened! I prefer to grab either an early or late lunch to avoid the crowds. 

Because soba and anago (a type of eel that tastes similar to unagi, but isn't as expensive) is a specialty of Himeji, I ordered the anago-don and soba lunch set. It was a very reasonable 1,350 yen and although they have several special lunches, they only make a certain number of those a day so reservations are required. I definitely recommend this place if you're strolling through the gardens and are looking for a nice place to sit down and eat some delicious food ^^ You can find the restaurant site here. 

Because you need one of these shots before eating your food :)

All of that anago goodness resting on a bed of rice and finely chopped egg ^^

I could definitely taste the difference in the soba. It was a little firmer and had a very fresh and light taste to it. 

Chilled lychee. Not the easiest to eat, but still delicious.

More shots...I wonder if the people sitting at the opposite end of the room got tired of me taking pictures..

First bite! ^^

Window seats are the best :)

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful week!

High City Views: Nanzenji

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

There are so many things that I'm thankful for and this year, one of them is being able to travel by myself a lot more. I've been making day trips to Kyoto almost every weekend for the fall leaves, so today's post will be from Nanzenji :) It's about a ten minute walk from Keage Station (they have signs that point you in the direction so if I could find it, you definitely can ^^) and the grounds don't have an entrance fee. However, if you want to go into separate temples and up the Sanmon Gate, you will have to pay a small fee. I paid 300 yen to walk up the stairs of the Sanmon Gate, but didn't go into any other temples because Nanzenji wasn't the only temple that I wanted to visit that day.

I arrived around 7:40 and thought that was pretty early, but there were already some crowds walking around. Despite this, the atmosphere was still calm and peaceful-- I guess everyone else wanted to enjoy the foliage as well ^^

Walking towards the Sanmon Gate. It was built by the Tokugawa clan and if you go upstairs, the view is absolutely breathtaking :) 

Seeing an aqueduct in the middle of the temple grounds in Kyoto really threw me off. Turns out that this was built and used during the Meiji Era to transport goods and water between Lake Biwa and Kyoto. 

View from the Sanmon Gate

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have a wonderful week! For those of you going shopping on Black Friday, stay warm and safe! :) I sort of miss the excitement, but then think of the horrendous lines and realize how much I love Cyber Monday :D

Kinkakuji Preview

Just a little sneak peek from my twelve-hour day in Kyoto :) I've always seen pictures of Kinkakuji, but was stunned when I was able to see it in person! Truly breathtaking and a must-see when you visit Kyoto ^^

I'll write a post about this and other photos soon! ^^ 

Quiet Steps: Himeji Kokoen

I've been meaning to go to Himeji for awhile and decided to take advantage of my full-day of daikyu and catch the train on a weekday to avoid the weekend crowds. The castle has been under renovation for a few years now and is nearly finished, but won't be completely done until March 2015. This didn't deter me from going and I decided to spend most of my day at Kokoen, a Japanese-style garden located right outside of the castle grounds. It consists of nine various gardens, each with different themes from the Edo period. If you're in the area, I highly recommend visiting this place because the the garden was breathtaking. It's about a fifteen minute walk from the station. As you're exiting, walk along the main street and you'll see Himeji Castle straight ahead--definitely can't miss it! If you go to the left of the castle, you'll find the entrance to the garden.

I arrived there right as they opened (9:00 and a 300 yen fee) and was able to enjoy the entire place to myself for a good two hours or so :) Everyone else was at the castle while I snapped picture after picture in the quiet, tranquil garden ^^ Some of the leaves had already started changing while others were still green so it was nice to see the colors blending together harmoniously.

Entrance to the garden 

I loved crossing across the ponds on these stepping stones! ^^

Bamboo garden

Can you see the waterfall behind the trees? :D

Entrance to the tea house :)

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have a wonderful week! I may be posting a little more than usual because I've been traveling a lot this month for the autumn foliage so I'll have more posts coming soon! :)