SleepyBunnii's Beauty/Lifestyle Blog: 伏見稲荷大社

I was in Japan with my sister for about 2 weeks in November: 5 full days in Osaka and 7 days in Tokyo.

I feel like we were really lucky in finding this deal! We bought the tickets in around August and it was just under $900 flying from YVR to Osaka (1.5 hour layover transfer flight from Haneda to Itami airport), then from Osaka to Haneda, and Narita back home to YVR. In my opinion, as a first time traveler to Japan with the intention to only visit Osaka and Tokyo, taking the plane seemed more convenient than taking the Shinkansen :3

Even though we arrived in Osaka on October 31st at around 7:30pm, our first day didn't technically start until November 1st :) Jetlagged as we were, we woke up at around 5:30am to start our very long and only day of being in Kyoto! Thus, we tried to make the best out of being in Kyoto by stopping by Arashiyama, Tenryuji Temple, Kinkakuji, Fushimi Inari Taisha, Ninenzaka, Sanenzaka and a bit of Gion.

Strangely enough, I didn't feel that much culture shock... everything was different, but not in an uncomfortable way. However, since our AirBnB was near Aikawa station, which is a local stop, let's just say... as gaijins/foreigners, we really stood out/felt like an alien (whenever we spoke English) LOL. Taking the trains in Osaka was really difficult for me because although I can read/write Chinese to an extent (I went to Mandarin school), I am a noob LOL but the challenge was still fun and interesting because it forced me to remember my Japanese again after my last class back in 2013ish.

It was a chilly morning but thanks to that, we took the opportunity to buy a hot coffee from a vending machine :'D

Walking to Arashiyama was lovely. It was about a 15 (or less) minute walk from the station.