Arashiyama Rilakkuma Sabo (Tea House), Kyoto

This Rilakkuma Tea House opened in 2017 in Arashiyama, Kyoto. 

There are 3 parts:

Cafe 10:30～17:30

Takeout 10:00～17:30

Shop 10:00～18:00

I got there right at 10:30 and there was no queue. They do a ticket system so you need to grab a ticket number and wait for them to call your number to go upstairs to the actual teahouse/cafe :)

 

Upstairs in the cafe :D

What I love about Japan is that there are seasonal promos going on. If you use Line, sometimes you can earn points by adding the store, or you might get some special limited time offers.

lol yes, I took a photo of the napkin because even that was cute XD

Rilakkuma plushies that accompany you and your meal haha

1,650円

Cute cute, mind you, however, the Rilakkuma heads wrapped in in the leaves...there's nothing int he leaves. It's literally just their heads!

1,580円

The Rilakkuma laying on the drink (We chose Royal Milk Tea Latte) is marshmallow.

Cut them in half to share with my sister XD

 Overall.... I know you're just paying for the experience and the design, but for the amount of food you get from the price, I find it too expensive. Not my favourite cute themed cafe, but also not the worst :P The flavour of the food was mediocre, like a 3/5 in my opinion LOL nothing super amazing.


Some merchandise in the store:

Easter/Spring themed cuteness!

 The store was starting to get busy the time I finished eating so I didn't take too many photos :P the products are always changing, so you should visit the website to see what's currently in season.

There is also a Rilakkuma Tea house in Miyajima in Hiroshima that opened recently as well. The thing I love/hate about Japan stores sometimes carry products that are only exclusive to that location (regardless of the city you're in too! If/When I ever visit Hiroshima, I will most likely check out the Rilakkuma cafe there too since I love Rilakkuma :'D and other Rilakkuma cafes around the world that I travel to.... ;)

Japan 2017: Day 1 in KYOTO - Arashiyama, Tenryuji Temple, Kinkakuji, Fushimi Inari Taisha, Ninenzaka, Sanenzaka

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.

My first panorama attempt :X I promise it looks a lot nicer in 

person! The streaming water is also very calming hehe

Togetsukyou Bridge 

渡月橋

Moon-Crossing Bridge 

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

Tenryuuji Temple

天龍寺

signs of autumn peaking

Randen Arashiyama Station

Those are lamps and they make up the "Kimono Forest"

Must be very beautiful at night, I shall see it next time I visit!

Arashiyama was a very fascinating district to visit, but with limited time, we couldn't stay too long!

Kinkaku-ji

金閣寺

 Golden Pavillion 

As much as I wanted to enjoy this sight, it was way too

crowded and the only highlight was this scenery X_X