Kyoto Travelogue | Smooth Entry | Karasuma Hotel | Kino Bookstore

Entering Kansai Airport in Osaka was not as troublesome as I imagined. Just fill in the entry card and declaration form on the plane, and bring a black pen in your bag. For internet, I used a data SIM card purchased online, which was ready to use upon landing after inserting the card and restarting the phone. From Kansai Airport to Kyoto, I took the HARUKA train. Follow the signs towards the railway marked direction, go to 2F to buy a ticket, and the platform is right across. The ticket price is 3440 yen (reserved seat). You cannot use WeChat or Alipay to buy tickets, only credit cards and cash, and it seems UnionPay cards are not accepted either. It takes about an hour and a half to reach Kyoto Station. Take the subway Karasuma Line for four stops to reach the Kyoto Karasuma Oike UNIZO Hotel. The hotel was booked half a month in advance, with a single room priced at around 480 RMB including breakfast (Matsuya), a chain economy hotel, comfortable and clean, a bit like the domestic Seasons or Atour hotels. Note that a single room can only accommodate one person, and a standard room is priced at about 800-900 RMB, so the pricing is basically per person. The subway is about 500 meters walk from the hotel, and it only takes ten minutes to walk to Nishiki Market. Along the way, there are many cute and quaint shops, coffee shops, fan sellers, guesthouses, utensils, etc. Nishiki Market is probably a popular spot for social media check-ins, with shops and the types of goods sold being somewhat similar. There are many tourists, and it's conceptually a street of snacks, but if you look carefully, you should be able to find some good stuff. A bit further north is the Takashimaya shopping center, with the most tempting being the Kino Bookstore. Friends who like Japanese literature should remember not to bring too many books as customs will check. In the evening, stepping out of the hotel for a walk, there's a 7-11 convenience store at the corner. If I'm not very hungry, I would buy some rice balls and salad for dinner. When returning to the hotel, I noticed a Hachiman Shrine across the street, lit with lanterns, planning to explore it more the next evening. Updates on Kyoto roaming to continue...