CutiCuti: Japan - Sparkling Dolphins Inn, Kyoto

Property: Sparkling Dolphins Inn, Kyoto

Date:  9 April, 2014 (1 night)

Price: 4,500Yen/person (~RM 150.00)

Room Type: Japanese-type Room for 5 persons

Booked via booking.com

Just for the record, I saw no dolphins here! Ngek.

Kyoto Station ---> via subway Karasuma Line ---> Kujo-dori Station (the 2^nd stop)

To those with big/heavy luggage(s), please take Exit #4 as the escalator is located near the exit. 

The main door. The hostel's entry is a bit narrow so it was quite a challenge for us five to entered at once. 

This hostel set rules that no shoes are allowed inside. Guests have to take off their shoes before entering & leave them at the shoe racks. No worries as the hostel provide slippers. 

Basic kitchen utensils & equipments; checked.

Where we made our dinner. 

Wooden table at the reception-cum-lounge area. The white wall behind us is the dormitory. And behind Ms G is the communal area. 

Be considerate towards other guests specially those staying at the dormitory as it is located at the same level with the kitchen & reception. Slow down ur voice please. 

Just opposite the lounge & dormitory are the washer-and-dryer area. I forgot how much the rate is but both services aren't free. U have to pay for a minimal fee to use them.

Dormitory is not en-suite with bathroom. Sinks are located next to the washing area & bathroom is at the same level. 

Thank God this hostel has lift. Else we have to carry our anak gajah(s) up to Level 5 where our room is located. 

To be honest, I was a bit scary walking along this corridor when we first arrived that night. But I kept my mouth shut for I know there's someone among us who is triple more coward than me! Seriously. It was rather dark & the lighting was a bit dimmed. Perfect combination to start my wild imagination of Sadako who suddenly appears out of no where. Ok please ignore random stupid thoughts as such. Buang dalam longkang. 

Took this the next morning. Emergency staircase right in front of our room. See? Imagine the view at night. No bright light as this is the back alley. How can I not think of scary things?

Room with tatami flooring plus a corridor. Super like! No trolley bags are allowed to enter the room as the wheels might damage the floor. 

En-suite toilet for our room. But unfortunately no bidet system this time. 

Separate private bathroom. The bath tub & wall are PVCs! Yes aku adalah wow non stop. Water heater worked well.

Next to the sink is an area where we can hang our jackets & put our bags. Good thing as we don't have to cramped the room with our bags. 

For a touristy area like Kyoto, it is kinda hard to find a hostel that offers cheap rate like this Sparkling Dolphins Inn does. The place is not perfect but the price is excellent. Location is another bonus as it is 10-15 minutes walking from Kyoto Station. And 5 minutes walking from the subway station. 

Having say this, if u arrived earlier than the check-in time u could easily drop ur bags at the reception & start exploring Kyoto. 

The room is clean when we entered. As well as the futon beds, toilet & bathroom. A small TV is provided but that isn't my concern at all. I just needed a place to sleep. That's my utmost priority. Apart from the quite corridor & lift, I recommended this hostel for its reasonable rate & location. Including the basic facilities it offers.

eryantierdabdulkarim

Chasing Sakura Day 7 - Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kyoto

Assalamualaikum. Konnichiwa.

Semakin menjadi² kemalasan aku sekarang ni. Last week cuti Kaamatan dua hari, ada family day with our pekerja² tersayang. Tiap tahun memang buat on the 30^th. Kami declared itu as Labour Day budak² tu. Pastu sibuk berjimba attend wedding cousin. Walhal cuma satu jak kenduri. Selebih masa, aku berhuha di rumah. Luckily last week aku sempat published post pasal my recent (bangas a.k.a basi sudah sebenarnya) Chasing Sakura trip. Hari Ketujuh Part I gitu. Boleh baca di sini.

Sebelum jadi parah & makin banyak aku lupa, it's better for me to finish scribbling about the Japan trip as soon as possible. Ada Minah tu bakal mau jejak Jepang, sudah start jadi radio rosak. Bugging me to update more. Ngek!

After visiting Togetsukyo Bridge & Bamboo Forest, kami naik train & turun di Inari Station (JR Nara Line). Tempat ni orang bilang among the places yang mesti jejak di Kyoto.

10 April 2014

Fushimi, Kyoto

Big Torii Gate welcome the visitors. Since sudah ramai orang posing sini, aku decide untuk ambil gambar torii gate jaklah. Padahal ada jak aku posing tapi nan-buruk hasil so biarlah hasil jadi tatapan diri sendiri jak. By the way, entrance sini adalah free. 

Inari is known as the God of Rice among Japanese & Inari Shrine is the head of shrine in Inari. Since early Japan, merchants & manufacturers see Inari as the patron of business. Each of torii gates here is donated by Japanese business.
Source wiki.

Fox (kitsune) is regarded as a messenger. The one on the left is seen holding a key in its mouth at the main gate of the shrine. Key is the attribute for rice granary. 

The map. Instead of taking the suggested route (refer red arrow), we decided to skipped the main shrine (Haiden) & walk straight. Climbed few stairs, passed by a mini shrine before arriving at the path lined with thousands of torii. 

Ms P asked me how far we will be walking that day. And I told her we will walk up to the mountain. 

"Korang jelah naik...kitorang tak larat jalan jauh sangat. Kitorang tunggu kat tangga dekat gerai jual yukata."

"Ala tak adventure lah tak join naik sekali."

"Takpe lah Bie, kaki nak tercabut dah ni."

Truth is, aku pun ndak larat. And memang ndak da niat pun untuk naik sampai ke puncak gunung. Up there ada thousands of mounds for private worship so aku rasa ndak da kerja lah kan mendaki gunung mainly to see those mounds. Lain kalau memang datang untuk sembahyang atas tu. 

Se-orange torii gate. 

Torii tunnel path leading to the mountain.

One of the scenes in Memoirs of a Geisha was filmed here. Boleh relate sikit perasaan since aku suka movie tu! Watched it few times.

Group selca. Unfortunately, Ms H salah percaturan OOTD hari tu. Minah tu pakai trench coat color ala torii gate. Sudah serupa camouflage bila dia posing between gates tu semua.

Agak penat mendaki, stopped sini untuk minuk seteguk dua air. Boleh juga guna untuk cuci muka & kaki. Macam dari sumber mata air, tapi kami ndak da lah cuba untuk minum.

Punyalah susah untuk posing tanpa orang²an di sini.

Ada orang terpaksa pasrah dengan semua hasil gambar...of all days, she decided to wear her red-orangey coat that day. And blend oh-so-well she was with the gates.

Untuk yang berhasrat naik sampai puncak gunung, sila ikut jalan ke depan (arah Ahjumma tu semua). For us yang memang tiada niat untuk ke puncak, we took the left turn. 

Mini shrine.

Ni kalau autumn confirm lawa.

Rombongan budak sekolah. Explain why Japanese really appreciate & respect their cultures. Sejak sekolah sudah ditanam & terdedah with such things. Whilst budak sekolah kita, selalu trip adalah tepi laut. Dengar bunyi ombak rindu gitu. 

Area bawah dekat main entrance, ada banyak gerai jual different kinds of souvenirs & gifts. 

Kami cuma larat untuk limpas & tengok jak. Ingat mau beli replica torii gate untuk diri sendiri, tapi bila tengok harga; rasa macam hmm beli takoyaki lagi bagus ni. Cheapskate gila kan. Padahal bukan lah mahal sangat pun. Cuma ndak sure the necessity to buy. Alasan sangat.

Actually mula tu I planned to buy a pair of yukata here. Mau kasi frame & gantung di rumah. Just like the hanbok I bought in Korea. Tapi aku tengok design semua macam al-hambar jak. Ndak menarik di mata so terpaksalah lipat niat membeli tu kemas² dalam hati. Who knows next time inhsa Allah kalau ada repeat trip, ada design yang cantik harus aku sambar. Bukan mahal pun juga, dalam 1, 000 yen. For the sake of remembrance aku rasa berbaloi harga gitu. Kali ni ndak da rezeki, perhaps yang cantik semua sudah disambar orang. 

We spent nearly an hour here. Sudah berjalan sepanjang torii tunnel tu, kami duduk jap di tangga melepas penat. Sambil cuci mata tengok orang lalu lalang. No drama di Inari Shrine ni. Malar berdrama, otak pun penat berfikir tau. Drama jadi kalau si Err jadi panjat gunung tu. In which Ms P perli baik punya when she found out I lied to her about hiking up to the mountain. 

Next destination, Osaka! Before tu, bertabah hati mengangkut anak gajah dari Kyoto Station. Nasib lah kejap jak turun naik train. Ndak banyak transit juga. And first thing we did upon arriving Osaka, straight pi hostel & check in! Kami sampai ngam timing. Settled urusan check in, naik bilik rehat jap. 

Temperature dropped banyak gila petang tu. Awan mendung macam mau hujan. Angin penampar sudah mula tunjuk taring. Tapi sebab bukan selalu datang Osaka, kami tabahkan hati untuk meredah weather nan gloomy. Hujan ka ndak, itu letak belakang. We only have like one day to spend in Osaka. Masa adalah sangat berharga. But before keluar, aku pungut maps & brochures di lobby hostel. Sebab seriously, aku ndak study sangat pasal Osaka. I just wrote down the places to visit without specific directions. Nasiblah semua tempat tu pun dekat jak sama hostel. Direction pun bersepah di train station. 

Where did we go on our first half-day in Osaka? That I will continue in the next entry. Ngeh.

eryantierdabdulkarim

Chasing Sakura Day 7 - Togetsukyo Bridge & Bamboo Forest, Arashiyama

Assalamualaikum. Konnichiwa.

Hari ketujuh kami di bumi Jepang. Lagi 2 hari punya cerita maka akan tamatlah entry Chasing Sakura ni. Bertema sangat. Sila rajin Bie...

In my previous post (here), aku ada tulis kami adalah sesat masuk kampung orang. Totally kenangan for us five. Bukan selalu kan given the chance untuk ada experience macam tu. Walau cumalah salah naik train, still there's lesson I learned from it. Kalau before ni peka sama information di signboards jak, after kejadian tu aku jadi extra extra peka with my surrounding. Every little things count. 

Disebabkan kejadian sesat tu, maka lebur impian untuk explore di Bamboo Forest & layan sunset di Togetsukyo Bridge. And sebab both places adalah antara highlight dalam itinerary aku, therefore kenalah pigi juga tempat ni the next day. Aku tengok itinerary kami haritu pun ndak berapa pack, memang sangat sempat untuk selit.

10 April 2014

Sparkling Dolphins Inn, Kyoto

Bangun awal supaya sempat breakfast sedap. Tu yang siap ada mushroom soup. Maggi adalah santapan berprestij kalau travel. 

Dari hostel, kami naik subway & stopped di Kyoto Station. As always, simpan anak gajah di locker room before we headed to our destination. Melunaskan frustration semalam. Ngek.

Ada kawan tanya direction to Bamboo Forest from the train station. So aku selitkan sekali lah info ni. Huraian bergambar gitu. 

Saga Arashiyama Station, Kyoto

Walk straight at pic #4 (bottom right). Until jumpa the house (refer pic below).

This house will be on the opposite road. Cross the road, turn left & walk straight. 

Turn right when u see this small shop selling variety of snacks & drinks.
p/s I forgot to snap pic of this gerai. So ini adalah gambar cilok dari blog DJ. Full credit to her. 

View rumah on the way from Saga Arashiyama Station to the Bamboo Forest.

Because it's pink, enough said.

Excited nampak bunga ni. Which aku assumed adalah wisteria. Terus verangan mau repeat Jepang semata wisteria tunnel & snow corridor. Ndak beragak kan anganan aku.

And kejadian bingai jadi lagi di awal pagi. On the way to the bamboo place, we met a group of Pinoys who were heading the same destination as ours. One of the guy told me diorang pun unsure which is the right route. So dalam berjalan tu, diorang sibuk tanya locals. Bahasa of courselah ayam & itik. 

Actually aku memang sudah yakin 100% route yang aku ambil tu akan bawa kami pi Bamboo Forest. Based on my research prior coming. And the day before tu pun aku sudah double check sama counter lady di booth yang jual day tour. Lagi triple confirmed bila map besar gajah depan train station tu tunjuk the clear route to the forest. 

Tapi aku jadi separa confident bila local cakap kena ikut jalan lagi satu. So kami pun patah balik pi Saga Arashiyama Station. But before we arrived at the station, aku bulatkan kata hati ikut jaklah map yang dalam kepala otak aku. Masa ni memang aku tunjuk degil tapi sempat doa dalam hati; janganlah sesat lagi. Group Pinoy tu gigih melambai² panggil kami, siap kestau kami salah jalan. Aku buat macam ndak dengar. Instead of going back to the station, I took the right junction.

Seperti dijangka, 'map aku' betul. But because we took the right corner, we arrived at the junction that is nearer to Togetsukyo Bridge. Alang² sudah dekat, we decided to go to the bridge first. Plan asal adalah Bamboo Forest ---> Tenryu-ji Temple ---> Togetsukyo Bridge. Tapi ndak apalah, memang kami sudah dalam area tu pun. Kali ni ndak risau sebab aku memang sudah familiar with the route. Berkat study guna orang kuning dalam google map berbulan before menjejak. Alhamdulillah.

Memang awal gila kami sampai. Kedai pun belum buka. 

Sinilah tempat anganan untuk layan sunset the day before...tapi rezeki nan hado so marilah puas hati dengan matahari pagi. 

Sakura-s! Menepati tema betul.

Masa ni budak lain lepak di bench near the bridge. Diorang malas sudah bersuperwalkertapaki. So aku pun jalan sendiri ke depan, explore apa yang ada di kawasan sekitar. Layan feeling gila tengok sakura berbackgroundkan sungai. 

Ikutkan hati mau jak aku bergayut & posing at each trees. Tapi bila ikutkan berat badan, niat segera dibuang ke sungai. Ada juga patah batang pokok ni ndak dapat menampung aku.

Kegiatan memetik bunga sakura untuk kasi jadi bookmark & souvenir berlaku secara berleluasa di sini. Sebab takut esok lusa ndak jumpa sudah sakura serendang ni di Kyoto & Osaka. 

Sudah puas layan sakura, aku joined diorang ni. Makaseh Ms H candid kami. 

And aktiviti memenyetkan sakura bermula. Khusyuk aku buat bisnes sendiri. Few close friends pesan bunga ni, so aku pun dengan besar hati menunaikan. Cuma si Belle punya jak aku belum pos. 

Sedang semua orang busy with their own activities, tiba² aku dengar bunyi batu terseret. Rupanya si Tukang Ambil Gambar jatuh tergelincir di atas batuan kecil tu. Nasiblah ndak jatuh terus masuk sungai kan. Mau ketawa, aku rasa kesian tengok muka kawan tu gigih mau berdiri sambil balancekan badan. Ndak ketawa, rasa rugi sebab memang sumpah lucu. Kejam kan kawan kau ni Ms H. 

Ada hati mau merasa naik benda alah tu, tapi...macam rasa better Yen tu aku belanja beli KitKat banyak². Dasar!

Heading to Tenryu-ji Temple. 

Niat aku mau tengok zen garden belakang temple ni. Tapi ahli lain macam ndak mau masuk, lagi pula masa tu sibuk cari washroom. Kalau masuk temple ni, akan ada jalan belakang yang direct masuk Bamboo Forest. But since kami ndak jadi masuk, so kami patah balik. And ikut jalan lagi satu. Refer jak signboard, berlambak di tepi jalan raya.

Bunga ni adalah sangat menarik perhatian! It's like a rose in a bouquet. Puas aku zoom camera untuk capture these flowers as pokok tu sangat tinggi. Bunga tu pula semua di bahagian atas jak.

Bila ada train yang akan melintas, automatic gate tu akan tutup. Siap bunyi ting-ting yang super comel. Kalau ada sistem begini di KK, aku rasa kejadian kereta dilanggar keretapi masa melintas railway memang ndak kan berlaku. 

Scenic train yang kami naik the day before.

Tengah syok layan bambu, suddenly jumpa cemetery area. Very the kemas lah.

Wishlist; checked!

This for me is daebak! Great combination of sakura & bamboo at one place. 

Sudah round lebih kurang di Arashiyama ni, we walked back to the train station. Aku sempat menyelit masuk poskad dalam postbox since the day before ndak sempat berfikir untuk cari postbox. 

From Saga Arashiyama Station, we took the train to our  next destination. Kali ni mau tengok torii gates yang super banyak bersusun. Yang ni kalau sesat juga, aku rasa memang patut duku kepala & smack down diri sendiri. 

Sebab tempat tu adalah super dekat sama train station; only a stone's throw away. Tapi yang tu nanti aku cerita next entry. Now masa untuk jamu perut. Lapaq!

eryantierdabdulkarim