The Chewys went on a day trip to Kyoto on the 7th day of our Japan trip. We took the Shinkasen at about 7plus in the morning from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto. Since we were a bit early, we decided to buy a bento to share before departing.
Japan is the land of bentos! LOL! They have all kinds of bentos at the train station and we stood there in awe. I wanted to get the Hello Kitty one for Little misschewy but it was out of stock! 🙁
After a short 15 minute ride, we arrived at Kyoto Station! Took the public bus to Kiyomizudera Temple, also known as “Pure Water Temple”. It is one of the temples that you must visit in Japan!
Omamori in the form of randoseru for school children! So cute! Randoseru are large and sturdy backpacks used by Japanese elementary school children.
Women clad in kimono is a common sight in Kyoto!
Dramatic story-telling in Japanese within the grounds of Kiyomizudera Temple.
We didn’t spend much time at the temple as we had an appointment with the kimono rental company in the afternoon. So, off we went, in search of some food!
There was a queue for cream puffs and we joined in! I had the matcha cream puff and it was delish!
Our first MacDonald’s meal in Japan! Haha! Why no Mc Pork! 🙁 We had one of their chicken burgers instead and the meat was so tender! We ate our burgers en route to the kimono rental studio, which we will share in a separate blog post.
In the meantime, here’s a sneak preview! We spent about 4 hours in total inclusive of the photoshoot, which explains why we didn’t have time to visit the other attractions in Kyoto. Would love to head back to this amazing place again!
After our photoshoot, it was close to dinner time and we were famished! Stopped by for a quick meal at one of the restaurants at Kyoto Station. I ordered the Katsu-don with udon set, which worked out to be less than S$12! Good thing I was really hungry because I managed to finish all my food! Hahaha.
Not sure if you can recognise him, but he’s the famous Chef Yukimura Motokichi of Kichi Kichi Omurice in Kyoto! Chef has generated quite a hype online through photos and videos uploaded by customers who patronised his restaurant! We didn’t include Kichi Kichi in our itinerary and one day before our Kyoto day trip, misterchewy emailed the restaurant to make reservations. Not surprisingly, they couldn’t take in any more reservations and suggested that we try walking in about 30 minutes prior to closing time, which we did! BUT, the 8-seater restaurant was still packed and unable to accommodate us.
The waitress told us to return 15 minutes later and they managed to squeeze us in! I suppose we were really lucky because I read reviews that reservations are strongly recommended if you want to dine at Kichi Kichi, or be prepared to be turned away!
It was an eye-opening experience for all of us, being able to watch Chef Yukimura in action! Even though it was almost closing time, Chef and his two female wait staff remained very upbeat and amicable.
A display of Chef’s skillfulness! We ordered only the Omurice in regular (¥2500 ~ S$31.50) and mini (¥1350 ~ S$17). There were other items on the menu but we just wanted to try Chef’s omurice. Hehehe.
TADAHHHH! Chef wasn’t looking in my direction because he was busy entertaining Little misschewy and making her crack into heaps of laughter. LOL.
Omurice in demi-glace sauce! This meal certainly wasn’t cheap but I shall not go into that. Chef’s omurice tasted quite good and heartwarming; it felt as though we were eating a home cooked meal prepared by a close friend!
Little misschewy had some omurice from misterchewy’s regular portion.
She gave a thumbs up without any prompting and Chef was so amused that he roared with laughter!
Here’s the video which I took using my iPhone! Must watch as it’s highly entertaining 🙂
Thank you Chef Yukimura for accommodating our little family! We certainly had a wonderful time! Stay connected with us on Facebook www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy 🙂
Kichi Kichi ザ・洋食屋 キチキチ
京都市中京区材木町185-4
185-4 Zaimokuchō, Nakagyō-ku, Kyōto-shi, Kyōto 604-8017, Japan
Nearest Station : 京阪三条駅 (keihan sanjyou)
Lunch: 12pm-2pm (Sat, Sun & PH)
Dinner: 5pm-9pm
THE CHEWYS’ MARCH 2016 JAPAN 10D9N ITINERARY
(Tokyo – Osaka – Kyoto – Kanazawa – Shirakawago)
Day 1: Singapore to Narita Airport > JR Narita Express to Tokyo > Check into Airbnb at Kita-Ikebukuro > Asakusa Temple & Shopping Street > Shopping and dinner at Sunshine City
Day 2: Tokyo Disneyland
Day 3: Tsukiji Fish Market > Ueno Park > Shopping at Ameya-Yokocho Market > Tea at Fujiya Peko-chan Milky Restaurant > Pokemon Centre at Sunshine City > Dinner at Ichiran
Day 4: Tokyo DisneySea
Day 5: Fujiko•F•Fujio Museum (Doraemon Museum) and Doraemon Cafe > Shopping and dinner at Harajuku
Day 6: Shinkasen from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka > Check into Airbnb at Shin-Osaka > Osaka Castle > Dinner at Dotonburi (Namba station, Midosuji line)
Day 7: Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Kyoto > Kiyomizu-dera Temple > Kimono rental and outdoor photoshoot > Dinner at Kichi-Kichi Omurice > Shinkansen to Shin-Osaka
Day 8: Thunderbird Limited Express from Shin-Osaka to Kanazawa > Check into Hotel Nikko Kanazawa > Kenroku-en Garden > Kanazawa Castle > Lunch at Sushi Zanmai > Omicho Market > Higashi Chaya District > Tonkatsu dinner at Tomikinton (富金豚)
Day 9: Nouhi bus from Kanazawa to Shirakawa-go > Sightseeing around Shirakawa-go > Nouhi bus from Shirakawa-go to Kanazawa > Thunderbird Limited Express from Kanazawa to Shin-Osaka > Dinner at Dotonburi (Namba station, Midosuji line)
Day 10: Kansai Airport Limited Express “Haruka” from Shin-Osaka to Kansai Airport > HOME SWEET HOME