Day 3: Nara and Kyoto

Bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto

We started the day aboard the shinkansen to Kyoto. After arriving, we continued to Nara to make the most of the morning and visit its essential sights.

Todai-ji and the deer of Nara Park

We visited Todai-ji Temple, famous for its enormous Great Buddha, and walked through Nara Park, where deer roam freely and constantly approach visitors. Near Todai-ji there are stalls where you can buy special food for the deer, usually cash only, and feed them yourself. It is a really fun experience, but be careful: as soon as they see food, several deer may come over at once and become quite pushy, nudge you or even try to bite if the food is visible. My advice is to buy a small amount, feed them calmly and avoid keeping food in plain sight in your hand, pockets or backpack, because they may try to search for it.

Chicken at Tonkatsu Ganko

We stopped for chicken at Tonkatsu Ganko, a hearty break before continuing through central Nara.

Chicken tonkatsu, or chicken katsu, is the chicken version of Japanese katsu: a piece of meat coated in panko breadcrumbs and fried until crisp outside and juicy inside. At Tonkatsu Ganko you can also prepare part of the sauce at your own table: you grind sesame seeds in a Japanese mortar, called a suribachi, and then mix them with tonkatsu sauce. This ground sesame, known as surigoma, adds a toasted, aromatic flavour to the dish.

Nakatanidou’s famous mochi

We went to Nakatanidou to watch its viral mochi being made traditionally, with the dough pounded at remarkable speed. The performance is worth seeing, although we have to be honest: we did not like the taste at all.

Nakatanidou is one of those places that has gone viral for its mochi-making performance, with specific times when you can watch the mochi being pounded and prepared in front of the crowd. It is close to Nara Station, so it is an easy stop to add to the route. It is worth carrying cash, because when we visited they only accepted cash payments. We tried their famous yomogi mochi, made with Japanese mugwort and filled with sweet azuki red bean paste. We did not love it because we are more used to flavours like chocolate, vanilla or similar sweets, and this one tasted a bit too vegetal for us.

Gion and arrival at Kyoto Tokyu Hotel

We returned to Kyoto for a walk through Gion, the city’s famous geisha district, before leaving our luggage at the Kyoto Tokyu Hotel.

You can click the hotel name to see more information and photos in my Japan accommodation section.

Nintendo KYOTO at Kyoto Takashimaya S.C.

In the afternoon we visited Nintendo KYOTO, the official store on the 7th floor of the T8 building at Kyoto Takashimaya S.C., 35 Otabicho, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto. Besides shopping, it has themed displays, excellent photo spots and game areas where you can compete with other players and have fun. We paid by card without any problem.

Obanzai Nagomi: the best sushi we tried in Japan

We ended the day at Obanzai Nagomi, a traditional restaurant on Kiyamachi-dori Bukkoji-agaru, Tennoji 143-1, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto. For us, it served the best sushi of our entire trip to Japan. They also let us pay by VISA card.