illumination | Blue Lapis Road

DAY 4 (6/6): RAMEN & CHRISTMAS LIGHTS, Kyoto (京都), Japan, 2016.12.06

It was already past 7pm when our Kintetsu express train arrived at Kyoto Station from Nara. We decided to check out the Kyoto Ramen Koji (Kyoto Ramen Street) on the 10th floor of the station for a quick dinner. We took the escalators up to the famous Daikaidan (Grand Staircase). The Daikaidan stretched from 4th floor all the way up to the sky garden on the 15th floor. Architect Hiroshi Hara specifically provided a stage on the 4th floor, while the staircase would become an enormous amphitheater. There was no performance when we were there. Instead, the stage was occupied by a large Christmas Tree. The lights changed colours according to the background music.

The big Christmas Tree occupied the open space on the 4th floor.

From the Christmas Tree we walked up the Daikaidan (Grand Staircase) to the 10th floor for our ramen dinner.

There was a strip of LED lights at the nosing of each step. The lights changed colours constantly.

With the LED lights on each step, the entire staircase became a giant screen of festive animations.

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We entered the building on the 10th floor, and could immediately smell the pork ramen and feel the warmth of the atmosphere. Here at Kyoto Ramen Koji (Kyoto Ramen Street), there were about ten different ramen restaurants, representing the ramen style from different parts of Japan. We ended up picking Masutani (ますたに), a Kyoto based ramen restaurant established since 1948.

We queued in front of the restaurant for about 20 minutes and then ordered our ramen from the machine by the entrance.

Once inside, we handed the tickets to the staff and sat down by a wooden counter.

After several minutes, our hot and delicious ramen arrived, a perfect answer for the chilly night!

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After the tasty ramen, we didn’t want to go back to the hotel yet. In front of Kyoto Station, we hopped on a night bus bounded westwards. Our destination was the ROHM Illumination Festival 2016. With 800,000 light bulbs lighting up 82 trees along Kasuga Dori, ROHM Illumination is the biggest annual Christmas lighting event in Kyoto since 1995. ROHM, a Japanese semiconductor manufacturer based in Kyoto sponsored the event annually to light up the immediate area of its office in town. The light show was smaller than similar events in other large cities such as Tokyo and Osaka, it did however transform a tranquil neighborhood into a romantic, glittering and festive promenade of lights.

The entrance of Kasuga Dori was guarded by the two Yamamomo Trees (Chinese bayberry) covered with dazzling lights.

The Yamamomo Trees were round in shape, perfect for turning into spheres of lights.

Kasuga Dori was lined both sides with 20 metasequoias, all dressed up with tiny light bulbs to create the luminous promenade.

With the lighting, the yellow crowns of the metasequoias appeared as if on fire.

Two types of light bulbs were used, small LED and twinkling incandescent lights.

The lights transformed the small Nagura Park into a romantic public venue.

Families and kids were having fun in Nagura Park.

Under different music, the LED balls on the ground and the 13.5m (h) by 9m LED screen made use the lawn next to the Nagura Park to put together the “Ensemble of Light”.

Kids had a good time at the playground and the light show.

Antique cars somehow blended in well with the ambience of the light festival.

At 9:30pm, we turned back to the entrance of Kasuga Dori and had a final look at the two for the trip’s last day.

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OUR FIRST KYOTO STORY, Japan

In Kyoto, we saw skies of blue and clouds of white, and foliage of crimson as if sea of dancing flames. The bright blessed days, the dark sacred nights, the crystal reflections in the water and the festive scent in the air of peaceful valleys and the thousand-year capital. After our five-day visit, we think to ourselves what a wonderful place Kyoto truly is. The moment we left the ancient capital we were already dreaming of our return.
In early December, we decided to take a 5-day escape from our hustle and bustle life in Hong Kong. We picked Japan’s Kyoto, the city where we purposely avoided during our previous Kansai visit because back then we couldn’t find adequate time for a decent introduction to this crown jewel of Japan. This time around at the twilight of autumn, we destined to indulge ourselves for a feast of the ancient capital, at which 5-days of fantastic moments inspired us once again to feel the joy and beauty of traveling. In the next while we will share with you our delightful Kyoto and Nara experience.

Fantastic 5 Days: Getting up early each morning, 5 autumn days with pleasant weather allowed us to visit a number of temples and shrines in Kyoto and Nara, plus incredible cafes, cozy restaurants, interesting design shops, living market, idyllic old neighborhoods, and much more.