CHEZVIES: When in Kyoto

If you've been to Kyoto the chance is you always want to go back. Well at least for me. There so many things to explore and it sort of easier to base in Kyoto and visiting nearby places and if you have JR Pass it will be very useful.

From The top of Kyoto Station

This time we stayed in Smile Hotel Shijo. The hotel location is very strategic with easy access to subway and bus. The day we arrived, we took a local subway from Kyoto Station which turned out rather confusing. The next day we decided to take the bus and it was much easier because the bus stop is just a few feet away from the hotel. Well, it's always wise to explore your option.

Love this old style shop.

Yesterday I was watching J-Dorama A Sharply Graceful Girl and the location is based in Kyoto. In one of the scene it is mentioned that Kyoto street is rather confusing for outsider. And yes it is! Especially in and around the market. One day we wanted to go to the handmade needle shop Misuyabari. The shop is high on our list since we missed it last time.

I think this is the market entrance to Misuyabari Shop

Thank God for the blog post from Okan Arts we finally made it there, after an hour or so walking. Okan Arts post gave photo guide how to find the shop, but it's still very tricky. Since the shopping arcades all looked very similar.

We looked the pictures from Okan Arts very closely to find more details and finally with the help of Google map and the blog we found it! The shop was almost close by then but the owner is very nice and cheerful. We brought home a few needles too!

Here are a few pictures