6 June 2016
There are plenty to see, do and eat within and around Kyoto Station. For shoppers, there is an Isetan Department Store within the station itself. In the adjacent buildings, there are BIC Camera, Yodobashi Camera, just to name a few. BIC Camera is the top place in Kyoto to buy electronics, cameras, phones and computer goods. We went to check out the electronic goods, especially accessories for my Canon G5X at the BIC Camera store. We found that the Nikon and Canon camera were not cheaper than back home.
The BIC Camera store also sells a wide range of other products.
There was an interesting range of local whiskey on the shelves. The popular Hibiki 17 years old whiskey were sold out. We managed to buy a few bottles of the small sample size Hibiki 17 years old whiskey, plus a few others. The small bottles made good souvenirs.
In terms of places to eat, we went to check out the 11th floor of the Kyoto Station as we had already ate at a restaurant within the Porta Underground Shopping Mall on our first day in Kyoto. There are many restaurants located on the 11th floor of the station, just next to the Isetan store. The best way to access this place is via the long escalators leading up from the Central Gates.
Just before taking the long escalator up to the 11th floor, we lingered to enjoy the light show on the adjacent stairs that were lined with LEDs under each step.
There is a Kyoto Ramen Street on the 10th floor which is supposed to be similar to that found in Tokyo Station featuring some of the best Ramen restaurants in Japan, but the place was closed for renovation during June 2016. That would have been a good place for dinner too.
I am not usually a fan of tonkatsu (breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet), but we had already tasted one of the best tonkatsu at the Maisen restaurant in Tokyo and we were looking forward to having tonkatsu in Japan again. Katsukura is supposed to serve one of the best tonkatsu in Kyoto and it is located at the 11th floor of the Kyoto Station. Like all good restaurants, there was a queue outside although we did not have to wait very long to be seated.
Like most popular Japanese restaurants now, there are menu in English. We placed our orders and while waiting for the meal to be served, we prepared the dipping sauces ourselves using a wooden mallet to crush roasted sesame seeds in a bowl and then adding a sauce of our choice to the crushed seeds. We opt for the standard sauce although a spicy one is also available.
Katsukura served up nice tonkatsu that has a crust that is not oily, with tender juicy pork inside the crispy crust. This was comparable to the one we had at Maisen in Tokyo last year although it was difficult to say which was better since we tasted them almost one year apart. Definitely one of the best tonkatsu in Japan. In addition to Tonkatsu, Katsukura also offers other side dishes like the yuba, crab meat cream croquette and prawn croquette. Plus a large variety of drinks.
The best drink to go with Tonkatsu and fried stuff is definitely a cold beer although the meal came with miso soup and free flow of steamed rice. We hardly ate any rice as the meal was very filling.
After a nice meal at this place, it was good to walk around the sky garden to enjoy the night views of Kyoto city from high up.
The view of the interior of Kyoto Station, with the roof structure, was quite impressive too.
Taking the long escalator down again, we caught a view of Kyoto Tower on the left side. This is the tallest structure around Kyoto.
There is an observation deck at the top of the 131 m tower that should offer a nice view of Kyoto at night. We gave the tower a miss and went back to the Ibis Kyoto Station Hotel for a good rest.
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