The Pig and Whistle, Kyoto - home from home

Posted on November 10th, 2007 in Food, Japan, Kyoto, Nightlife by admin


The Pig and Whistle in Kyoto has to be seriously one of the best expatriate hangouts in town. And it’s not just the place where the Westerners go, plenty of Japanese enjoy going there too.

You can get pints of draught beer, bottles of Sam Smiths, (you have a choice of room temperature, or straight out of the fridge), shorts and cocktails, all at reasonable sorts of prices for Japan. There are loads of different varieties of whisky, with Scottish, Irish, American and Japanese alternatives.

Not only this, but you can actually get fish and chips here too – although I think they have never quite got hold of the idea that with fish and chips there are supposed to be absolutely loads of chips. But never mind, the tartare sauce and slices of lemon more than make up for this. Their pizza is plain and simple, but filling.

If you are feeling homesick for darts, then you have come to the right place, as the pub boasts both a southern dart board, and a northern dart board, (southern and northern referring to the opposite ends of England, that is).

Brits, Irish, Aussies, Kiwis, Americans, Japanese – you can find them all here and more besides.

The Pig is especially good on St Patrick’s night, when it’s green everything and Irish music. It’s also an excellent place to go for Halloween, when people are encouraged to go in fancy dress, and there are prizes for the best costume. It’s also good on New Year’s Eve when they have been known to give out free champagne …

Many people congregate in the Pig in the early part of the evening before taking off later to the clubs, when the Pig closes at around midnight.

Well worth a visit if you happen to be in Kyoto.

The Heian Shrine - one of Kyoto’s greatest sights

Posted on October 14th, 2007 in Architecture, Culture, Japan, Kyoto, Top Sights by admin

The Heian Shrine, (“Heian Jingu”), is a famous Shinto shrine located in the ancient Japanese capital of Kyoto, and is not far from the city center. The torii, which is a traditional Japanese gate found at the entrance to to Shinto shrines, is one of the largest in Japan.

Japan is predominantly Buddhist, but Shinto is a native Japanese religion, and the two religions seem to happily co-exist side by side, with the Japanese generally making their weddings Shinto, and their funerals Buddhist.

One of the major sights of Kyoto, the striking thing about the Heian shrine is its eye-catching colors of vermilion painted woodwork, and contrasting green-tiled roofs.

The shrine was built in 1895, and hosts the Jidai Matsuri, “Festival of Ages”, which is one of the three main festivals of Kyoto, and which takes place on October 22nd every year. Portable shrines are carried through the streets starting from the old Imperial Palace and ending at the Heian Shrine, and it is an amazing sight to see so many people in traditional, colorful Japanese dress. Around 2,000 people take part in the procession, and so it stretches for some kilometers in length!

The shrine also has beautiful gardens with ornamental ponds, irises, water lilies, cherry trees and other eye-catching detail. The best times to visit the gardens are in the spring when there is a profusion of cherry blossom, and fall, when the leaves have turned to gold and red.

Kyoto has plenty of top hotels, as well as more modest places to stay such as backpackers’ hostels, and a Hostelling International Hostel.