Today we wanted to see
the Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine grounds. It is famous for having
approximately 10,000 torii gates (literally!) and a lot of stone foxes. It sounded
like a bit of a hike, so our plan was to get up early and catch the
first bus out there before it got hot and crowded. Turns out it is very
hard to convince yourself to get up early when you are on vacation. We
left around 9:30. We stopped at a conbini to get a few shrine-viewing
pan because every day before this, we say that we'll just grab some
conbini food when we get to the shrine and there is never a conbini near the shrine. We
decided to be smart this time (so of course the first thing we saw off
the bus was a Lawson).Fushimi Inari is at the foot of Mt. Inari, but the bus ride was only about 20min. The admission is free and there are many shops selling cute fox goods if you so desire. The million-billion torii gates starts almost immediately and everyone wants to take their picture in the tunnel of gates. Do not wait in line to take a picture here. The entire mountain is torii gates, you will find numerous other picture opportunities if you plan on hiking the whole path. Which you should. It is a unique and beautiful Japanese experience and it counts as exercise! It is not for the weak of heart or leg, however. It is on a mountain, remember, so a large part of your experience involves stone steps. It's the original stair climber. When we completed the trail (and prayed at approximately 6,000 fox shrines), Mc found a sign that said the total trail is about 8K or around 5 miles. That's right, five miles of stairs. For our dear friends the O family, I'm sure that is nothing, but for the Mc family it was an impressive feat and we were definitely glad we waited to do that one till that last day.
On our way back down to the bus stop, we stopped at a little restaurant called Nezameya and I highly recommend it! It is right across the street from a big hashi (chopstick) shop, closer to the bus stop than the shrine on the south side of the street. Not only do they have an English menu and delicious, reasonably-priced food (we ate for less than 800¥ each), but it was founded in 1540 and not a lot of Americans get the opportunity to eat in a restaurant that has been in business for 400 years. I had oyakodon (chicken and egg over rice) and Mc had tamago soba (egg and noodles in hot soup) and even though it was quite warm outside, the hot food was very good.
We were pretty tired after our hike and the urge to take a nap was strong, however there was one more shrine I wanted to go to and since it was already 2pm I was worried it would close soon. So we rode back to Kyoto station bought our shinkansen ticket back to Tokyo for the next day, and hopped on the bus to the Sanjusangendo.
*SuperNova Travel Tip: Buy your Shinkansen (bullet train) ticket in advance if possible. The ticket counter agents speak great English and if you chooe to go the reserved seat route (about 600¥ more per person), then you can guarantee yourself a window seat - be sure to ask to be on the Mt. Fuji side!
Sanjusangendo is just about the only famous shrine that is within walking distance of Kyoto station. However, it's not a lovely walk and it was very hot, so we decided to make the most of our all-day bus pass. This shrine is my favorite. It's a huge building (sanjusan means 33 and gendo means the space between architectural pillars) filled with 10,000 hand-carved statues. Because they are all hand-carved, each one is unique. It is quiet and peaceful and you are not allowed to take pictures inside which forces you to just enjoy the experience. As we left the main hall, the afternoon sun was streaming through the windows and the quiet calm was the perfect way to end the day. Because we weren't allowed to take pictures, this temple is one you are going to have to experience for yourself.
When we got back to the hostel, we did take a short nap before trekking out to have dinner in a restaurant our last night in Kyoto. We went to Donguri, which I chose because Mc had not yet tried okanomiyaki. Okanomiyaki is difficult to describe; it's basically a big dinner pancake you cook yourself on a griddle. They all have the same base - cabbage, egg, and batter - and then you can order different types of other ingredients. We chose a seafood one and a beef one. Unfortunately, at this chain they do not let you cook your own okinomiyaki, they bring it to you cooked and slide it onto your table grill to stay hot. This was disappointing as I wanted Mc to have the experience of cooking it himself at the table like I did the first time I had okonomiyaki. However, he still got to try a new food. (I recommend the seafood variety and it's always better with a beer.)
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| Okonomiyaki at Donguri |
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