Day 6: Kyoto, Japan - Fushimi Inari-taisha - October 28th, 2015
Here is a little excerpt from http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3915.html about the shrine we visited.
"Fushimi Inari Shrine is an important Shinto shrine in southern Kyoto. It is famous for its thousands of vermilion torii gates, which straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings. The trails lead into the wooded forest of the sacred Mount Inari, which stands at 233 meters and belongs to the shrine grounds.
Fushimi Inari is the most important of several thousands of shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Foxes are thought to be Inari's messengers, resulting in many fox statues across the shrine grounds. Fushimi Inari Shrine has ancient origins, predating the capital's move to Kyoto in 794."
Now that you have a little info, enjoy the pictures below!
We arrived in Kyoto at 5:45am. The bus dropped us off at Kyoto Station. We got some sleep but we were energized to start exploring Kyoto.
2 Stops and 15 minutes later we arrived at Fushimi Inari-taisha!
***Disclaimer: If you plan on visiting any sites in Kyoto make sure you are there by 6am, if possible. By the time we left at 12 noon the entire shrine and trails were overrun with people! Our experience there would have been completely different if we had arrived later. We experienced this at the second shrine and it was not pleasant.
Welcome to Fushimi Inari-taisha!
This place was so incredible! The journey we experienced walking up the mountain through thousands of torii gates was almost spiritual. There was no one there at 6am when we arrived so we got to have a real personal experience exploring the multitude of shrines, paths and gates to the top of the mountain.
Front entrance.
Here is a picture of the Inari messenger fox. You will see a lot more of these throughout the site. The fox is also holding a key in his mouth to the rice granary.
The back of the first entrance.
We started our journey at the base of the mountain. The entrance to the trail was actually to our right but we ended up entering here.
Thousands of torii gates!
This was probably the most substantial part of this site. These torii gates lined the pathway for at least 2-3 miles, all the way to the top of the mountain. Since early Japan, the god Inari was seen as the patron of business, merchants, and manufacturers. So each one of these gates was paid for by a business that was looking for good fortune from the god Inari. The writing on the posts are the name of the business and the date it was installed.
And here is an awkward picture of me doing my thing. But this will give you a good perspective for the size of these gates and how they go on forever...
There was a really cool drainage system running along side part of the path. I love little things like this!
Here is another picture of the fox, there were a ton of these throughout the entire site.
As we walked up the mountain and through the torii gates we would come across a new shrine at each level. There were about 10 different shrines and smaller shrines within those. Some people would walk up to the shrine, pray and then shake a long cloth hanging from the ceiling of the shrine which would ring a big metal bell which sounded like a deep cow bell.
This image below reminded me of a game I used to play when I was younger called Myst and Riven. The wheel connected to a metal pole that went straight into the water. I have no clue what it was for but I can imagine spinning that and seeing a submarine or something lift from the depths of the water like in Casper the movie.
There were thousands of smaller torii gates hanging on different shrines and on walls and laid against the stone. Each of these came from businesses that couldn't afford the larger ones that lined the paths but still wanted to be in the good graces with Inari.
This photo below has to be one of my favorite photos I've taken this trip. While walking up the path the early morning sun was shinning at the perfect angle for me to catch this picture. It was one of those perfect timing photos that makes you love what you do. I live for these moments and Kyoto did not disappoint!
Here are more photos of the torii gates, enjoy!
While exploring off the beaten path I came across this path leading into the woods with some beautiful sunlight lighting the way.
Here is a video of me walking through the torii gates and encountering one of many cats that apparently rule Japan... lol
This video is of me walking through one of the shrines. They were all so beautiful and full of cool little structures and statues and more! Look at all the foxes!
About halfway up the mountain the trees open up to gives us a beautiful view of the city go Kyoto and surrounding mountains.
So as we descended back down the mountain to the front gate we were met with an onslaught of people pouring into front gates. What was once a peaceful spiritual journey for us up the mountain has now turned into tokyo station at rush hour. So if you want a great experience while visiting these shrines, get there EARLY!
Anyways, this picture if of a basin of water where it is customary for you to wash your hands and face before entering the shrines.
I can think of no better way to end a long spiritual hike up a mountain and back then eating some delicious local food!
Grilled chicken and asparagus on a stick marinated in a type of teriyaki sauce.
So this was pretty cool. There was a little market outside of the shrine. This particular stand was selling Takoyaki. A takoyaki is an unsweetened pancake ball with diced octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger and green onion. They then rub takoyaki sauce on it (kind of like a Worcestershire sauce) and mayonnaise and top it off with dried bonito (fish). They cook it in these pans specifically made for takoyaki. The pan furthest away is filled with ones that had already been flipped and the middle one has a fresh batch of batter poured in it and the one closest to us is him flipping the balls.
It definitely tasted very fishy! It was also extremely hot inside so I was burning my mouth for a little. But all in all it was pretty good.
Takoyaki - Unsweetened ball pancake with octopus.
This is an image of the street right outside the Inari train station as we were leaving the shrine and heading to Kinkaku-ji Temple (the Golden Pavilion)
Video of the street outside the fukakusa Inari temple in Kyoto Japan. After this we headed to the next temple.
Overall, this shrine was absolutely incredible! Definitely come here early as it is open 24hrs so you can beat the crowds and enjoy your own spiritual journey. The food outside of this place was delicious and I bought quite a few gifts from this place so if your looking for gifts this is a good place.
Kinkaku-ji - Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan
Our next journey took us to the Zen Buddhist temple called Kinkaku-ji or Rokuon-ji or the Golden Pavilion! We took two trains and a bus to get here but in all it took about 45min. This temple was definitely a sight to see! The top two floors are covered in pure gold leaf, which is gold hammered down into a very thin sheet that is applied to structures or art.
We got to Kinkaku-ji at about 12 noon and it was overrun with people. I mean there were thousands of people there! When we entered we paid I think 500 yen which is about $4 at the time, so definitely not bad. We were given a hand drawn ticket to enter with. The golden temple was definitely the main focus for this location and was the first thing you saw when you entered through the gates below.
After 10 minutes of pushing our way through the crowd of people at the edge of the lake we were able to get a good shot of the temple.
Here is a closer look at the gold leaf plating!
At the top of the Temple is a golden phoenix. This structure has been burned down numerous times throughout its history during wars and civil wars. It was most recently burned down in 1950 by a fanatic monk.
After the temple there really was not much else to see. Plus we were really annoyed by the hoards of people there that we just left.
After a lot of walking and traveling we finally sat down to have lunch. Our meal was served in a variety of different dishes and cups. It was mainly a smoking restaurant so we asked for a non-smoking spot and they gave us our own room with a sliding door. We sat on small pillows on the ground and ordered from a touch screen that was all in Japanese... lets just say we did a lot of really good guessing. Luckily we had plugs in the room so we were able to charge our phones and camera batteries while eating.
The beautiful Laureen posing for a picture she could send one to her cousin in Paris.
After we ate we took a train and bus to our next location! We took the Keifuku Dentetsu-Kitano Line to a bus. Here is a few photos and a video of the train. Enjoy!
Once we got off here we transferred to a bus.
During our bus ride we passed by the Togetsukyo Bridge a 155-meter bridge over the Katsura River flowing leisurely in Saga Arashiyama, a well-known scenic place in the ancient capital of Kyoto. Again, there were a million people there and that was not our destination so we kept going.
What is an adventure without a little snacks along the way. Upon reaching the entrance to our next location we ordered some snacks from a local vendor. The snack is called Mitarashi Dango and it is a sweet rice flower dumpling, in groups of 3-5, on a skewer covered in a sweet soy sauce glaze. It was sticky, chewy and so delicious! This snack also originates from a tea house here in Kyoto.
After a long journey we finally reached our destination, Arashiyama Bamboo Grove!
This place was soooooooooo cool! It was like a scene straight out of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Its unlike any forest you have ever been in. The trail we walk through isn't very long but it was quite the experience. This is a must see for anyone visiting Kyoto.
Halfway through the groves there was an opening to a cemetery. The sun was reflecting beautifully off the stone graces and really paying homage to the dead.
Here are some more photos of the Bamboo Groves, enjoy!
Here is a fun little edit I created to look like a scene out of a movie.
The sun was beginning to go down after we reached the end of the bamboo grove. The path split, one path went down to a train station and another went into a local garden / recreational area. By this time we had been up for over twelve hours will a little bit of sleep on the bus. Laureen had just about had enough and ended up falling asleep on a stone bench while I was taking pictures. You know your tired when you can fall asleep on a stone bench haha.
I found a lookout post on my maps and decided to check it out. I was not disappointed. The view was of the Katsura River snacking through the mountains and a little resort destination on the river. This was another one of my favorite photos taken during my trip so enjoy!
Here is a panorama of the view and you can also see the shrine on top of the mountain side.
So after a long day of exploring we decided to head back to Kyoto Station with plans of taking a train to Osaka to have drinks before having to catch our bus at 10:30pm. Lets just say that didn't work out. We ended up exploring Kyoto station which has a massive multi-floor mega mall built on top of it with over 12 floors of merchandise and restaurants. There was a roof top view we could go to and see the surround area at night. After that we were too tired and took a nap on a bench in a remote section of the mall. We finally boarded our bus late at night and slept all the way peacefully all the way back to Tokyo...