Fushimi Inari!

Fushimi Inari is often referred to as the thousand torii gate shrine for a very obvious reason. The lengthy hiking path up the mountain is lined with torii gates with the names of donators and well wishers carved onto them. The red and orange gates juxtapose the surrounding woodlands perfectly. The sheer number of gates makes the sight extremely special.

Fushimi Inari is very proud of the fact that it is the number one ranked attraction in Kyoto on Trip Adviser. Duly deserved, it is certainly a unique experience. Just outside of the city center, the easiest way to access the shrine is by hopping a southbound local train to Inari Station. The large solitary torii gate entrance is easily spotted as soon as you walk out of the station.

To climb to the top of the shrine and come backat steady pace will probably take an hour and a half. There was of course the odd person training for a marathon by running up the route before breakfast. Crazy people. It is very cool and nice peaceful walk in general though we visited on an extremely humid summer day making for a very sweaty hike even at eight in the morning.

I'll let the pictures do the remainder of the talking. Cheers!

Map of the upper portion of the hike

 

Kyoto: Part 3

I'm going to start off this third and final post about Kyoto with the north side. We visited two of the three main temples in that area - Kinkakuji Temple and Ryoanji Temple. 

Kinkakuji Temple, also known as the Golden Temple, is a pretty magnificent sight. Sitting at the edge of a little pond, the gilded edifice provided a great photo op and the grounds nearby very cool to walk through. Only down side was that visitors are not allowed very close the temple itself.

A bit of target practice, people were trying to toss coins into
the little cup in front of the carved image of Buddha.

Ryoanji Temple is known for it's carefully laid out rock garden. I think a lot of the deeper meaning was lost in translation but you could tell it's all very naturalistic and zen-like. There was a row of people just sitting in front of the rocks seen below, taking it all in, very much in the moment.

Mom illustrating how to wash up
before praying at the temple.

   
Our hotel was near the Kyoto City Hall, a building that really sticks out on the streets of Kyoto. The large brown brick hall, complete with clock tower, really draws the attention of casual passers-by. 

Also nearby was a rather large covered shopping complex with rows of little food shops and kitschy boutiques selling stationary and clothes and souvenirs. Many an hour was spent walking through the place when it was either too hot or too rainy to go traipsing about outside.

Walking along the Kamo River was also a highlight of the city. There were a lot people who had stopped to spend a few minutes just relaxing by the river with friends. One thing that really stuck out in this area for me was the architecture. The buildings seemed very Victorian in construction and it almost seemed like we had been transported to small town Europe.

All the restaurants along the river had terrace seating. Very cool.

Well that's it for Kyoto city. The information in these three measly blog posts are not nearly comprehensive, but I think it's decent compilation of some of the highlights. Visiting Kyoto is definitely recommended if you are planning a trip to Japan anytime soon!!

I'll upload a post next week about Fushimi Inari Shrine, the shrine of a thousand torii gates that is just outside of the main city of Kyoto. It definitely has provided enough great pictures to warrant a post of it's own. Until next week - cheers!

Kyoto: Part 2

Post two about Kyoto as promised!

Right in the middle of the city is Nijo Castle, ordered to be built by Tokugawa Ieyasu (see post about Nagoya Castle if you need a little history recap) as a fortress for the Imperial Palace situated nearby. The complex was completed in 1626 but as with many castles in Japan it has seen much destruction from both internal and foreign powers and is undergoing some reconstructions at the moment. Unfortunately the castle had just closed when we arrived so we only got a few shots from the outside. More details on Nijo Castle here.

The complex that I thought was even cooler than the castle was the Imperial Palace and adjacent grounds. The grounds more like are a public garden and walking path today and it was very peaceful to walk around. It's pretty cool to see normal people just going for in an afternoon stroll in what was once the royal quarters of the ruling family in Japan!

 

One more cool sight nearby is the Philospher's Path so named because Nishida Kitaro, a Professor of Philosophy at Kyoto University, is said to have walked through it on his way to class. Though the path is supposed to be very pretty during cherry blossom season it was still a very cool walk even in August. There are a few different temples along the way but the two we stopped to visit were Ginkakuji Temple (the Silver Pavillion) and Nanzenji Temple, coincidentally the temples at the two ends of the path.

The path:

Two modern day "philosophers" walking the path...

Ginkakuji Temple:

Nanzenji Temple:

And that's it for part 2 - more to come later!

Kyoto: Part 1

Back to a travel post. I've had the privilege of spending quite a few days Kyoto, one of the prettiest cities in Japan. Kyoto is most well known for being a very Buddhist town, with lots and lots old big temples and shrines. It's very cool to be able to walk around and see so many interesting things, typical old-school Japanese picture postcard type images to take. That being said though it is still a very modern town with a large population and a lot of tourists.

Many of these temples have been deemed "National Treasures" by the Japanese government which means that they have something unique to present and preserve, historically and/or artistically. Trying to visit and fully appreciate the significances of every single temple in Kyoto would be a year long task to undertake, but we can always try and hit the highlights.

Because Kyoto is such a big city so I'm going to break up this post into a few different sections. I thought it appropriate to start off near the Kyoto Station.

Kyoto Eki is a bustling hub of transportation with buses, trains, subways, and shinkansens constantly flowing through it. The station in and of itself is a tourist attraction. There is a large shopping complex and a nice observation deck with a bunch of restaurants.

View from the Observation Deck

Sanjusangendo is a very famous attraction in Kyoto. Inside are 1001 Buddhist statues of different devis and bodhisattvas. Just appreciating just how intricate all of the statues are is very interesting.  Photography is not permitted inside the hall but here are a few snaps from the outside which is also very peaceful and serene This link has a few more pictures taken from the inside as well as some more information about the temple. 

The area around Chionin Temple seemed to be another very popular attraction. There are various entrances and exits and different halls and temples and shrines to see. The compound is so big, I'm actually not sure that I managed to see the entire thing!

 

 

That's it for this post. I'll upload a second one sometime mid-week. Cheers!