Torii Gates for Days

August 28, 2014: Kyoto

This was going to be Bao’s last full day in Japan. Sad but determined to still show him more of Japan; I had planned to go to Kyoto for the day. To my surprise, all of my good friends in Japan were free on this day to join. So a little before noon, we took the train up to Kyoto and met up Norie, Jacob and Becka at Kyoto Station. These three are the people I enjoy the most in Japan so it was really good to see all of them at once. Norie had some places she wanted to take us so we followed her lead.

We headed to Inari Station and ended up at the famous Fushimi Inari. According to research, the shrine sits at the base of a mountain, also named Inari, which includes trails leading up it to smaller shrines. Inari is the god of rice and also is seen as the patron of business. That would explain the many torii gates, which were all from donations of Japanese businesses. Another key feature of this shrine was the many statues of foxes, who apparently, are the messengers to the gods.

The shrine was big and beautiful and the countless orange torii gates were really awesome to see. Being that Inari is a mountain, the steps through the gates were all going uphill. The shrine was very crowded with many other visitors as well. The five of us walked up the first part of it and immediately broke a sweat. The day was nice but the uphill steps definitely made it feel warm. After stopping for a break, we realized we had a lot more to go to get to the top. Hungry and losing energy, we opted to head to our second destination, Nijo Castle, with hopes of finding food along the way. The view at Fushimi Inari was really cool though and I definitely plan to come back, perhaps in fall, to make the climb to the very top.

As we headed to our second destination, we had no luck in finding anything to eat. It was nearing 3 p.m. and my stomach was starved! We entered Nijo Castle after paying a small fee and figured we would just see this  before it closed in the early afternoon. I had attempted to go to the castle once before but hadn’t made the cut before it closed so was glad this time we were early. The castle grounds were large and full of beautifully trimmed trees and perfectly green grass. The castle had many houses but one main one that was the largest. Having to remove our shoes before entering, we walked around this museum like house and admired all the hand painted screens and creaking Nightingale floors. That was actually my favorite part. It was said that the floors were purposely made to creak so that you could hear when someone was coming or going. The creak was eerie and unusual but very cool. I had learned that the people that use to live in this house were shoguns of the time. A shogun is the highest ranking samurai (from what I understand) and in this house he would work and live. Now, of course, there was no shogun and displays of mannequins of what it would of looked like.  The castle was interesting to see but I think all of us were slowing down from starvation so we quickly left the castle in search of food.

Finally we reached a yummy udon spot suggested by Jacob and Norie. The udon was very delicious and the food place very traditional feeling. After full bellies and a bit of rest, we walked around Kyoto looking for gifts for our families back home. The rest of the day was relaxed and casual. Not wanting to get back so late, we said our farewells early and headed back to my place to make sure everything was packed and ready for Bao’s departure the next morning.

xx

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