We have arrived to Japan and our first stop is Kyoto. Kyoto is an imperial city and almost walking back in time. Coming from Seoul which was full of skyscrapers and hustle and bustle, Kyoto is calm and quiet. There are no public restrooms (at least not like those in Seoul), no advanced technology and no flashy fashion, except for tourists renting Kimonos.
Kyoto was Japan’s original capital and was the birthplace of many Japanese traditions and customs like geisha, samurai and kabuki. We visited more temples and shrines that I can remember but one of the most memorable ones was Fushimi Inari, the shrine of over 1000 orange Torii Gates.
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| At the start of our climb at Fushimi Inari |
The shrine sits on the mountain and reaching the top of the summit is usually a 2-3 hour hike. We were told that this is one of the most popular sites in Kyoto and to visit at sunrise or sunset. We opted for the latter, although it was still pretty busy. As we made our way up, the crowd definitely began to thin out but the number of mosquitos increased by ten fold.
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| Lone climbers up the mountain |
We also started to see warnings of wild boars roaming the area at night. We knew we weren’t going to make it to the top but were hoping to at least get to the Yotsutsuji Intersection. As sunset neared and an hour into our walk, we figured we better make our way back down to avoid any run ins with the boars. We will definitely be back and next time, make it to the top.
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| O in front of Ema plaques at Hōkan-ji Temple |
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| At the entrance of the Yasaka Shrine |
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| Kōdai-ji Temple |
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