If I’d have to pick a favorite among the places I’ve visited in Kyoto, it would definitely be Fushimi Inari Taisha (Shrine). I’ve had friends who have visited it in the past, and I’d get jealous whenever they’d post pictures online with the iconic thousand vermillion torii gates! Imagining myself walking the golden trail leading to a forest of the sacred Mount Inari makes it feel like somewhat of a dream. ♥
Right after visiting Arashiyama’s Bamboo Grove, we headed towards the entrance of Fushimi Inari Taisha. It’s just within walking distance, so, people usually tend to group these two places on the same day for their itineraries (so, here’s a travel scheduling tip for you! ♥).
At the entrance to Fushimi Inari Taisha
The temizuya (cleansing station) for Fushimi Inari Taisha. People typically use this to wash their hands and mouth as a form of cleaning and purifying the body before entering the shrine.
A map of the whole area of Fushimi Inari Taisha
At Inari Shrine. It was the peak of summer, so a lot of locals came in their summer yukata/kimono.
Heading towards the famous 1,000 vermillion torii gates!
Kitsune holding a scroll in its mouth at the main gate. These fox statues are representative of Inari’s (Shinto god of rice) messengers, so these fox statues can be found all around the shrine grounds.
The walk around the area wasn’t as tiring as Kiyomizudera‘s–you’ll only have to go up a couple of minor steps before you reach the area with the 1,000 torii gates. So, if you’re travelling with people who are less fit for tiring walks, I don’t think Fushimi Inari Taisha would be a problem at all!
Finally at the 1,000 vermillion torii gates! <3 Dream come trueee!!
There were actually a lot of people, since it was summer break. Because of that, it was also more challenging to get decent photos. hahaha! But! To get to see it in person was so sooo worth it!!
Kitsune wood blocks! (I like how people change the eyes! Look at the kawaii anime one. lol!)
I wish I could read all the writings on the gates, but I can only read a bit of kanji. 🙁
Heading back out to the exit~
You’ll see a bunch of souvenir shops as your head towards the exit.
(Passed by a random vending machine, and took a photo of it, because, when in Japan, vending machine photos are mandatory! haha!)
More souvenirs~
Not too far of from the exit gate is a small street with street food vendors. There’s only a handful of stalls to check out, but it’s convenient for tour schedules if you’re going to need to take a short break with some snacks. We stopped by for a bit to try out some random street food.
Some pork bbq, I think?? (We bought this in the stall in the previous photo, so it costs 500 JP yen, as indicated.)
I think this was matcha mochi (or was it danggo?? haha) covered in sweet sauce.
There are lots of random quiet shops and restaurants around the corner. My sister, who’s also a barista, planned for us to check out a notable coffee shop in Kyoto called Vermillion Coffee (named after the 1,000 vermillion torii gates, I guess!). It’s a highly noted cafe because they source their beans really well too (my sister’s very particular about her coffee beans)! Anyway, we stopped by for a bit to rest after all the walking.
Ordered an Iced Mocha~
After Fushimi Inari, we headed back to the subway. We didn’t really have any place planned out for dinner, and we were a bit tired, so we decided to just eat in any decent restaurant in the subway station. haha (Subway stations in Japan are the best, by the way! Very convenient for people always on the go, since they have all kinds of stores and restaurants along their walkways.)
Luckily, my sister’s an expert in quick research for restaurants, so she told us to try out this kaiten-zushi (conveyor belt sushi) restaurant nearby (still along the subway walkway). I forgot the name of the restaurant (I keep forgetting to take note of these places!! But we were so hungry, so I didn’t really have time to think about it. :().
Anyway, it was like all your other typical kaiten-zushi places, wherein they have corresponding prices for your dish depending on the design of the plate (e.g. gold plate, white plate, etc.). They price your bill depending on the corresponding total value of your complete stack of plates. If you’re worried about pricing for these kinds of places, I don’t think it’s much of a problem since even their cheapest plate has really good sushi served on it! 😀
sushi on the conveyor belt 😀
more sushi!
By the way, normally, they have hot water dispensers (the white faucet in the above photos) placed near your seats, since kaiten-zushi restaurants usually place the tea powder and cups in front of your seat. So, you don’t really have to request for tea anymore, since they’ve already placed it all in front of you for your convenience! 😀 (Unless, you want to order some other drink of something.)
yums 😀
And that was it for Day 2 (and for the entire Kyoto part of the trip as well)! For the following days, it will be about our adventures in Osaka, so stay tuned for that! 😀
And, in case you missed my other Kyoto-related posts:
- Day 1, Kiyomizudera & Gion: http://www.armaineyapyuco.com/2016/10/01/kyoto-aug-2016-arrival-kiyomizudera/
- Day 2 (pt. 1), Arashiyama & Togetsukyo Bridge: http://www.armaineyapyuco.com/2016/10/11/kyoto-aug-2016-arashiyama-togetsukyo-bridge/
