Japan :: Kyoto

“Even monkeys fall from trees.”
– Japanese Proverb

I did three things in Kyoto, the Fushimi Inari shrine, the Nishiki Market and a stay at a ryokan. On the way to Kyoto, from the Shinkansen, I got some awesome shots of Mount Fuji too. I was super lucky, it was the clearest of days and my view completely unobstructed

Mount Fuji

The main attraction for me was the Fushimi Inari, a famous shrine, that I had wanted to see since I started thinking about going to Japan. I went up there late afternoon so I saw the way up i daylight and went back down after dark. It was beautiful. The beginning was crowded af, but when I ventured further up the throngs thinned out and I could even get shots of the shrine’s tori’is without people in them.

The Fushimi Inari
“Fushimi Inari Taisha is the head shrine of the god Inari. The shrine sits at the base of a mountain also named Inari which is 233 metres above sea level, and includes trails up the mountain to many smaller shrines which span 4 kms and take approximately 2 hours to walk up. First and foremost, Inari is the god of rice, but merchants and manufacturers have traditionally worshiped Inari as the patron of business. Each of the torii at Fushimi Inari Taisha has been donated by a Japanese business.”

I timed it on my phone, I spent 1 hour and 25 minutes to get to the top and I stopped for photos -a lot- so I don’t know where the two hour estimate is from – maybe it’s just so people don’t calculate too little time.

I loved this shrine, it was beautiful and I am super happy I got to see it both in daytime and after sunset. Would definitely recommend doing that if you’re thinking about going there.

Other than that I stayed a night in a traditional ryokan and ate octopus on a stick at the food market. That’s all I really did worth writing, but that’s just because me scribbling down six sentences about how I walked through the streets, took photos and liked what I saw is completely useless.

I really enjoyed Kyoto, it’s way more chill than Tokyo, but not boring because it’s still big, vibrant and (I hate to use this word, but what the hell) “happening” 😛 You can find anything you want and/or need. I also went shopping for “normal” clothes, after spending so much time in smaller places in Africa and south east Asia… Don’t know how normal a shirt with Hello Kitty saying “stay lit” is, but what the hey – I bought it ;-D

After leaving Kyoto for Hiroshima I stepped off to the tram station trying to get from the train into Hiroshima central and what do I seeee? Marco und Eric ze Germans that stayed at the same hostel as me in Kyoto. Japan is so randomly small sometimes. ❤