Shrines and temples

Saturday, May 11, 2024
Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan
Kyoto in spring
Her traditions and culture
Wrapped us in her warmth.
We enjoyed another great breakfast before hitting the footpath to Kyoto Station, where we took a train to Fushimi Inari. We were visiting the Fushimi Inari Sembon Torii (1000 torii gates) along with many other people. 9am on a Saturday morning was busy. We walked through the crowd and the shops and began our pilgrimage to the top of the summit. The orange Shinto gates - toriis - climb up the mountain. Many, many stairs and inclines. The pace was slow at the start as we kept to the rhythm of the crowd. As it got steeper, the numbers dropped off and we were able to move at our own speed - which wasn’t all that fast - it is quite steep and it goes for a very long time.
There was a choice to make at the crossroads, we went right. I think it was the right decision, left looked pretty brutal on the way down. There were a lot of little stops along the way if you wanted to buy a drink, an offering or an ice cream. We kept going. The summit was a little underwhelming. It was a small shrine. But we had made it to the top.
The whole thing is picturesque, but feels more like a physical challenge than a spiritual one. But I guess the gods are asking us to prove our devotion to get the good fortune we are seeking. Consider us blessed and fortunate.
The path down was quicker and easier, although some of the steeper sections needed close attention. The main shrine is at the bottom and is quite a lovely area, especially if you get around the back to where there is a little bamboo forest keeping watch over the sacred space.
Coffee time, and we came across a nice little cafe on the rive where we enjoyed a snack and a great coffee. We checked our maps. We had done all the must do’s on our list so decided to catch a train to the Higashiyama Ward - a place of many temples and preserved traditional streets. But first we had to leave the shrine area through what felt like a sideshow alley with all the street foods on offer. We bought a little tray of takoyaki (octopus balls). They weren’t too bad at all. 
A quick train ride and a walk to the first temple - the Chionin Temple. It was a large complex with many different things going on. We went into the main temple after taking off our shoes and sliding back the shoji door. It was a really peaceful space. Cool and calm with a sweet incense burning. We knelt and contemplated while a young priest prepared the altar. He moved things 1mm at a time and then readjusted again. It was almost performative, we enjoyed the show.
We moved on to the Shorenin Temple, in the same complex. Here locals were bringing flowers and lighting candles at a memorial. A sweet old couple moved along at a snail’s pace to deliver some flowers. He had a walking stick and the other hand on his wife’s shoulder as they shuffled to the memorial. She quickly place the flowers, they said their prayers and then they slowly departed again.
Ken sketched for a while as we enjoyed the cool breeze in the peaceful courtyard, as tiny flowers dropped from the tree above. 
We went looking for the preserved streets and, as usual, went in the wrong direction. Ken’s back is a little dodgy, but we soldiered on and found the right area. I dropped him at a temple (husband daycare in our case) and went off to explore and immerse in the area. 
The streets were busy and there were a lot of young ladies dressed in kimonos enjoying the tourist experience to the full. They added to the atmosphere amongst the traditional buildings and pedestrian streets. I enjoyed popping in and out of the little shops.
Eventually I sent a message to Ken, we got crossed wires about which temple we were in. There are so many temples in this area. I popped into 2 looking for him and he had been to another 2. Finally, we met up and decided it was time for a drink. We went to a little beer bar and Ken ordered  a Hitachino nest beer and I had a yuzu Chu-hi. They went down very well, so well Ken ordered another beer, a Four Yeast IPA. We also ordered some shumai - dumplings to share with our evening drinks.
Time to catch a bus home. My phone has been losing power quickly, so I made sure I had the correct change in case I couldn’t pay with my Suica card in my wallet. We jumped on the 206 and then realised we were in the wrong direction. Fortunately, this was an early realisation and we jumped off and crossed the street. Soon we were on the right bus, and we had a seat!!! We boosted my phone on Ken’s phone wireless charge and I could pay the charge as we exited.
Walking home Ken decided it would be a good idea to stop in at the Don Quixote store (a couple of beers and he wants to shop). This is a loud Priceline type of place. Really loud. A lot of the aisles have tv monitors which are blaring out information about the products. Of course, we cannot understand them so they are just noise. We needed hand cream but couldn’t find any. However, their prices are pretty good for the things I do need, but will wait for Tokyo.
We then stopped at the Family Mart for drinks and found hand cream. 
Back home and into the onsen to soothe those aching muscles. It’s been another big day of walking and climbing up to appease the gods.
We enjoyed a drink, caught up on writing and sketching before we were ready to find some dinner. Ken was keen for fried chicken - it is a thing here. We went back to Kyoto Station to the casual eating area downstairs. The best beer was in the Italian place, but I’m not here for pizza and pasta so we lined up at the next one. It didn’t take long to be called to a table. It turned out to be a Korean restaurant - but it was very good. We were given some complementary pickles and clams with our drinks. Then the food arrived - squid, that fried chicken, a kimchi and cheese omelette, gyoza and rice. It was too much food, but it was very good. The restaurant was full of young locals - we were definitely out of the demographic.
We tried to find an ATM in the station but didn’t have any luck. That place is a maze that we cannot crack it. We found one in the Family Mart on the way home and cashed up in case we need some on our tour.
Back home to pack up and be organised for our early getaway. Tomorrow we start our walking tour - we are looking forward to the rest. We have walked  63.7kms in our 4 days in Kyoto. 
This is a fabulous city. The people are friendly;  the culture is so different but very welcoming. There is a lot of tradition to explore and it is very beautiful. We have had a wonderful visit. 
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Comments

jillmac
2024-05-12

Sounds like you have seen a lot of Kyoto. The onsens not fixing Kens back??

2025-02-18

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