Japan trip part four

On our second day in Kyoto we took the train just a couple of stops to get to Fushimi Inari Taisha. It wasn’t that high on my list of things to do since it’s probably the most touristy thing to do in Kyoto and I’d heard it can be really crowded. Henrik was keen to see it though and it seemed like it could be a good alternative way of spending a more outdoorsy but still leisurely day since we didn’t go to Arashiyama.

The entrance was pretty busy, but once you got past the very first bit of the path it wasn’t crowded at all, with many completely empty stretches.

We didn’t arrive early in the morning or anything so I think we just picked a good time of the year to go.

I’m very glad we went! There were so many stone creatures to look at, and it was so peaceful and beautiful to walk up the mountain and down again with the melting snow dripping in the sunshine.

One thing that surprised me a little about the shinto shrines in Japan was how fluorescent most of the orange paint is! You don’t really get the effect just from photos. I loved it.

I knew there were feral cats living at the shrine, and we were lucky to meet a few. They are cared for by the people who work there and you could even buy postcards with illustrations of the specific cats.

After we left we went to some shops and also spotted another crab sign! This one was even better.

Before heading back to the Airbnb Henrik took me past this buddhist temple dedicated to pigs, which he found the other day when I was too ill to go out.

 

Despite being ill I had a great time in Kyoto. Sure I would have liked to see some more things, but I wasn’t stressed like in Tokyo, and just staying in a machiya was great in itself.

Here are some video clips from the day!