2019 Trip: Day 5

Today started off slightly later than usual, and without any particular rush, which was nice. For breakfast, I got a couple of donuts from Koe Donuts, which I'd seen a huge crowd at last night (and again tonight) and so I wanted to see what all the hype was about. I got there right as it opened and beat the crowds, getting the house special sugar doughnut and a passionfruit & coconut doughnut. They were pretty good, especially the passionfruit one, with a uniquely chewy consistency unlike any doughnuts I've ever had.

From there, it was off to the train station to the town of Fushimi Inari. It was a pretty quick trip to the little town where literally everything is kitsune, or Japanese fox, themed.

I made my way up a long street to get to Fushimi Inari Taisha, the largest and most important shrine dedicated to Inari, the Shinto deity of rice, prosperity, agriculture, foxes, tea, sake, and fertility--so, a lot of important stuff. The main shrine at the entrance was enormous and impressive...as were the crowds.

The entry was flanked by enormous fox statues, the first of many, many more that I'd see along the way.

In a short time, I arrived at the legendary "Senbon Torii," or "thousands of gates." It was incredible to actually, finally be there in person, having never been there before and having had stock photos of the gates as my computer wallpaper nearly five months ago.

The first part of the journey was overwhelmingly crowded, though, even early in the morning, with people shoulder-to-shoulder and stopping every few feet to take selfies. Nonetheless, it was an awesome, unbelievable experience and the crowds thinned a bit the further along I got on the path. There was a small stop along the way with a little shrine at which I purchased a fox-shaped prayer charm to hang at the shrine.

At one point, there was a split in the path with a narrow trail leading away from the gates and up into the forest. I took that trail, and was immediately free of the crowds. The trail, it turns out, led toward the top of Mount Inari, and it was something I'd planned on doing. The first part of the trail was a beautiful and tranquil trek through a bamboo forest that gives Arashiyama a run for its money.

As I continued my journey, I came across a narrow stone path leading downwards from the main trail, so I ventured along and discovered an absolutely amazing secluded area filled with countless ancient stone shrines, gates, and fox statues.

It was an incredible, haunting experience, to be in a this quiet, ancient place of worship deep in the woods with monuments that have been there for hundreds of years--the red torii gates and some of the offerings and cloth ornaments might be modern and new, but the weathered stone has clearly been there for centuries. I wonder how long the coins I left there will last? I continued my hike, getting further and further up the mountain. Every so often, a path would lead off the main trail and up to another shrine area. These shrines on the higher mountainside seemed to get older the further I got, and were often on steep slopes with narrow, difficult stairs. I stopped at every such shrine area, and each one was worth the excursion. It was unbelievable to see those moss-covered, time-worn statues and gates and steps, surviving for who knows how long there in the forest, visited by worshipers and visitors for so much of history.

At one point, the trail split with one path leading to the summit of Mount Inari, and the other to a special shrine. I took the path to the shrine first, and it was an exhausting hike, but it was a rewarding journey. After that, I made my way back down to the split and began an exceptionally strenuous hike up to the mountaintop. It seemed like a never-ending climb up narrow, steep stairs...it was the best leg workout I've gotten in years.

Finally, though, I reached the top and the shrine at the peak of Mount Inari.

I commemorated the achievement by purchasing three postcards with artwork of the gates and foxes, and then began the journey back down the mountain.

Soon I was back at the main shrine, and it was time to say farewell to the foxiest shrine of all time.

I made my way back to the town, deciding to get some lunch. I had a place in mind that I'd seen recommended online, but as I was heading toward that restaurant, I came across a ramen restaurant called "Shoryu."

"Shoryu" means "rising dragon" in Japanese. Which, if you've ever gotten an email from me, or played Xbox Live with me, or read this blog's URL, you'll notice has been my online username for the past 15 years or so. Naturally, I had to go to this restaurant, and I got a hearty bowl of pork ramen, which was just what I needed after spending three hours hiking up and down a mountain and steep, ancient staircases.

After lunch, I went back up the street to the touristy shopping area, where I may or may not have gone a bit overboard on kitsune souvenirs... Then, it was time to head to my next destination: Kiyomizu-dera. I took a short train ride back toward the center of Kyoto, and then got off and walked about 20 minutes to the temple. Last time I'd been there, it had been one of the highlights of my trip; it had been during a lantern festival, and we were there at night and it was spectacular. This time, however, I was there in broad daylight, and it was even more amazing.

I had no idea everything was so orange! It was beautiful there, with the vibrant temple buildings, the shining sun, the blue sky, most of the Japanese visitors wearing traditional outfits, and the ubiquitous cherry blossoms.

The main Buddhist temple was under renovation, but the inside was still open. As expected, photography wasn't allowed in most of the inside...dissuaded by the crystal eyes of the statues of Buddhist deities reflecting candlelight in the darkened altars (how's that for some vivid imagery?). Like last time, I made some offerings and said some prayers inside, and then headed back out into the temple grounds. I explored a little Shinto area up a narrow, crowded path for a bit, and then headed back along the main trail where there were more Buddhist shrines.

The path wound down to the base of the hill that the temple was built on, and at the end was a large area where you could drink the famous water of Kiyomizu-dera (which translates as "Temple of clear water"). I didn't do that last time, as I was too intimidated by the strict ritual involved, but I did it this time after carefully observing what everyone else was doing.

Then I reached the end of my journey there, and I took one last look at this fantastic temple before heading off to get back to my hotel.

I returned to my hotel for a brief rest and to drop off my souvenirs, and then took off again to do a bit more exploring. My wandering took me to the Kyoto Samurai and Ninja Museum, where I was just in time to do the tour. It was pretty cool, with a guided talk about the history of the samurai and ninja, and replica/real examples of their armor, weapons, and tools.

At the end of the tour, everyone (about 15 or so adults) got to try out using replica ninja weapons, in this case heavy plastic throwing stars and blowguns with blunted darts. They had us all line up for a contest to see who could have the best shots (2 tries each) with each weapon.

Spoiler alert: I won both "contests"! There weren't any prizes, just the satisfaction of having won a ninja weapon proficiency challenge IN JAPAN. After that, I went looking for a place to eat dinner. I traveled quite a ways to a high-end steak restaurant I'd read about online, but the line was long, the prices were enormous, and the menu was entirely in hand-written Japanese, so I decided to seek something a bit less intimidating. I had in mind a sukiyaki (meat cooked at your table) restaurant near my hotel, so I stopped by and got in immediately. It was incredibly fancy; I had to take my shoes off at the entrance and go up to a small room with a tatami mat floor and octagonal tables with burners in the middle. I ordered the traditional sukiyaki meal, which included thin slices of beef (there was a butcher shop right next to the restaurant, so it was premium stuff), a variety of vegetables, and noodles. A waitress in traditional attire cooked my meal for me, which was a little weird since I didn't entirely know what was going on as I've never had a sukiyaki meal before, and it was strange having to eat while someone stood there cooking my food. But, it was delicious and a very unique experience. Dessert was a small dish of grapefruit and kiwi, topped with some sort of white wine jelly, which was very refreshing after the sizzling, salty main course. Then it was back to the hotel for the night and the end of another eventful day. Tomorrow will involve a good deal of travel to and from my sole destination: Itsukushima, one of my favorite places in the world. It's a long trip, but it's to a place I can honestly describe as magical. Check back tomorrow to find out more!