Sadly, the weather forecast wasn’t on my side but I refused to let rainy season stop me from exploring. With the early morning weather looking a little bit more favourable I had an early breakfast on the windowsill before heading out to see as much of Kyoto as possible during my final day in the city.
By foot is the best way to discover a city in my eyes, so I planned a route which would take me to the majority of the main tourist attractions in the city. Though Kinkaku-ji temple was too far away for my to fit into my route, next time I visit Kyoto I’ll definitely be visiting the golden pavilion.
My route began with an early morning wander along Nishiki food market, a 400 year old market filled with unique food stalls. The fish was being freshly prepared for the day and a few locals were buying breakfast on their way to walk. I love seeing local markets but sometimes the food they sell really surprises me, this time it was octopops (baby octopus stuffed with a quail egg on a stick). Both my photographer and I decided against trying any of the delicacies this time. The market is surprisingly long and definitely worth a visit if you are in the area. I left the indoor food market and headed out into the streets of Nakagyō-ku, a beautiful residential area. The streets were filled with people walking and cycling to work peacefully, the only sound was the occasional train passing through a crossing.
I let the streets lead my to Mibu-dera temple, an ancient Buddhist temple with an interesting stupa covered in Jizō statues. Honestly, it is a small temple which doesn’t take long to explore but it was nice to get away from the crowds and main sites of the city.
I headed back towards Sanjo station to jump on a train to go and visit the beautiful Fushimi-Inari Taisha, (probably) the most famous Shinto shrine in the world. I got off the train a station early so I could walk through the beautiful streets and experience a train crossing (a must in Japan).
Instagramming humans tell you to visit the shrine as early as possible but being a dinosaur I didn’t listen and went after 10am. I hate to admit defeat, but the instagramming humans are correct, visit early. Sadly, the entire population of Kyoto and all the tourists in Japan had decided to visit at the same time but it is a free attraction which is even better to see in person. I was surprised to find the path lined with torii gates isn’t visible from the entrance, instead there are lots of beautiful buildings. There are two huge red torii gates leading to the entrance of the shrine which marks the end of the kimono rental shops and the beginning of a magical area.
I waved hello to the two fox statues guarding the main gate, which is one of the most beautiful I have seen on my travels so far. The fox is said to be the messenger of the god Inari who is the god of the rice harvest, business and commerce. Foxes with keys in their mouths hold the key to the rice storehouse. There are many foxes throughout the shrine and trails, I managed to spot 8 when I visited. The dance stage is in front of the prayer hall, which is incredibly beautiful but I didn’t manage to get a close look because lots of humans were praying and I didn’t want to get in the way. Sadly, the area doesn’t allow photography but it is an area which I enjoyed wandering around. To the right of the main dance stage is the tiny Higashimaru-jinja Shrine where many students were praying for academic success. This was my favourite shrine because of the thousands of colourful origami cranes. Many Japanese believe if you fold 1000 origami cranes your wish will come true, I hope it works because the origami cranes are really beautiful to look at.
I headed back past the main hall to a flight of steps where everyone was congregating for some reason. Turns out this is “Instagram selfie avenue” or the senbon-no-torii (1000 torii gates), the first of many beautiful red torii lined paths. The crowds dispersed once I reached the inner shrine because I wanted to head as far through the gates as I could, before reaching the upper shrine. I wandered through a few torii gates before finding an area filled with miniature gates, and a small butterfly came to join me as I enjoyed a moment of quiet (my photographer was busy taking photographs).
A small trail led away from the main torii lined path, so I took it and it led me to the most beautiful small stone shrine. Sadly, I cannot read Kanji so I have no idea who or what this shrine was for but it made me sad most humans were walking past and ignoring it. However, I didn’t stay long because my photographer pointed out possibly the scariest spider I have ever seen. It even had a cross on the centre of it’s web as if to say “DANGER! KEEP OUT!”.
I finally came to a crossroads where all of the humans were heading left, so I went in the opposite direction which took me up a small hill. Finally, my photographer was happy because they could get the photo of the torii gates with no other humans around (of course I had to get one for myself as well!). Every time I think I have found the most beautiful area in Japan, I walk around a corner and find something even better. Yes Fushimi-Inari Taisha is hyped up, but it surpasses all descriptions and photos when you experience it in person. The best part was spotting a small wild boar roaming in the trees, they can be dangerous when provoked, so we left quietly so he could search for lunch in peace.
After all of the walking I headed back to the centre of Kyoto for a spot of lunch, strangely the vegan restaurants are only open until 3pm on an afternoon, so I decided to eat a big meal earlier than usual. Ain Soph is located near the main shopping street in Kyoto, hidden in plain sight. I haven’t struggled to find food in Japan considering vegetarianism isn’t a popular choice but I was more than happy to find a vegan restaurant. The menu was small but the mushroom Hayashi was delicious and I overcame a huge hurdle of sitting in a restaurant alone for the first time. My lunch cost me 1250 yen (£6.70) and I still can’t believe how cheap food is in Japan compared to England.
Happily full of food, I took a short walk through some back streets towards the river. My aim was to find Pontocho, a really famous narrow street which is filled with restaurants and teahouses. I had visited this street the evening previously but it was so busy I didn’t feel like I could fully enjoy the experience. Returning in the afternoon, I found the entire street to be empty. Some restaurants were beginning to open and I even spotted a Geisha walking along the street, I still can’t get over the beautiful the outfits they wear.
Sadly, it was beginning to rain but I decided to not let it stop me from exploring. I headed down to the kamo river to walk along the path, I know it is meant to be a romantic spot for humans but I thought it was ok for a dinosaur to visit too. I really enjoyed leaving the hustle of the city to wander along the river but the rain was getting heavier, so I headed up a random street which took me past a giant golden chicken towards a residential area.
Have I mentioned how much I love Japanese houses, they are all so unique and beautiful. My photographer and I got hopelessly lost in the streets of Kyoto and it was the greatest way to spend an afternoon exploring the city.
Somehow I ended up in Gion but the rain was torrential so I decided it was time to do a little bit of shopping to escape the deluge. My first stop was the Hello Kitty store and it was so cute, my photographer wanted to but everything so I had to blindfold them until it was time to leave. Some of the streets were under cover but it was getting crowded because everyone was trying to escape the bad weather. I wandered back across the bridge past the beautiful Kabuki theatre.
My exploring came to a halt when I realised the Maccha House café was without a queue. I’ve heard all about matcha but have never eaten it, the matcha tiramisu was delicious and it was so cute in a small wooden box with a wooden spoon. The matcha latte was also nice but I found it to be a bit too thick. The café give you free water which is needed to wash away the leftover taste of green. It is well worth visiting during a visit to Kyoto but I wouldn’t have queued for the experience.
The dreary skies provided the perfect backdrop for the bright lights and advertisements on the billboards. I was so excited to finally experience the cyberpunk scenes I have seen on the internet. The snoopy store was also on my way back to the hotel and I had to go in to say hello to the celebrity himself. I love how popular anime is in Japan, especially the popularity of Studio Ghibli. The Ghibli store was a place I really wanted to find while I was in Kyoto. It isn’t huge but you can hang out with Totoro at the bus stop! Something I’ll probably never stop talking about.
It was the best end to a great day of exploring. I really wanted to experience another night in Kyoto but the rain was so heavy I headed back to my hotel for an early night.
For a daily dose of dinosaur, follow me on Instagram!
1 thought on “Exploring Kyoto – day 2”