I can't start off talking about the full second day without highlighting the hotel we stayed at in Kyoto. We woke up and made our way to the first floor for the complimentary breakfast. The main course was ordered off of a menu. While the staff prepared that dish, there was an open buffet style for everything else. I'm talking fresh fruit, yogurt, freshly baked breads, juices, coffee, teas, basically the whole works. And none of it was instant food like you find in standard hotel breakfasts in the US. For the main course, I ordered the omelet and it was delicious. As Ryan and I enjoyed our meal and discussed the day, he asked me to guess how much the one night cost. I guessed under $50 as this was Japan, but it was around the $50 mark. For the room, the breakfast, and the hotel itself, it would easily cost over $200 USD a night back home. And once again, the hospitality of the staff was unmatched.
Since we were headed for another city later in the day, we checked out of the hotel and stored our stuff in lockers near the train station. Then it was off to one of the most famous shrines in the land. The Fushimi-Inari. This shrine is located way up on a mountain. The main path greets you with a massive orange gate. As you lift your eyes toward the mountain peak, there before you are hundreds of smaller orange gates. Known as torii gates. Around 800 to be exact. They were all donated by the people of Japan. It's unlike anything I've ever seen before. Now Ryan and I did not walk through the gates all the way to the top. We wanted to avoid the main throng of tourists. Armed with a travel tip Ryan picked up prior, we walked the back streets up to the mountain side. At one point we had to re-route due to construction, but our re-route was blocked. There was a police officer below us where we needed to go and we debated going down. After a bit of pondering, we decided to ask if we could pass. Ryan was taking a sec to think of the proper way to ask in Japanese, but I just blurted out "Konnichiwa!" which is "hello" in Japanese. The officer, slightly startled, turned around. I made a motion with my hands to go down the stairs and said "can we go down? in English. He gave us permission with a very friendly smile. We thanked him profusely and trekked on.
Our path took us to the edge of the mountain. We left the pavement and entered into to forest. But it was not a normal forest. Before us were the biggest and thickest bamboo shoots I had ever seen. They scraped the sky, blocked the sun, and were majestic. For the next 10 minutes or so, we walked along the bamboo on what was an easy descent. As we walked higher, I took in the serenity of the forest, the beauty of what the locals created on the side of the mountain, and simply the fact that I was a stranger in another land, exploring all it had to offer.
Eventually we stood before the challenge we knew was coming. The final climb up the steepest part of the mountain. Hundreds of wooden stairs with earth in between challenged us. So we continued our ascent. The sun had found a way through the canopy and the warm air opened the pores. I didn't mind the heat as I prefer it to the bone chilling cold, but the sweat and the exhaustion that came with the stairs were taxing. We got to a point where we just had to stop and take a long breather. As we caught our breath, a handful of people who also knew about the backway caught up to us. They were really nice folks from Missouri. They were having a rougher time making the ascent than we were. But we bantered for a bit and Ryan encouraged them to press on because the end goal was worth it.
We parted way and continued on. After what seemed like a short eternity, we reached the shrine. It was a mild surprise to not see the throngs of other tourists we saw at the main torii gate. It seems like many people were content with observing the gates rather than making the full ascent. Which worked out great for us because we were able to enjoy the sights with more serendipity. Now even though we reached the top, one of the best parts of the journey required a slight descent along the main path (not the side of the mountain we went up). We took a few moments to view the shrine, then we headed down.
It wasn't long before we came upon a breathtaking view. With the orange torii gates leading off to the left, there in the distance was the city of Kyoto. The trees of the mountain lacing the bottom, the man-made structures laid out like an ocean, and the mountains in the distance. I have a weakness for incredible views and the climb to get here was so worth it. Now with most locations like this that attract tourists like ourselves, there are more things to experience than just the natural beauty. Like soft, cold, delicious, ice cream. And it was so good. So there I was, on a mountain, with an incredible view, eating ice cream. It was great.
Because we had gone up, we eventually had to go back down. We wisely chose not to take the hard route back. We chose to join the other tourists and walk the gate path the whole way down. We made a bunch of stops along the way as there were souvenir stands frequently along our path and Ryan was on the hunt for specific things. By the time we made it to the bottom, we were famished. There was a local joint nearby called Dragon Burger. It tickled our fancy so we went in. We ordered and shortly after the burgers arrived. They were a bit smaller than I'm used to, but the combo of them, the fries, and the cool, crisp, tea...it was all delicious. Japan even does burgers right.
We had one last big stop in Kyoto before heading to our next destination. The Kiyomizu-dera temple. If you ever seen the scenic shots of Kyoto online, or the big, orange pagoda on a wallpaper, this was the that place. We didn't take anything easy the whole day, so why stop now? We decided to once again, make the trek up. But this time, it was a matter of walking up paved roads. As we walked, we had left the general city behind and passed through local neighborhoods. Then, we suddenly found ourselves high on hill, with a cemetery built into it. There had to be thousands of stone sides by side, flowing with the hill. And they overlooked an incredible view. I haven't seen a resting place anywhere like it.
Our serene walk to the temple ended when the steps to the main temple finally appeared. Like the Fushimi-Inari shrine, crowds suddenly appeared out of nowhere. But it made sense. This temple and its pagoda are icons of Kyoto. The travel websites, magazines, videos, wall papers for your phone or PC, pretty much anything to make Kyoto catch your eye includes these structures. The eye-popping orange, with hints of green can put you in a trance. The close up view was incredible, but there was another we were here to see.
We traversed the steps and took a brief look at the first temple. Then, we drifted back into the flow of humans and followed them around the main deck. While people drifted in and out of the stream, I kept moving with and around them. I had my sight set on one thing. To get to the observation deck. I've been to many incredible vantage points in my lifetime. And while this view was not atop a tall tower, nor from a cliff face, it still held a scene worth the cost of a plane ticket alone. Picture this. You are standing on a wooden deck, high above the tree canopy. The trees swarm out beneath you, and for a distance, all you see is green. The green see eventually meets the concrete shore, home to many steel structures. For miles you can see the bustling life of man. But dwarfing all of that as a towering backdrop are the mountains and all their grandeur. But the real kicked, standing off to the side as the eastern border, that great orange pagoda in the distance. If I had the skills of an oil painter, I would paint this scene. But since I don't, my words will have to be the paint on the canvas. Such beauty is a marvel.
This would be our last thing we did in Kyoto. It was time to say goodbye to the ancient city and head out to our next destination. Kobe. Home of the Wagyu Kobe beef. Stay tuned.
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