From Osaka Alessia and I hopped on a train bound for Kyoto in order to check out the wonders this people have raved about in this city.  We got to the train station and got on the local train vs the express but it ended up being ok because the express train ended up being more expensive and halfway there we had to transfer to the express train anyways.

When we arrived we headed to our hostel to drop off our bags then went to our first temple of the day.  Probably the most famous and often photographed temples in Kyoto Fushimi Inari Taisha which is the temple that has all of the Torii gates, spread out along a path up a mountain.

A Torii gate marks the transition between the sacred and the mundane and in this temple you can purchase one in order to grant a wish and it is said there are over 10,000 gates along the main path.  There are also several sub shrines with smaller gates that can be purchased for a smaller sum.

We of course had to take advantage of the scenery and take a bunch of photos “for the gram”  Although, I don’t think any of us posted any of them to Instagram (maybe our story).

We made it to the top!!!

On the way down, we were both in the same mindset in that we needed a tasty beverage and a rest.  So we stopped at the rest stop and purchased a beer to share.

After resting and continuing down the mountain we decided to check out the next temple recommended but it was a decent hike and for the sake of time we decided to jump in a cab.  We figured it couldn’t be that much and I think both Alessia and I are both used to uber pricing because it was a lot more than we anticipated.

With lessons learned, we arrived at Kiyomizu-dera which unfortunately was under repairs and covered in scaffolding.  It was located on a decently sized compound, so we walked around and explored the grounds, saw the temples and enjoyed the scenery.

It is traditional in Shinto shrines to wash your hands prior to entering and so each one has a fountain with scoops which enable you to wash.  You are expected to wash your hands and your mouth although most people skip the mouth step as water quality and germs have become more of an issue in the modern days vs hundreds or thousands of years ago.  The one at this temple was a more unique one.

The small street of tourist shops and food vendors was very busy and several people were dressed in traditional attire, which you can rent from a few shops nearby.

We took an off route down the main street in order to locate the bus that would take us back into town.  We got a bit confused by the bus but eventually found it.  It’s interesting, in Japan, you get on the bus in the middle and pay when you leave at the front, which is obviosuly different than north america buses.  I think this stems from the fact that a lot of buses charge you a different fair depending on how far you travel.  When you enter some buses you pick up a ticket and there is an updating sign that tells you how much you have to pay based when you boarded.  Most city buses are flat fare but they still use the same loading and paying system.

Once we got back into town, we cruised around downtown checking out what there was to see.  The puppies were the cutest.

As we cruised, I remember a friend telling me to try out Tabehoudai and Nomihoudai which is all you can eat and drink so Alessia and I decided to give it a try at a Japanese BBQ place.  The all you can drink was actually pretty cheap in comparison to the food portion.  I personally for sure got my monies worth out of the drinks portion and probably broke even on the meat, since you had to cook it yourself and that took a bit of time.  All in all it was a great experience and I am glad we did it.

They even had a cotton candy machine for dessert!!!

After dinner we headed back onto the street and walked by another arcade (they are everywhere) and so naturally I wanted to go inside.  We wandered around and played a few claw games, mario kart and some rhythm games.

After a few rounds of arcade games we decided to head home and call it a night.

The next morning I woke up and went for a run around the Kyoto imperial palace.  You aren’t allowed to go inside, but the grounds were pretty large and it was a decent run providing some nice things to look at such as a garden and the palace itself.

to make it a bit of a longer run I also ran down the street to check out Nijo castle, although I did not go inside and you cannot really see what it looks like form the exterior castle walls.

After my run, I picked up Alessia and we headed into town to check out Nishiki market which was the main strip of vendors in town.

At the end of the market was a ramen place where we stopped for lunch before catching a train back to Osaka.

On the train ride home, we took the thunderbird express train which meant a faster journey, but we did not realize that this cost more.  So when we were on the train a ticket agent came around and told us we had to pay the difference in fare, which was almost double the initial fare.  This was not ideal, but it also made us comment ourselves for not actually messing up the train ride there and getting a cheaper fare.

Anyways, that was Kyoto part one as I returned to Kyoto later in my journeys but this time Solo.  I will discuss that part in a later post.