We woke up early to take the subway to Fushimi-Inari, an incredible temple with hundreds of torii (gates) forming a huge network of paths built into the mountainside. On our way to the train, we crossed the river using an adorable set of stepping stones, some of which are made to look like turtles. Way more fun than using the bridge, if a bit riskier.
Fushimi-Inari is known for its foxes. Fox sculptures were everywhere! I bought a cute little fox charm for good luck, and some rice crackers shaped like fox heads.
I really loved the orange of the torii, contrasted with the green of the mountain scenery. The torii are each individually maintained, so some look very new, while others are old and in need of a fresh coat of paint. The torii are so close to one another that it forms a tunnel pathway up the mountain, with little breaks here and there for snacks and small temples. We didn't have time to walk all the way to the top, but even from our vantage point, we got a great view of Kyoto.
For lunch, we headed over to an awesome curry place that Alan knows. There was a line out the door, and we had to wait for seats to open up at the counter. It was well worth the wait! Our curry had so many good vegetables, including asparagus and bamboo shoots.
We headed over to Gion, thinking we'd do a tea ceremony, but sadly the place we had picked out was closed on Wednesdays. Nonetheless, it was fun to walk around, and we saw the quintessential Gion sight: maiko riding in a rickshaw!
We walked to Kiyomizu-dera, yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site. We had decided by this point that our new hobby is World Heritage Site spotting. On our way up the crowded streets lined with shops, we stopped for green tea soft serve, which was delicious and a nice way to cool off.
Kiyomizu is nestled in the mountains, and offers breathtaking views of the city and of its main temple and pagoda. It is known for the Otowa-no- taki fountain with therapeutic waters for hand washing and drinking, and we partook. Alan had brought with him an old little charm he keeps on his bicycle for traffic safety, and traded it in for a new one, as well as giving me one for my bike. Definitely cannot hurt, biking in San Francisco!
We donated 100 yen so we could walk through the Tainai-miguri, a pitch black hall that you walk through, guided by following a rope of prayer beads in your left hand, as you contemplate the Daizuigu Bosatsu, whose womb you have figuratively entered. It was surreal to be in a place so dark that you cannot see your hand in front of your face.
From Kiyomizu, we went for a long, but leisurely walk to Heian-jingu, a shrine with a spacious courtyard and a gigantic torii. Along the way, we saw some other temples, a nice municipal park, and many more shops. The courtyard at Heian is all sand, and I enjoyed watching a groundskeeper methodically raking the sand as it neared closing time.
For dinner, we had plans to check out a tofu restaurant on Ponto-cho, a tiny street filled with dozens restaurants right along the river. We had some information about the restaurant written on a scrap of paper, but struggled to find it. We found another tofu restaurant recommended by my Lonely Planet Kyoto app, but tragically, it was closed on Wednesdays. We eventually asked an employee of another restaurant for directions to the first tofu place, and they kindly make a phone call for us and then even walked us to its location! For whatever reason, the tofu restaurant turned out to be a bar, so we again took to the street and wandered around until we found a restaurant on the river that did small plates. The fried pumpkin in miso chicken sauce was awesome, but most of the other dishes were just okay. It was a bit chilly out, but we sat outside on the deck, which gave us a beautiful view of the water.
After dinner, we checked out a bar called Highball so we could sit down and do some postcard writing. One of the only things I actively dislike about Japan is that smoking is still allowed indoors. It wasn't too terrible inside the bar, but once we left, we reeked of smoke. Nonetheless, there was something delightfully international about being in a Japanese bar, listening to American pop music, drinking a Moscow Mule.
