The Wandering Chocoholic

Day two in Kyoto. I really think I could have spent days in Kyoto, but instead, I tried to get a flavour for the city in just a day and a half. Yes, my feet are very tired.

Fushimi Inari shrine

In the morning, I visited the Fushimi Inari shrine. This is the famous one from all the photos, with the hundreds of torii gates, all lined up next to one another creating mazes and pathways over a mountain area that cover about 4 kilometers. I didn’t walk all the way to the top, mostly for lack of time, but it was incredibly cool even seeing the small portion of the place that I did see. There are shrines everywhere, and it’s entirely in the woods, with pine, cedar and bamboo trees. There are also statues of foxes everywhere, since foxes are supposed to be the messengers of Inari, who is the Shinto god of rice.

At the shrine, there were families everywhere, since it was a Sunday. In a lot of cases, the children were dressed up in elaborate kimono, and they all seemed to like posing for pictures. A lot of the women were also dressed in kimono, same as I’d noticed the day before.

Marketplace

For lunch, I headed to Nishiki market, which is the largest food market street in Kyoto. You can buy literally anything at Nishiki. I bought some udon noodles, and later, a small bottle of sake as a souvenir. I’m not really much of a shopper.

The palace that wasn’t

Opting to spend the rest of the day just wandering around Kyoto, I ended up at the Imperial Park. I was able to see plenty of people out enjoying the weekend, including baseball players, tennis players, dog-walkers and cyclists. I wasn’t able to see the Imperial Palace, however, as it’s closed to the public and surrounded by high walls.

On the way there, I walked by Kyoto City Hall, which had what looked like a huge open-air flea market set up out front. Apparently, this is a regular Sunday event.

And of course, it being Kyoto, there were shrines everywhere. I don’t know the names of all of them that I saw, but they were pretty.

Pub grub

For dinner, I got a truly unique experience. We went to an izakaya, which is a Japanese-style pub. Aside from beer, they serve excellent hearty food in a fun, lively atmosphere. We had a great time experimenting with different dishes. The chicken sukiyaki, cooked in a broth at the table, was a hit. The dumplings also got thumbs-up, as did the potato and cheese salad. The raw chicken skewers, on the other hand, just got us puzzled. I understand they are considered a delicacy, but I can’t wrap my head around the idea of raw chicken. Some things are not meant to be served rare. Fish, yes. Chicken, no. Despite this, the food was some of the best I’ve had in Japan so far, and we had a fantastic time.

Apologies

To everyone back home following this blog, I have to apologize; I don’t have much time to get online so I’m a couple of days behind on the blog entries. Photos are also to follow later. Despite this, hope you’re enjoying reading so far, and I’ll try to catch up as soon as I can.
Up next: Himeji Castle