The Fushimi Inari Journey

Fushimi Inari is a must-visit when in Kyoto – the sheer bold red of the numerous torii lining the mountain is such a fascinating way to immerse oneself in the reverence of the Shinto deities. I don’t subscribe to any religion myself, but the detail and thought behind religious structures has always been a source of awe at mankind’s devotion to art via the divine.

Our trip to Fushimi Inari started off with what would become our daily ritual of hopping onto the nearest train station towards Kyoto station:

This open-air platform was so pretty in the clear winter skies!

Ruru matching her new Snoopy shoes with a pair of awesome The ScreamÂ socks I bought for her in Korea some time back. :)

IÂ tried aÂ Murasaki Imo (purple sweet potato) waffle.

Manneken was our favourite snack shop in Kyoto station! We bought something from there everyday if I recall correctly.

This trip with Shasha and Ruru was my second time visiting Fushimi Inari-taisha, but the first time I’d ever attempted to climb up past the first tier. It was so crowded! Somehow between the last time I visited and this trip, Fushimi Inari had attained the enviable number one spot in TripAdvisor’s rankings. Was slightly miffed at having to squeeze with the crowd, but also glad that one of my favourite places is getting the recognition it long deserves. Before embarking on our climb up the mountain, we naturally had to stock up on all the food lining the street leading up to the entrance! We didn’t have a big enough stomach to try all the food there, but we sure tried:

Aah my favourite place to be. Being back here made me so so happy. Also, was that old man walking a wolf?!

We decided to take a detour from the torii and climb up some steep steps which led to a viewing platform somewhere higher up on the mountain. The scenery was so different at some points – it felt like I was transported into some german fairy tale being surrounding by such thick and spiky trees. Also, lots and lots of shrines and no one else around. Pretty eerie, but no regrets:

Komorebi (æœ¨æ¼ã‚Œæ—¥) – beautiful word for a beautiful sight.

We couldn’t believe that we’d climbed all the way up, way past the viewing platform. Time to descend.

Some sights on our way back down the mountain:

Love that my friends are always game for some photo-op shenanigans. Always so fun! Am remembering that time when I threw fallen leaves with Deb & Jac at UCLA too. Some things just never change. :)

We finally left Fushimi Inari and took a busÂ to Higashiyama for an evening stroll:

IÂ can’t get over how beautiful dusk can beÂ outside of the equator.

Got a freeÂ yummy sample at one of the shops.

Very amused by this super lucky tanuki.

Dinner was had at a muslim-friendly restaurant near Kyoto Station. Ginza Hageten (éŠ€åº§ãƒã‚²å¤© ) served the most delicious tempura don for only 1,080 yen (SGD $14)!