Kindred Escapades: Japan, Land of the Rising Sun (Kyoto Day Three): Southern Kyoto - Fushimi Inari Shrine, Daigoji Temple and Uji City

Kyoto plays a special part in our trip because it gave us (me, especially) the rest we deserve. It is like going home to a province or in SG slang, its like going back to a kampung. Sleep is truly an experience when nature serves as your lullaby. My favorites are the sound of crickets and flowing stream at night and in the morning the natural alarm of the chirping birds and natural light illuminating the room to start your day. My husband who is not a morning person, wakes up earlier than all of us and takes pictures-- obviously of me and Casey as the models. I am pretty sure it's not jet lag.

I love the futon beds! They gave extra for Casey as well so we actually have half the room on futon, it look like king + queen sized beds.

This is us in our yukata provided by the ryokan. Too bad there is none for Casey.

Our 3rd Day in Kyoto is officially to look into the POIs in our checklist.

Our first POI for the day is the Fushimi Inari Shrine. If you go by Wiki Inari is the patron of business and the god of rice, each of the torii in the shrines is donated by businessman. Our guidebook says it has 10,000 vermilion torii gates, which covers 4 kilometers. We saw a good number of pictures of this shrine in our research and decided that we have to be in the place.

We look into the bus routes in Kyoto Station and off we go. The buses pretty much are free with the 2 day bus pass we bought. It works like Singapore buses but much older yet maintained really well and very clean too.

The bus also have special seats for elderly, handicapped, pregnant and mother with child.

The people in the river are cleaning-- picking up garbage while the water is relatively low and wading is possible. Exactly why their canals are clean that even fish and crabs can survive in it. We know so because we can see the river bed.

We got to cross real and operational train tracks. We also got to witness a train crossing. It was exciting not only for Casey but for me too, obviously!

As you enter the shrine you'll be met with this structure. It functions like any other temple of course. With our experience from the temples we've visited, we did the the same thing starting with purifying ourselves. Wash the hands, face, and mouth-- that's what we remembered anyway.

Foxes that serve as messengers are also seen in the shrine, mostly with a key in their mouths. The idea basically means the foxes carries the key to the rice granary or good business.

We have to walk through a pathway in the mountains to see the thousand toriis and it starts with the huge ones. Then it breaks out to smaller versions then broken into two paths before a medium sized version lines up the rest of the mountain.

This man is repainting one torii and we can see a good number of them along the way. Maintenance of the torii must be tough as its made of wood. We saw a few, probably because of age, show signs that looks like it had been infested by termites. Nevertheless, the place is a sight to behold. We can't help but take too many pictures!

We climbed further up and we saw smaller shrines with the foxes in every shrine.

We walked past this bamboo trees to see the giant fishes in a lake nearby.

Obviously, Casey got tired of walking and we had to take turns carrying him around.

We got our first yukata here because the time we were in their market it was really expensive. The ones here are not that pricey yet had unique designs. I got one for Casey and myself! The husband is not really a fan yet he just looks forward to the day that he can photograph us both wearing our yukatas in Singapore.

This solar-powered butterfly toy got our attention. Casey won't let go of it anymore so we had to buy it.

Our first meal in tatami mats. As I research on the etiquettes of eating in Japan (as I am writing this blog), I have to say we got most of it wrong. My seating position (indian squat) is how men should sit. Anyhow, as far as the food is concerned, it was truly authentic! We are in Japan after all. ˜wink

Casey saw the ice cream sign again and said, 'I scream for ice cream!' A phrase his dad taught him. This was a soya-based macha ice cream. The owner said it is not the usual ice cream. I can turn it upside down and it won't fall off. We got to try that for ourselves.

On the way to the train station, we passed by a pastry shop. They were making fortune cookies and other traditional Japanese cookies. Just a bit of trivia. Fortune cookies, usually served as desserts in Chinese restaurants, did not originate in China. In fact, China do not serve this cookie and the recipe is based from a Japanese cookie recipe. It was made famous by Asian immigrants in the US. It has been accepted and practiced in US-based Chinese restaurants.

When we saw this actual pastry shop, we got to try it ourselves. It is like the usual fortune cookie we get to eat at Chinese restaurants but twice the size and darker in color. We bought a few cookies/candies too for Casey's party in Cebu. During the time we were there, there were freshly-baked batch of cookies. The owner eagerly gave a few to Casey.

We passed by quaint shop houses that are practically situated near the train station. Even then, they look traditional, kept clean and truly Japanese. They also take advantage of the fact that there are lots of tourist passersby so most of these houses are turned to business establishments.

Our second POI for the day is Daigoji Temple. We practically learned about it in our Japan guidebook and saw that it is just a few train stops away from Fushimi Inari Shrine. We really didn't know what to expect as we just want to explore the POIs in the southern part of Kyoto. I have to say this is the BEST temple (and to think we have visited a lot!) for me mainly because of the serenity. As it is situated away from the usual tourist spots, we saw few visitors. It was even outside the 2-day free bus area. It was also quite an effort to get to the place. We have to wait for a bus that goes around only every 30 minutes or something along that timing. Nevertheless, it was worth it! You can actually see it in the pictures too. I feel like it described the Japan that I had in mind making this visit truly worth it. So, without much further ado..

Ladies and gentlemen, this is Japan! :)

Daigoji is a Buddhist temple explaining the presence of occasional monks.

A canopy of maple trees covered the walkway!

The photobomber guy looked scary!

Goju-no-to (five story pagoda) is a national treasure. It is 38 meters tall. Constructed on 936 and finished during 951. No I did not miss out the 1 in the beginning. Yes it is that old.

This is my favorite spot in this trip! I feel like we are part of a Japanese painting! This spot is called the Bentendo Hall. This is famous during autumn when the maple leaves and gingkoes turn red and yellow. We were there in summer. It was almost ending so a few leaves are turning red. It is still a sight to behold. We stayed here for quite a long time. Enjoying the view, listening to the breeze and birds, feeding the fish and Casey also chose the perfect spot to drink his milk.

That's a gardener inside the shrubs, working his magic and creating this wonderful piece of art

There was another wing of the Daigoji where you have to climb a mountain of some sort but given the limited time we had we chose only one wing. This is in a city in the outskirts of Kyoto already called Daiogo.

Our guidebook described a smaller town further down. We didn't have the details in the map at this point since we only have a Kyoto map. Following where our itchy feet takes us we went for it. Truly, a road less traveled...

Off we go to Uji.

This town is known for its tea fields and the highly valued leaves they produce. It was about late afternoon when we got there and I feel the small town, provincial feel already. I love it!

The intention was just to walk around look for a nice place to eat dinner before going back to Kyoto but what I found was the salon that I have been pushing off in this trip. I have looked at possible salons to have my hair permed in Japan, but because we always lacked time I feel that it won't be as important as discovering a new place. I suppose it's meant to be to have my hair permed in Japan because just when we have extra time in our hands we found this quaint little shop that accommodated my request. Also, the owner/manager of the salon used to work in Singapore so pretty much it was quite easy to talk to her and explain what I wanted. Apart from getting the perm that I wanted, it was the service thats impeccable! We have to learn from the Japanese when it comes to customer service. I truly felt special and beautiful when I got out of that salon.