Japan, part 1: Kyoto

I went to Japan last week for 7 days. I started out in Kyoto and spent two and a half days there. It was amazing. It's a great place to visit, especially if you're interested in nature and seeing many different shrines and temples. It was the winter, so many of the gardens were brown and had no leaves, but it was still impressive. This makes me wonder how much more beautiful it will be come spring or during fall.

On my first day, I went to see the Fushimi-inari-taisha Shrine, recognizable for its hundreds of gates. Here you can get an idea of just how many there are:

I misread how far the path was and ended up hiking a lot further than I had originally intended. But it was still pretty cool to walk through. There were mini shrines to the fox placed throughout the area.

 

 

I also visited Byodo-In, a Buddist temple. This was actually just outside of Kyoto proper, in the city of Uji. It houses the very impressive Phoenix Hall which you can go in and see (an extra 300 yen) but there's no photography allowed and you have to take your shoes off.

 

 

This is the statue inside the Phoenix Hall, taken from outside.

In Uji, they also had a museum dedicated to "The Tale of Genji". Having read most of the book, I decided to go visit it. The layout is nice and there's a 15 minute video you can watch with an audio translation in English.

I also went to Kyoto Tower, which is similar to Seoul's Namsan Tower but smaller. There's standing room only, and the 360 walk around area is small. But what makes it a little scary is that the main viewing platform sticks out further than the level below it. Also, I don't like heights, so doing these kinds of things is always a little nerve-racking for me.

 

I know the lighting is wrong in this photo, but it gives the best view of the skyline.

The Kyoto Tower mascot is super cute^^

On the second day, I went to Arashiyama Monkey Park.

Now, if you read any of the the guidebooks, it'll tell you that there's a considerable hike to get up to the monkey viewing area. This made me think it was a long walk with a small to moderate incline. But let me clarify this - you climb up a mountain to get to the monkeys. This is not a hike for the lazy or physically out of shape. There are a lot of stairs that have to be climbed before you even reach the split between the shorter, more taxing hike or longer, more winding and slightly easier walk up the mountain. However, that being said, it was pretty cool to see the monkeys up close. They're the Japanese snow monkeys with the red faces, and they were just out there in the open, and it's the humans that have to stay within certain boundaries.

The view is also pretty impressive.

 

The park does have three rules which they reinforce whenever possible. Be sure to follow them if you go to visit!

Then I continued in the Arashiyama area with a 4 hour walk/hike to the various temples and shrines in the neighboring area. I even got lost on route, though there were usually signs at major intersections and splits in the road to tell you where you were. Next time, I'd rent a bicycle to speed up the trip and make it more enjoyable for my feet. The gem of all those places? The Temple of Ghi-ohji, which is described more as a tiny hermitage than a temple. The ground is covered in moss and still very green even at the end of January, making it one of the most beautiful places I saw at this time of year.

The only drawback of Kyoto? To see all these lovely places, it costs money. On average, 500 yen, which roughly comes out to $5, depending on what the current exchange rate is.

Oh, and I stayed at Ayado-Gion Guesthouse. They're on Hostelworld.com and on Facebook. It's in a great location and the the staff are friendly. They also have a nice lounge area and the rooms are very clean.