The best way to get around Kyoto is via bike.
Temples, Shrines and Peddling
After convincing Chris that it would be a great idea, we walked to the local bike hire to grab ourselves some bikes to tour around Kyoto. We were grateful for having a more relaxing day previous, as this day was our biggest yet.
The bike hire was opposite the Higashi Hongan-Ji Temple and there were some market stalls at the front of the temple. There were all kinds of crafts being sold, from jewellery to honey and bonsai. There was even a Ukrainian food stall!
We decided to grab electric assisted bikes as we weren’t sure of the terrain to the temples we wanted to visit. They were great and now both of us are considering getting one to get around Auckland.
First stop was the Gion district to explore the Yasaka Shrine and Chion-In Temple. The only issue was that Hanamikoji Dori (street) is strictly no cycling. We were also hesitant to ride on the road adjacent, so we walked the bikes a couple of blocks to get to the bike parking for the Yasaka Shrine. That was an excruciatingly painful experience as it was a Saturday and there were throngs of tourists everywhere.
What was also weird was that we spotted no real Geisha, only tourists dressed in Kimono which produces this odd costume party vibe. You can hire Kimono to wear for the day, and many tourists around Gion did this.
The Yasaka Shine and surrounding Maruyama Park were beautiful. Whilst it was incredibly busy, we had no problems finding park benches to rest, have a sip of water and eat a snack.
Once we were thoroughly “over it” from all the people, the heat and the walking/peddling, we returned to our hotel to collect our laundry and find a laundromat. As a treat for doing this small but important errand, we found an ice-cream parlour that made their own flavours such as carrot and beetroot. Chris had hazelnut and Chantal had rum and raisin (that was 1% alcohol!).
The Cats of the Fushimi Inari Taisha
Fushimi Inari Taisha is the Shinto deity who feeds, clothes, and houses so that all can live in pleasure. Foxes are the messengers of this deity, which may be why they are depicted with a scroll in their mouths.
The gateways (of which there are so many!) are called Torii. According to the FAQ, there are around 10,000 of these at the Fushimi Inari Taisha!
Apart from the remarkable significance of this Shinto Shine for these reasons, we also planned to visit in the evening as we had heard there were cats who come out in the evening when the crowds of tourists thin out. We were rewarded for our efforts and sighted a couple of these shrine cats! Unlike other cats we have met on our travels, these cats were not affectionate and did not want to be approached. They all looked reasonably healthy though!
We ended up taking a detour within the Shrine grounds which, in the fading daylight, made for a rather creepy adventure. There were bamboo woods on this small hike, and after dark we heard the screech of cats fighting. It was pitch black with the only source of light from our phones. We were thoroughly creeped out, and made our way out of the Shine grounds fairly quickly after that.
It was a massive day and we ended up doing close to 25,000 steps again! Tomorrow, we have decided not to do any hiking and instead have a look around the Kyoto shopping district and relax.
Chris and Chantal 