Back in September, I visited Japan with friends traveling through Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. I previously visited Kyoto in 2009 (blog posts here), but saw completely different sights during this visit.
- My first visit was to the popular Fushimi Inari-taisha shrine, which sits at the base of a mouintain. Its pathways up and around the mountain are lined with torii gates.
- Miniature torii gates are a common feature as you climb the mountain.
- “Ema” are small wooden plaques on which prayers or wishes are written.
- Many street food vendors will prepare the food right in front of you.
- A tour of the river was a nice relaxing way to see part of Kyoto.
- The tour guide didn’t speak English, but he was friendly and accommodating to everyone. I got the sense that he had been doing this for a while.
- The Kamo River Walkway. Many restaurants on the left allow you to dine with a view of the river.
- Kyoto’s downtown has a wide variety of retail choices, like most of Japan’s cities. I noticed that several different buildings across many blocks all shared the same overhang system above the sidewalk, which I assume is designed to make it more convenient to get around when it’s raining.
- I loved the colourful lights of this game centre. While arcades fell out of favour in North America during the 1990’s, they continue to flourish in Japan.