Enjoying history in Kyoto

Travel Reports by Robbu

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November 15, 2013 - Enjoying history in Kyoto

The last stop before going back to Tokyo was the former capital city Kyoto. It's not so far from Osaka, so you can reach it by Shinkansen train by half an hour. First thing you notice is the huge Kyoto train station - it reminds you more of an airport than a train station! It's quite modern as well, so it sure stands out in the traditional city of Kyoto.

I spent the whole morning in the Fushimi Inari Shrine. A beautiful and huge shrine area, located in the middle of a forest. All the tall trees, as well as the rainy weather reminded me of a jungle, and the climate felt extremly different then to Osaka, where I enjoyed sunny and warm weather two days before. The Fushimi Inari is famous for its path with hundreds (if not thousands...) of Toriis, which create quite a surreal picture. Here and there you got statues, and places you can pray and wish for good luck. There are also some small tea rooms as well as some souvenir shops located on the way. And lots of vending machines, as everywhere in Japan.... Even on top of the hill, in surrounded by nothing but trees, you still have a vending machine nearby! Also you have a lot of view spots, where you can see the city of Kyoto in the back. As already mentioned, the rainy and foggy weather blocked the view a little bit, but you could still see through the clouds from time to time.

After I finished my walking tour, I bought some souvenirs as well as something to eat, and then I got back to the Kyoto train station. Right next to it stands the Kyoto Tower. It's not that high, but you still got great views over all of the city, the temples and shrines (including the Fushimi Inari, which I just visited), the mountains, and you can even see Osaka from there. Luckily, the weather changed, so I had a good view in all directions. In the afternoon, it was a sunny and quite warm day!

When I returned from the tower, I was asking the tourist information, if there are tours or something around the city, and I was lucky! A tour to the Golden Pavillon Temple as well as the Kiyomizu-dera Temple was just about to start! So I spontaneously joined this.

The Golden Pavillion Temple is pretty much what you can expect from the title - there is a golden pavillion. People are almost fighting there to get a good view spot of the building and everyone wants to shoot the perfect photo!

Kiyomizu-dera is located a little bit outside the city center, and it's another holy temple site. It's famous for the cherry blossom in spring, but it was also beautiful in fall, with all the red-coloured leafs on the trees! There is a spring of "holy water", which is believed to be good for the health, and you can imagine the waiting time there, to get some of the fresh water to drink...

Our tour ended in the late afternoon, and afterwards, we headed back to the train station, where I was able to catch the next Shinkansen bullet train back to Tokyo, where I arrived safely after a 3-hour ride.