So we're on to our second day. We had an early start because our itinerary was to head to the Fushimi Inari Shrine to see the red tori gates. This was my second time to visit the shrine and I was hoping to be able to climb up a bit further than my first time there. We decided to wake up early so that we can kind of beat the crowds and tourists.
The morning was cold and foggy because of the rain last night and it drizzled throughout the day. I had to look for coffee shops the night before that were open around 7 to 7:30 am, so that we can have something decent and.....I needed my coffee in the morning!!!
Walking along the main road, we saw an interesting 7-11 that looked like a traditional Japanese entry way with lanterns lit up along the pathway. I think it was a nice way to incorporate something modern into the traditional and unusual.
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| Traditional pathway into a 7-11 store |
Maeda Coffee was also a close walk from our hotel around 8 to 10 minutes. This is the main shop in the Kyoto City Centre that opened back in 1971. The retro feel of the shop was really interesting and we were almost the first ones there so it was quiet and laid back. We were seated immediately and we ordered their breakfast sets with coffee or tea.
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| An old roaster and coffee beans at Maeda Coffee Main Store |
From our usual breakfasts, a simple toast really is like your most boring meal ever (maybe right next to microwaved oatmeal) but this place - and most of Japan in general - serve really good bread. They love their carbs from rice to noodles and, of course, bread. It may come as a surprise but this is a typical Japanese modern day breakfast. What's special here was definitely the quality of the bread - thickly sliced, lightly toasted and served with butter and jam. The texture was slightly crunchy and stretchy like tearing apart a ball of cotton, you'll still see the strands of the bread, holding on to itself on the edges. Finish this with a simple omelette, a side of thinly sliced cabbage salad and a smallish scoop of mashed potato, which may sound odd, makes a complete breakfast meal.
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| Thickly sliced and toasted bread, omelette as a standard breakfast set |
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| My breakfast choice : 2 small croissant sandwiches with bacon and one with egg salad |
After that, we're off to the shrine. Going to the shrine was a breeze using our JR passes, though there was some confusion on the lines and we weren't sure which one to take. For simplicity, we just followed the crowds, which we thought were also going to the shrine and we were right.
Going into the shrine is free and we had our fill of photos. It was difficult though because it started drizzling and it turned foggy as we went up. From here, I realised that you have to be physically fit to be able to travel around Japan, as people here walk A LOT and I rarely saw anyone who was over weight. Even little old ladies climb and walk faster than us! We weren't able to go halfway up the shrine and we called it quits.
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| The infamous red tori gates of the shrine |
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| Another angle of the long series of gates |
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| A match making shrine on our way down from the shrine |
When we reached the end of the shrine, there were food stalls lined up. Most of them sold food between 500 to 1000 yen, mostly anything that can be put on a stick from mochi balls, sliced pork, fake crab meat and seafood. The usual ones were takoyaki, gyoza and stir fried noodles. An issue that we found while eating street food in Japan was that there were no trash cans. On several occasions, we had to hold on to our trash until we found one or threw it out at the station.
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| A dango stand |
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| Food stalls outside the shrine |
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