Today, we headed to one of the
most iconic flagship “shrines” (temple) located in Southern Kyoto. The magical,
seemingly endless trails of bright orange “torii” (A traditional Japanese gate
most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine) which leads
to the sacred Mount Inari. “Inari” is said to resemble “God of Rice” and the
people in Japan pray to this God for their harvest blessings while some may
choose monetary contribution (Typically, it ranges from 400,000 yen up to 1 mil
yen) to have their names engraved on these historical toriis. Anyways, here are
some of our pre-Torii photos:-
Posing with the colourful tulips
at roadside. (❛▿❛✿)
Spotted our first cherry blossom
of the day! (*⌒▽⌒*)θ～♪ Cherry blossom epitomises beauty and purity.
Walking along Kyoto street, you’ll feel romanticized. (❁´◡`❁)
Our morning breakfast at nearby
Family Mart. You’ll be amazed by the wide assortments of food-on-the-go at the
Mart. Ranging from cold snacks (Onigiri, Sandwhich, Bento & other
pre-packaged goodies) to warm snacks such as pastas, oden, chicken cutlet etc.
Best of all, they have freshly brewed order coffee machine. (*^▽^*)
Here’s me with my cup of
pre-packed Latte. (^∇^)
We set out early morning that day
as we thought it would be pretty crowded due to its tourist attraction hotspot.
When we reached approx.11am+, it was jam packed with locals (Mostly school
kids) and tourist alike. But, first thing first, an obligatory touristy photo
at the Shrine’s entrance. ⛩️
Look at the crowd. O.o
As soon as we entered the Shrine,
we did a customary practice of “purifying” ourselves with the water using the
bamboo laddle. This ritual is called “Temizuya” where worshipers need to
cleanse their hands and mouth before entering.
School kids everywhere.
Two-storied
Romon Gates (2nd pic).
Once we entered the shrine, we
can’t help but to notice the bold and striking colour of the Shrine. With its
vibrant hue, it starked contrast to the muted Spring colour. There was a spot
dedicated to prayers whom would like to mark their wishes on the wooden boards
and colourful strings. “Kitsune” (foxes) are believed to be messenger for the
God of Rice.
The vibrant shade of temple blends in well with the earthy
tones of Spring. 🎍
On another corner, there was a
section named Kagura-den; a hall where sacred music and dancing performed.
The network of trails which made
up from over 5,000 torii gates perfectly embodies the spiritual journey we were
embarking. Along the way, you’ve would have noticed the toriis were inscribed
with names of the public donors who wished to place their offerings to the God
in the form of monetary donation. Businessmen or company made their generous
sponsorship either to mark their names on the torii as a remembrance or just to
express gratitude to the God who granted their wishes.
Some Insta-worthy photos.
The map was equally
vibrant-coloured with multiple checkpoints.
After an exhaustive 40 – 45
minutes walk, we reached a resting point with an intriguing wishing rock
corner. The twist to this wishing corner required a little imagination whereby
it’s based on rock lifting. First, bow twice then clap your hands twice and
pray quietly for a moment before you lift the rock. It’s said that if the rock
is lighter than you’d imagined, your wish would be impending or come true. However,
if it’s heavier than you’d expected, your dream will be harder to achieve. Well,
it seems like mine was too surreal. (*≧▽≦)
We spotted some beautifully-clad
Japanese women in kimonos. Also, afew mini Torii shrine for visual delights. In no particular order, here are some of the pictures:-
Selfies along the way.
Finally, we dragged our tired
arses and reached the exit. We were truly amazed by the mystical yet
eye-catching temple. The virtue of perseverance and luxury nobility experienced
in the past were felt through the entire journey. And, we immensely enjoyed the
historical footage. (＝⌒▽⌒＝)
We were starving when we left the
shrine. Imagine our excitement when we saw the myriad stalls of local
delicacies. We can’t help but to devour the street food ranging from “dango”
(My favourite chewy glutinous balls; tasted like mochi), “ichigo” (Strawberry)
cheese tart, “yakisoba” (Stir fried noodle), takoyaki (Hubby’s favourite - ball-shaped
Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter), “okonomiyaki” (Japanese
savoury pancake), skewered meats and etc.
After the sumptuous snack feast,
we had a brief stroll with our full stomach along the street. But, soon enough,
we can’t contain our excitement when we stumbled upon Neko café (A cat-themed café
where you get to pat the flurry and cute kitties). We decided to go for the
20min therapeutic and kitties-pampering session while we get to enjoy some
cuppas or popsicles. Well, the unique concept comes with an expensive price tag
– costs up to 1000yen for a 20-min session. ∩(︶▽︶)∩
Look at the adorable kitties!!
Each comes with names and their personalities were recorded in a photo book for
us to browse through.
We, then, continued our trip to Nishiki market. Before
that, selfie against the bank of rivers and we managed to catch the train from
Inari station to Nishiki.
Once we reached Nishiki market, we
were greeted by a rock-n-roll styled music busker. There were afew merchandise
shops along the way such as Hello Kitty, Disney and those selling souveniers. Nishiki
market houses more than one hundred shops and restaurants in its single-lined narrow
street. It’s also known as “Kyoto Kitchen” with sheer number of shops selling
fresh seafood, dried seafood, pickles, gyoza and other savouries at an
affordable price. There were even fresh flowers! (⁎⚈᷀᷁▿⚈᷀᷁)
But, we managed to resist the
temptation and save our stomach for dinner later. We settled down at a local
Japanese restaurant which serves fresh sashimi and curry cutlet as their
signature dishes. As usual, I ordered 7-star fresh sashimi while Hubby ordered
his all-time favourite – Unagi with rice.
At night, we went for Japanese
drugstores hunting! Japanese pharmaceutical products are very popular because
they are high quality and the price is quite reasonable. However, prices may
vary depending on the season and store. We spotted Matsumoto Kiyoshi, one of
the popular pharmacy chains well known for its wide assortment of
pharmaceutical goods at a reasonable price. Managed to grab afew masks, pain-relief
medical magnets, herbs-induced patches, refreshing eye drops, Propolinse mouth
wash (Suitable for smokers) and even a cute squarish toothbrush. ∩__∩y
That's all for a tiring but happy Day-2 expedition! ^.^v
XOXO
sassycat
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