22/09/15 - Kyoto

Going to Kyoto was one thing that I really wanted to do so badly, and finally I was able to do it. The trip was organised late in the kitchen one night and it just became a big thing, where only 4 of us going became 10. I think the extra people made it so much better, because we could all enjoy it together.

The day started early because the shrines we were visiting for Silver Week all close at 5pm, so we left around 9:30am. It took a long train set of train rides to get there with some running. I even experienced my first rush hour train (although not bad compared to Tokyo apparently which makes me really concerned). But, eventually we could all get off the train and that was a huge relief.

It was so hot outside, and I really wished that I had every form of sun protection out there (hat, sunscreen, umbrella, sunglasses etc.) but I only had sunscreen and if I'm being honest it didn't really feel like it worked very much. We walked through huge markets that were full of people and food before we even get close to the shrine. It all looked so amazing and I think a few of us wanted to stop and eat something, but we powered on. The shrine we went to was called Fushimi Inari and had over 10,000 gates up a mountain which we intended to climb eventually, so that is why we were walking fast. Before taking the climb we wanted to look around the shrine, so we cleansed our body and mind at Water Place by pouring water on our hands with a stick.

We went to line up at the offertory box at the shrine, and when it was my turn I felt like I had no idea what I was doing. The offertory box is where you offer a donation in order in return for a wish. You have to ring a bell and then clap 3 times after throwing your money. It's really fun doing it, but my first try I think I looked a bit funny. Maybe next time will be better. Afterwards we went and got our fortunes told! This is done by shaking a box with sticks in them and whatever stick comes out, the number on it you just remember and tell the person at the desk. Then, she gives you a piece of paper with your fortune. If your fortune is good, you keep your fortune. However, if your fortune is bad, you should tie it on the shrine. I got a good fortune apparently, but I can't remember what it says because it's all in Japanese. I remember it said I should be careful of my relationships though!

We started the walk and the Torii gates just amazed me! They're a bright orange and they're all individually made. Despite my poor fitness, I managed to make it to the top of the mountain somehow. There were some hard moments there, but it didn't take away from everything around me. There nature, the gates and the people I was with just made everything seem just a little bit special and I really would like to experience something like that again. When I got to the top I was really proud of myself. There were a few restaurants along the way, so we got ice cream at one point so it wasn't entirely hard work and no breaks. Though, when I say restaurants, I mean tiny wooden shed-like buildings with a few small options of food for the fatigued few. But, you can definitely still find vending machines! At the top of of the mountain is just another offertory box, but it's really beautiful. Going down was extremely, extremely hard! It was so steep. I thought it would be much easier because it's down hill but it really hurt my ankles. Eventually it became flatter, but mostly it was very vertical I think.

After leaving, we headed directly for Byodo-in, which is the building seen on the 10 yen coin. We got there when it was a bit darker so we couldn't see the best reflection of the building in the water. But, it's a really awesome building. It has a museum inside (with air conditioning!) and we got to learn some things about Japanese history.

We went even further into Kyoto after going there, but I don't know if anyone knew where we were going. We went into a shrine, but it was closed and it was just the eeriest thing I have ever seen. Because we were the only ones there, and it was getting dark I think it was just so creepy. I felt like I was getting cursed just by setting foot in there or something. But, thankfully because people were really hungry (it was dinner time and we hadn't eaten all day) we left pretty quickly.

The hunt for food was really tough! We had to take a train back to central Kyoto because I think we left at some point... I had a really hard time following where we actually were. We bumped into Yuri and ate at a really nice restaurant in the end. It took so long to find though! But, wow, sitting down for the first time all day was a really weird feeling. Especially then getting back to the dormitory, we all realised we had been walking for over 12 hours. I had ended up hurting my legs somehow, but it was such an amazing day I don't think I could forget it. Or at least, I don't want to forget it.