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Published: April 15th 2024
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We decided to have the hotel buffet breakfast which was good and set off fairly late around 09:40am. It was only a short 12 minute trip on the train to the Inari Station, right opposite the temple entrance, but we hadn't counted on the number of different lines converging into Kyoto Station. Like living opposite Central Station in Sydney but much more complicated. Took us quite some time to work out where we had to go and then had a long wait in the train before it set off.
Reached the temple entrance at 10:25 and proceeded to follow the hordes of tourists. Fushimi Inari Taisha is the head of all of Japan's Inari Shrines. Inari is the Shinto God of Rice. Its famous for its thousands of vermilion
torii gates, which straddle a network of trails behind its main buildings. We probably went up about half way before deciding to turn back. It takes 2-3 hours to go all the way to the peak of Mt Inari and back again. The whole area is set in a beautiful forest and it is possible to find quiet locations away from all the tourists if you go off the torii gate trail.
We saw quite a few tourists dressed in traditional kimonos which they hire from a few local businesses. On the way down we had morning tea at a cafe in a lovely forest setting. It specialised in matcha tea which Krissy and I enjoy but Daisy doesn't. They also had special matcha desserts which we also tried.
After leaving Fushimi Inari, Krissy a keen on trying a cafe she saw on Instagram called Panel. We got there around 14:45 and decided to queue and took about 40 minutes before got a table. We ordered three types different burgers and three different desserts (which were the real reason for going there). Food was great and the desserts were similar to the souffle pancakes we had at Kawaguchiko, but Daisy thought these were better. We didn't leave until 16:30.
Then it was shopping time , first at the Kyoto Disney store and then a second hand shop called Three Stars. I volunteered to play with Oscar outside while the ladies went in. It was very successful for Krissy buying one pair of shoes and nine pieces of clothing for around $200. The merchandise they sell is second hand but very
good quality. It's a very popular store.
We had tickets for a show called Gear at 19:00 so they finished shopping just in time for me to rush over (only 12 minutes walk away) and get the tickets on a ticket machine. It's another strange way here, where sometimes you pre-purchase tickets but still have to get the actual tickets from a machine either at Lawson or, in this case, at the venue. The show was all mime, so language wasn't an issue. The show itself was absolutely fantastic with elements of mime, kabuki, dance, break dancing, juggling and magic plus fantastic special effects. They knew we had a child with us, so when they gave me the tickets, they told me which seat was for him and there was cushion already there for Oscar. We all thoroughly enjoyed it, Oscar wanted to see it again and he was laughing and dancing along during the show.
It was then a 12 minute walk back to the closest station and another short train ride back to our hotel.
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