An Escapade in Japan -- Part 5

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Fushimi Inari Shrine, Inari

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My notes for 22 Feb. consist of a single line :
“Charu does the Kyoto sightseeing on her own (Familiarizing)”.

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I had expected that to travel alone in a strange city, I would require at least one day of roaming around the nearby area of the hotel but the previous day’s travel had emboldened me and so I decided to go to Fushimi Inari on my own.

However, to reach Fushimi Inari, I needed to go to the Kyoto station first, from where I could take the JR train to Fushimi Inari.

That day, at breakfast, we met with a lot of people from all over the Globe - from Hong Kong, Philippines, Pakistan, USA -- but I believe the Indian contingent was the largest. There were people from Mumbai, Bangalore, Vizag, Kolkata, Trivandrum and other towns.

They talked shop (IT security) but they also shared their knowledge about Japan travel. The Philippino advised me to travel to Enoshima Island when we visited Kamakura. The Bangalore man was still full of their Fujiyama experience. He, along with his wife, was able to do a complete circuit of the Hakone area on a cloudy day when suddenly Mount Fuji decided to throw away the mantle of fog that had covered it and appeared on the horizon like an apparition. Thereafter, the day had cleared and they had wonderful views of Mount Fuji.

They all agreed that travelling in Japan was really easy.

“The railway station is the hub of all activities. All the tour buses start from the Kyoto station and it also serves the long-distance trains as well as the subways.” They declared.

OK, so far so good, but how to reach the Kyoto station from the Conference hotel, which was situated in a very scenic setting but in a remote area from the Kyoto station?

After the breakfast, they all went for the Conference and I decided to approach the concierge of the hotel and ask her about the directions to the Kyoto station.

The previous day, when we had travelled on the 102 bus to Nijo Castle, I had noticed that the nearest bus-stop of 100 Raku bus from our hotel, was at Jingu Michi. So, I asked the concierge how to go to Jingu Michi.

“Oh, it is just the square where you see the large Torii leading to Heian Shrine.” She answered.

“Actually, I want to go to the Kyoto station. Should I take the 100 bus from Jingu Michi? I asked her.

Of course, I knew perfectly well that the subway from Keage would take me to the Kyoto station, but I was most reluctant to travel by the subway.

Japan has quite low crime-rate. Subways are quite safe in Japan but I was still terrified of travelling by the subway because I hadn’t quite figured out how to buy the ticket at the vending machine.

The concierge solved my problem in one stroke.

“Oh, you can take the hotel shuttle to the station, which runs every half an hour.” She said.

I was overjoyed, to say the least. Now I was confident that I would be able to see Fushimi Inari on my own.

I turned from the concierge in this happy frame of mind and saw another Indian lady checking her luggage out. (A lady in a salwar-kameez/saree with a bindi on her forehead is recognized anywhere as an Indian lady.) She turned out to be the wife of the Bangalore man.

In the normal course, I would have formed an alliance with her for the purpose of sightseeing, since BOTH our husbands would be busy in the conference, but she had checked out and they were moving to another hotel near the Kyoto station, which was a very smart move.

So, I had to go to Fushimi Inari all alone.

But now, with the hotel shuttle, it was easy to go to the station and then on to Inari station, from where the Shrine is just a few steps away.

Fushimi Inari is a ‘Shinto’ shrine.

Now, don’t ask me about Japanese religion. I know nothing about it except that most of the Japanese follow both Buddhism and Shinto religions.

I am interested in visiting shrines/temples/mosques/churches for their architectural beauty.

And, Fushimi Inari is a beautiful shrine in a beautiful setting.

It is also described as ‘The ultimate Torii experience’ because behind the shrine, thousands of Toriis line up the hiking trails that go up the Inari Mountain.

I went up to the point where the paths bifurcate and then came back, shopping for a kimono on the way, but I did not buy any.

I cannot upload any photos of Fushimi Inari here because Avinash did not entrust me with his camera after my Miyajima photo-shoot.

I came back from Fushimi Inari to Kyoto station alright, but then I got stuck. I just could not find the hotel shuttle stop.

For half an hour I was trying to discover the stop but found a McDonald’s instead.

That is what Serendipity is all about.

I am extremely fond of the Big Mac. He is the friend that I search for in every city that I visit. Sometimes he is sitting outside in his red and yellow dress with a clown’s face grinning at the passers-by and sometimes there is just a big ‘M’ to denote his presence; but I know that I have found an oasis in a culinary desert when I see him.

So, with Big Mac’s blessings inside me - burger, French fries and Coke - I renewed my search for the stop and found it. I came back to the hotel and was surprised to see the same Indian lady sitting with another Indian lady (she was the wife of the Kolkata man) in the hotel lobby.

They had visited the nearby shrines and were now waiting for their husbands, who joined them shortly and then all of them piled in two taxis and left for another hotel.

I went back to my room and had a nice nap. The cold, sunny day had turned cloudy.

Kyoto is ringed on all sides with a series of lovely green hills. The clouds hung low between the valleys and strongly reminded me of the Chinese/Japanese paintings.

When Avinash came back to the room, it had started drizzling.

Avinash informed me that one Mr. N.S. would be coming to our room and we would be going out for dinner. Mr. N.S. had found a Keralite restaurant in the city and wanted to try it.

‘In this weather’? I queried. I was wearing the ‘yukata’ provided by the hotel and had settled down to an enjoyable read and had no great desire to go out.

However, Mr. N.S. persuaded us that 5 degree centigrade was tolerably cold weather, especially for a sizzling hot Indian curry.

We just checked the kimono prices in the hotel-shop because I wanted to buy some and he too wanted one.

We did go to the Keralite restaurant by the subway and really enjoyed the meal.

Mr. N. S. informed me that all the Indians (11 people) who had come for the conference had booked a ‘Kyoto-Darshan’ tour for the next day (Price, 12,000 yen each, about 120 USD) and I could join them if I wished, but I declined because I had different plans for the next day.

Mr. N.S. was also keen to see a Japanese tea-ceremony, which reminded me that I had come across a website which had shown how it could be done without going to a tea-house, because we happened to be in Kyoto on a very special day - 25th February. Every year on 25th Feb. a small shrine ‘Kitano Tenmangu’ hosts a ‘free’ tea-ceremony called ‘Baikasai’ in their large plum-grove, in which ‘geikos’ (this word means a trained geisha, Silly, and NOT a wall-lizard) and ‘meikos’ from nearby ‘geisha’ district participate and make tea. (2002 plum trees in full blossom would be a sight to behold, I thought. After seeing the few flowering plum trees in Nijo castles’s garden, I was sold upon them.)

The shrine also holds a large flea-market every 25th of the month.

So, we had a chance of witnessing two yearly events (Baikasai and plum trees that are in full bloom in February.) and one monthly event (flea-market) simultaneously on 25th Feb.

I informed Mr. N.S. about this opportunity but he was leaving for India before 25th Feb.

The biggest advantage of going out to dinner with Mr. N. S. was that we lost our fear of stepping out in the cold (3 degree centigrade) and rainy weather. (Guys, give us a break. We are Mumbaites. Any temperature below 20 degree centigrade is ‘awfully cold’ for us.) It stood us in good stead because the next 4-5 days were all rainy and cold.

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