My Solo Trip to Kyoto, Japan

Welcome aboard! It was time to head back into the city. My next stop was Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan. To get there from Magome, I took a local bus to Nakatsugawa, a JR train to Nagoya, and finally a Shinkansen to Kyoto Station. On my first full day in Kyoto, I was out the door fairly early as I had lots to see. Given Kyoto's role as the capital city of Japan until 1868, it is historically significant. Much of the tourism here centers around the city's numerous temples. But first, I took the bus to Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, a place that I'm sure many of you are familiar with as it is highly photographed. Right next door is Tenryu-ji, a Zen Buddhist temple. The buildings here have been destroyed many times throughout its history, but incredibly, the beautiful garden has remained relatively unscathed. After crossing the Togetsu Bridge, I went to the Arashiyama Monkey Park. Located atop Mount Arashiyama, the park is home to over 120 free-roaming Japanese macaques. There were a few ground rules for visitors. You can't stare into the monkeys' eyes, you can't crouch down, and you can only feed them from within the hut. For 50 yen, I got a bag of apples to feed the monkeys. At lunch, I went to a small and unassuming restaurant called Arashiyama Curry, specializing in Japanese curry. Belly full, I took the subway and bus to get to Ryōan-ji, another Zen temple. It's home to Japan's most famous rock garden. Here, small pebbles that have been raked into lines surround an arrangement of larger rocks. It was quite calming to look upon, which is something I never thought I would say about staring at what is essentially to put it crudely, a bunch of rocks. From here, it was a 20 minute walk to my next stop, yet another Zen Buddhist temple. Kinkaku-ji is known for its beautiful gold leaf covering, and it sits picture perfect within a large pond. In the evening, I went for a walk through the Pontocho and Gion districts. Pontocho is a narrow alley by the river featuring numerous restaurants, many of which have large patios overlooking the river. Gion is a traditional entertainment district in Kyoto's most famous geisha district. Finally, I stepped into an udon restaurant for dinner. Right before returning to my hotel for the night, I came across a market street with many capsule toy machines, known as gashapon. These are very popular in Japan, and I definitely wasn't going to leave Japan without trying one. I started out my second day in Kyoto at Kiyomitsu Deira, a Buddhist temple established in 780 on the eastern side of Kyoto. The temple's most well-known feature is its large wooden stage that hangs over the hillside, providing views over the city. You can also find the Otowa waterfall here that gives the temple its name. Kiyomitsu means pure water. Drinking from one of the streams here is said to have benefits for either school, love, or longevity. Some wandering around eventually led me to Maruyama Park. Here, I stumbled upon a lady feeding some cats, so I sat down to watch for a while. For lunch, I went to a place serving up a Kyoto specialty, Nishin Soba, or Herring Soba. In the afternoon, I decided to visit another temple. Nansenji is yet another Zen Buddhist temple. The grounds here are open to visitors free of charge, but you'll have to pay a small fee to go up to the balcony of the Sanmon Gate. What's interesting here is that an aqueduct runs through the temple grounds. This was built in the Meiji period and was used to carry water between Kyoto and Lake Biwa. After seeing all these temples, I needed a little break. Nearby was a really cute and homey little cafe called Coffee Matsu, run by a sweet, elderly gentleman. With that, I finished off my last full day in Kyoto with a lovely walk back to my hotel, soaking in the gorgeous sunset. Of course, I couldn't leave Kyoto without visiting the famous Fushimi Inari Shrine. If you've seen photos of Japan, you've probably seen photos of this place. I got there the next morning around 8am, and there were definitely people there already, but it wasn't too busy yet. The shrine is dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Inari's messengers are believed to be foxes, which explains the abundance of fox statues throughout. The most famous feature of this shrine, however, is the thousands of torii gates lining the trails leading up Mount Inari. Torii gates mark the transition to a sacred space. All of these gates, arranged so closely together, create a stunning illusion of a tunnel.