This was our first full day of actual sightseeing! I was so excited to be visiting Fushimi Inari Taisha. We learned from lots of videos that it gets really crowded there so it’s best to get there pretty early in the morning, as close to sunrise as possible. We wanted to leave by 6am but we realized the public bath/showers at our hotel aren’t open until 5:30am so we were a little behind schedule. We took the JR Nara line (woot woot for getting more use out of that Japan Rail unlimited pass!) to Inari Station and walked just a couple of minutes to get to the entrance of the shrine.

It was already a little crowded by 7am, but we were still able to get pretty nice pictures. We stopped at the beginning to purify our hands and mouth before entering. We did not pray, ring the bell or clap and bow, however it seemed like we could have participated in that if we wanted to.

The torii gates were so cool! Some were shorter and closer together, others were huge.

As you climbed higher up the mountain (Mt. Inari), they got further and further apart. We decided we would climb all the way up. We didn’t realize just how many steps were involved! I looked it up afterwards and according to the internet it is 12,000 steps up to the top. That seems a little high to me, but I would have guessed at least 2,000 steps. It was brutal on our legs, especially our calf muscles.

There was a viewing point where you could see all of Kyoto.

That was about halfway up the mountain. All along the way were these smaller shrines. One of the shrines had colorful ropes hanging. When I got up really close I realized they were made up of the teeniest tiniest paper cranes! It was so beautiful!

We also passed by a few tea shops and gift shops on our way up the mountain.We stopped in one to buy a decorative map and a torii that Ryan had personalized with his name, country of origin, date and prayer/wish (for safe travel). It’s so cool!

We made our way down and then began our hunt for a goshuincho. A goshuincho is a special book in which you can collect stamps and seals from Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. Many centuries ago there was a practical purpose for these stamps, either documentation of someone’s pilgrimage to certain temple/shrines, or as a receipt for a donation or work done. We found beautiful books. Mine has two women in traditional outfits with sakura and Ryan’s has Mt. Fuji on it. Once we paid for those the next hunt was to find the counter where you could get the goshuin (stamp/seal) itself. The person that writes and stamps in your book is either a Buddhist monk or a Shinto kannushi, depending on where you are. It’s so beautiful! You aren’t allowed to photograph or take video of them as they are being done, but it’s amazing.

We walked through the food stalls and shared a pork skewer then started our walk to Tofujuji Temple.

We walked through these quiet little neighborhoods on the way. I love the way the houses are built into the hills and mountains.

Tofukuji was really impressive and VERy big. We decided not to pay to go into the garden but we gave a donation to get our goshuin and walked the grounds.

We decided to walk to our hotel and found a gorgeous path along the river lined with cherry blossom trees! It was perfect! We also stumbled upon a subtemple of Tofujuki and got a goshuin there, too.

We stopped off at the hotel before going to Kyoto Station to head for Osaka. We were able to take another JR line to Osaka Station. Then we had to switch stations and take another train. This is when navigation got a bit confusing. Google maps had been really accurate about train numbers and platforms but it seemed to have a hard time finding us once we were above ground to give us walking directions to the next station. We eventually made it to Osaka Castle.

The megaliths (walls) and moat around the complex were tremendous and so was the line to buy tickets to get inside! And of course it was almost 80 degrees and we were dressed for the 40-degree weather it was when we left the hotel.

And once we were inside, the suggested route was to start at the top of the castle (8th floor) and the line for the elevator was almost as long as the line for the tickets. So up the 8 flights we went! It was so crowded and congested it was difficult to enjoy the view from the top observation deck and to see the exhibits inside. Plus our feet and legs were killing us. There were some cool exhibits with 3D holograms depicting stories plus some cultural artifacts. We stopped in a shop on the castle grounds got some soft serve ice cream – matcha milk swirl – before attempting to navigate to Dotonbori.

A couple of trains and walks and we made it. Dotonbori was filled with food stalls, shops, attractions and even live music along the river.

We ended up trying all sorts of food. We had gyoza, takoyaki (octopus balls), beef and chicken skewers, mozzarella cheese dog and candied strawberries (just like the ones they used to have at Epcot).

There were amazing electronic billboards, giant signs and even a huge ferris wheel. We stopped at Uniqlo on the way back and then went straight to bed!