Golden Week: Kyoto Round 2

The second day of our golden week trip was going to be a doozy, it was time to take on Kyoto. The city I had spent 3 days exploring, I was now going to tackle in just one day alongside my family. We were going to try and see both the Fushimi Inari Shrine and the Kiyomizu-dera on the same day. I did those places on separate days, and my feet were still tired at the end of the day, so this would probably be a long day. 

We left a little earlier today and walked to the station to get on the train for Kyoto. After a few transfers, we arrived at the station closest to the Fushimi Inari Shrine. It felt familiar, but without the huge crowds I saw during my New Year’s trip it had a slightly different atmosphere. As we got closer to the main gates there were still plenty of people, but not nearly the same volume. I also noticed that the rows of food stalls that were set up during New Year’s were missing. 

It was a bit of a gray morning, as we explored around the shrine we got a bit of rain as we walked. I bought another omamori charm after losing my previous one, and gave a quick prayer in front of the main hall. Hopefully the spirits will forgive me for losing the last one, I’ll tell that story someday, but it’s quite the low point in my time here in Japan. 

I found it tough to gauge the reactions of my family, their experience with the shrine felt so different from my own. Coming to the Fushimi Inari Shrine for Hatsumode is still one of my favorite memories here in Japan. They seemed to appreciate the shrine, and enjoyed walking through the hundreds of red torii gates. But with other things on the agenda, maybe they were just thinking ahead to the next stop. 

There’s never enough time to see everything no matter where you go, but I think finding a travel style that works for you is really important. I learned after starting to travel on my own, that my family’s fast pace travel style may not quite be for me. That’s not to say I don’t like traveling with them, we’ve had plenty of great trips together! I just have realized that for me, doing a little less in a day and spending more time just wandering around lets the experience of being somewhere really sink in. 

I’m grateful that I’ve gotten to go to this shrine twice, once on my own, experiencing it my way, and then once with my family, showing them a place that I really adore. In a way, it also validates my decision to come to Japan. Moving here really gave me the space and the opportunity to explore Japan more slowly, taking it all in. Since my family is only here for a week it makes sense to try and see as many places as possible. 

After looping back around to the main shrine, we started making our way back towards the nearest station. We made a quick detour to a vegan cafe, since that would have the most food options for dad. The cafe was in the Gion district, which I had passed through a bunch of times while staying in Kyoto, so I got a little nostalgic returning to it. 

We ate a pretty good lunch, then set off towards the Kyomizu-dera. Since it wasn’t too far, we decided to walk through the Gion district. Along the way, we stopped at the Chion-in temple and the Yasaka shrine. I didn’t stop by the Chion-in temple when I stayed in Kyoto, so it was nice that I managed to go somewhere new during this packed day in Kyoto. I like showing off places I’ve been before to family, but exploring somewhere new with them has a different kind of appeal. There were a lot of stairs up to the temple so we spent around 20 minutes exploring before we made our way back down. 

I had wandered through the Yasaka shrine before, so I volunteered to stay behind with my nephew. My mom had stayed with him when we walked up to the Chion-in temple, so I was glad that I could take a turn. He was asleep in his stroller, so I really didn’t have to do much other than keep an eye on him. He really was an angel the whole trip, traveling with a toddler is never easy, but my nephew was probably a lot easier than most. 

After we re-grouped, we pressed on to the Kyomizu-dera. As we wandered through the small streets leading up to the temple, we stopped to try some snacks. My mom and I got some candied apples, and the rest of the group got some dango (rice dumplings). We met back up and traded snacks, munching while taking in the hustle and bustle of these tiny streets filled with small stores and plenty of people. 

After we finished the snacks we made our way up to the main temple. We snapped a few pictures, then grabbed our tickets and headed further inside the temple. My mom wanted to try an omikuji (sacred fortune), so I helped her draw a stick and translate her fortune. Unlike my previous fortune, my mom seemed to have bad luck. She tied it to a metal wire, and I hoped that any bad luck she might have had would stay behind here in Japan. 

We walked along the path for a little longer before turning around. I didn’t think there was much to see outside of the main temple, and we had already been doing plenty of walking today. This was the last thing on our list, so I started to mentally wind down, thinking about what I wanted to do when I got back to the Airbnb. I may have gotten a little ahead of myself. 

As we started walking back towards the train station, my sister spotted a kimono rental shop. All of a sudden, the logistics of renting a kimono and doing a photoshoot seemed to take over. I don’t know if it’s because it was unplanned, or if it was because it was already the “end” of my perceived day, but I wasn’t particularly excited about it. I do want to try wearing a kimono sometime while I’m here in Japan, but getting dressed just to take photos then take it all off didn’t appeal to me. 

As we began the process, my dad and I resigned ourselves to a nearby bench to begin the long wait. From what little I knew about kimonos, it’s not a quick process, and once they were finished my sister would want the perfect photos for all that effort. I tried not to let myself get too sour, but between the oncoming rain and my tired feet, I wasn’t the happiest of campers. My nephew was ready first, and he looked pretty darn cute in his little kimono, though it was a challenge to keep him dry and clean. 

Next was my brother in law, then my mom and sister. It took around 30 minutes for everyone to get dressed and ready. Thankfully, once I saw how beautiful my mom and sister looked all dressed up my frustration quickly melted away. I was glad they wanted to experience this aspect of Japanese culture, even just for a photoshoot. It was a lot of work to get ready, and so I did my best to play photographer and get as many good pictures as possible. 

With a camera roll full of photos, everyone got started getting changed once again and returned their borrowed clothes. It was quite the process, and I still feel like sitting out was probably the best choice for me at the time. I’ll have more chances to try wearing a kimono, and I can do it whatever way feels best for me. As initially annoyed as I might have been, I hope I didn’t sour the experience and was able to help capture the moment. 

Now it really was time to head back, and the rest of the day turned into a tired blur. It had been a fun day in Kyoto revisiting places I had seen on my own, and showing them to my family. I got to see a new place, and see my family get all dressed up, with plenty of photos to commemorate the occasion. It was a good day, but certainly a long one. My legs were already angry at me after the whole bus chasing fiasco, so after a long day filled with plenty of steps my feet were about ready to revolt. 

I went to bed pretty early that night, exhausted from tackling Kyoto in just one day. Tomorrow would be visiting Hiroshima and then Himeji castle. It would be a bit of a lighter day in terms of walking, but I was honestly a little nervous about visiting Hiroshima. Of course, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum always makes it on to lists of top places to see in Japan, but I had a sinking suspicion that I would find the subject matter a little difficult. 

I tried to shake off my reservations and enjoy the day that I’d had, allowing myself to relax into my bed. It didn’t take me long to drift off to sleep. Kyoto the second time around had been no less beautiful, and I was glad that I was able to share some of my favorite spots in Japan with my family. Today I really felt more like a tour guide, proudly showing spots I had gotten to experience just months before on my own. I wasn’t sure what tomorrow would hold, but today had been another great day.