{"id":3436,"date":"2018-10-13T15:10:26","date_gmt":"2018-10-13T23:10:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/?p=3436"},"modified":"2025-01-10T11:36:58","modified_gmt":"2025-01-10T19:36:58","slug":"kyoto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/?p=3436","title":{"rendered":"Kyoto"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Kyoto\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZeKvB0TU1AU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Tuesday morning we started our JR passes and took the express to Kyoto. On the express, the ride is only about twenty minutes, surprisingly quick. After dropping off our bags at the hotel, we walked to <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nishiki_Market\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Nishiki Market<\/a> for lunch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/andrewlong\/44693463315\/in\/album-72157701466763341\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1979\/44693463315_4ec8289023_c.jpg\" alt=\"DSC03717\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>Interesting to look at, but maybe not to actually eat. Unless your name is Sommarat.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We were a little bit frustrated because we were refused seats at a few restaurants (apparently for being foreigners) and then were served rather mediocre sashimi at a high price when we finally did get service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After lunch, we walked to <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nij%C5%8D_Castle\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Nijo Castle<\/a>, which turned out to be underwhelming as well. We took a cab across town to <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ginkaku-ji\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ginkaku-<\/a><g class=\"gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace\" id=\"5\" data-gr-id=\"5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ginkaku-ji\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ji<\/a><\/g><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ginkaku-ji\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> <\/a>temple as the sun was starting to set, walking through lush moss-covered forests with views of Kyoto at the top of the hill above the pagoda.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/andrewlong\/44882795524\/in\/album-72157701466763341\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1962\/44882795524_e78a9eea39_c.jpg\" alt=\"DSC03750\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>Picture this, but with a thousand tourists jostling for position behind you.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Outside the temple, we ate ice cream topped with real gold leaf. This is a tourist trap sort of thing they developed where this temple is the &#8220;silver temple&#8221; and another temple in Kyoto (Kinkaku-<g class=\"gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace\" id=\"5\" data-gr-id=\"5\">ji<\/g>) is the &#8220;gold temple&#8221; (you&#8217;ve probably seen\/heard of the gold one before, but not this one) and so at several locations they sell temple themed ice cream with either silver or gold topping. Since&nbsp;something about eating silver seemed just wrong, we&nbsp;opted to taste the gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/andrewlong\/45607236831\/in\/album-72157701466763341\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1914\/45607236831_4483ea278f_c.jpg\" alt=\"DSC03863\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>2 Chainz and his gold-plated popcorn ain&#8217;t got nothin&#8217; on Sam.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With gold in our&nbsp;bellies, we pondered the symbolism of literally consuming wealth as we walked <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Philosopher%27s_Walk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Philosopher&#8217;s Walk<\/a> on the way to <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/H%C5%8Dnen-in\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Honen-in <\/a>temple. After taking a picture of a hut on a bridge I managed to kick my sunglasses (expensive Ray Bans, a gift from Sam) into the koi pond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/andrewlong\/30666343387\/in\/album-72157701466763341\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1967\/30666343387_6898682d9b_c.jpg\" alt=\"DSC03947\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>Is this picture worth a pair of $200 sunglasses? No. No it is not.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This was all happening after sunset with no natural lighting, which was why the glasses were hung on my neck instead of on my face and able to drop down on the bridge while I fiddled with my camera. The glasses are gold so they stuck out under the dark water of the pond. We were the only people there so we couldn&#8217;t ask for help. Looking around the complex we found some portable caution tubes (not sure what these are called since they don&#8217;t have them in the U.S., but they had hollow&nbsp;circles on each end to place over the tops of traffic cones. With Sam providing light via our portable crank flashlight (the same one that got me out of a jam in Joshua tree) after a few false starts&nbsp;I managed to fish the glasses of the water.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Triumphant, we celebrated by taking a cab to <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nanzen-ji\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Nanzen-<\/a><g class=\"gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace\" id=\"4\" data-gr-id=\"4\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nanzen-ji\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ji<\/a><\/g><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Nanzen-ji\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> <\/a>temple, but there wasn&#8217;t a lot of light in the complex so we didn&#8217;t stay long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/andrewlong\/30666330337\/in\/album-72157701466763341\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1976\/30666330337_f7c5121723_c.jpg\" alt=\"DSC03977\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>Shrines and temples are either soothing at night or spooky. This one leaned more toward spooky.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Across the street from our hotel,&nbsp;we ordered a quick bite at a hip place. Sam asked to have the cook put more time into her nearly-rare beef bulgogi. After several more days of this, we realized that most beef is apparently consumed nearly raw in Japan. Also, &#8220;American Beef&#8221; is a big thing apparently.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wednesday we set out walking with the goal of weeding our way north until we reached <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Yasaka_Shrine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Yasaka<\/a> Shrine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/andrewlong\/30666325037\/in\/album-72157701466763341\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1964\/30666325037_9d1cfe1a40_c.jpg\" alt=\"DSC03984\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>Kyoto has so many UNESCO sites (17) that some of them sit right on busy intersections.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We wandered down the back road from Yasaka visiting shrines and temples we&#8217;d not researched until we came to the famous one that sticks out in a crowd. Of people. Because it&#8217;s also on a busy intersection and crowded with people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/andrewlong\/44693365355\/in\/album-72157701466763341\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1977\/44693365355_ab5201cc57_c.jpg\" alt=\"DSC04115\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>This is what we thought the entire city would be like. It wasn&#8217;t. Except for the tourists; lots of those everywhere.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unfortunately, it was raining most of the day. Doubly unfortunately, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kiyomizu-dera\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kiyomizu-<\/a><g class=\"gr_ gr_7 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace\" id=\"7\" data-gr-id=\"7\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kiyomizu-dera\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dera<\/a><\/g> was covered in scaffolding and tarps for a renovation. <g class=\"gr_ gr_6 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del\" id=\"6\" data-gr-id=\"6\">Triply<\/g> unfortunate, we bought tickets to the temple of a thousand Buddha&#8217;s only to find out no photography is allowed inside. Wet and tired we took a break back at the hotel before walking to the Kyoto tower for night views of the city and a good dinner at the food court underneath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/andrewlong\/31734916538\/in\/album-72157701466763341\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1921\/31734916538_7b2809916f_c.jpg\" alt=\"DSC04289\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>Squint and you can just barely see the scaffolding on the mountain completely covering one of the most famous buildings in the world!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After dinner, we took the train to Inari to walk the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fushimi_Inari-taisha\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">famous orange Torii gates<\/a> on the staircase <g class=\"gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins multiReplace replaceWithoutSep replaceWithoutSep\" id=\"4\" data-gr-id=\"4\">up<\/g> the mountain. What we didn&#8217;t know is that the stairs are closed at night after the first flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/andrewlong\/31734900538\/in\/album-72157701466763341\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1972\/31734900538_96110d9789_c.jpg\" alt=\"DSC04344\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>Who knew Christo put up Gates in Japan? I missed his exhibit in Central Park, but this totally makes up for it!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As we walked down a concrete path on our way back from the shrine we heard a large animal grunting and snarling from one of the open areas. The path was poorly lit and the animal was somewhere in the dark patch of grass between our steps and the woods that cover Mt. Inari. When Sam shone a flashlight on it we discovered it was a wild boar a few feet away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/andrewlong\/43789485190\/in\/album-72157701466763341\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1942\/43789485190_6f5b110ffe_c.jpg\" alt=\"DSC04392\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>It was ten feet tall and had tusks as thick as your head, I swear!<\/em>&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was eating and seemed annoyed that we interrupted. After a few more snarls in our direction, it loped off into the woods. We would later come&nbsp;back to the shrine in daylight and see warning signs all over the place to avoid the boars. Woops.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the morning, we walked to Kyoto station to travel northwest to <g class=\"gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace\" id=\"4\" data-gr-id=\"4\">Ashiyama<\/g> to ride the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sagano-kanko.co.jp\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">romantic train<\/a>.\u201d Unfortunately, the leaves hadn&#8217;t changed yet, so the view from the train was not very impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/andrewlong\/30666192017\/in\/album-72157701466763341\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1920\/30666192017_b15f374674_c.jpg\" alt=\"DSC04547\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>This is what happens when a girl with a thousand Instagram followers sees something &#8220;not very impressive&#8221;.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We actually had more fun in <g class=\"gr_ gr_4 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace\" id=\"4\" data-gr-id=\"4\">Ashiyama<\/g>-proper at the souvenir shops and eating the traditional &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Okonomiyaki\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Japanese Pizza<\/a>.&#8221; (the last bit of the video at the top of this post) Our last daylight trek took us across the river and up the mountain on the other side to visit our friend and see some monkeys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/andrewlong\/45556395482\/in\/album-72157701466763341\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1936\/45556395482_3cfd4fba03_c.jpg\" alt=\"DSC04781\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>Not a picture of our friend.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our friend (from Hong Kong\/LA\/Michigan) joined us at the monkey park as she recently moved to Nagoya.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We walked back through the bamboo garden at night together, which, curiously had none of the lights we had seen in photos and had nearly completely cleared out by nightfall. It left the place curiously creepy feeling (American horror movies often take place in the deep woods, so maybe Japanese ones could be deep in the bamboo forest?).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/andrewlong\/44882554664\/in\/album-72157701466763341\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1950\/44882554664_993b1f37e9_c.jpg\" alt=\"DSC04844\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>A good camera makes a handheld night shot just look like&#8230; a blurry photo taken with a bad camera during the day. There&#8217;s some kind of mystic wisdom there&#8230;not sure what.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We walked back to town and visited the Kimono Forest again since the&nbsp;&#8220;trees&#8221; light up at night. And the people.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/andrewlong\/45607032971\/in\/album-72157701466763341\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1911\/45607032971_ec1a7a5572_c.jpg\" alt=\"DSC04818\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>Less creepy than bamboo, right?<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We took the train back to Kyoto together and our friend found a BBQ restaurant within a few minutes walk <g class=\"gr_ gr_76 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace\" id=\"76\" data-gr-id=\"76\">of<\/g> the station. The place was a pork-only joint with a small circular burner at every table. The locals sitting on the same bench with us asked where we were from and how we found the place because &#8220;this restaurant is for regulars only and foreigners don&#8217;t know about it.&#8221; Only one employee (the manager, we think) spoke any English. No pictures allowed. They cut the meat from pork carcasses on the same counter we paid for our meal. You want more meat? Whack! Here you go. Ralphie&#8217;s mom wouldn&#8217;t have liked this place one bit, but we did.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the meal, we walked back to the station to see our friend <g class=\"gr_ gr_33 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Style multiReplace\" id=\"33\" data-gr-id=\"33\">off&nbsp; to<\/g> Nagoya, but not until eating some ice cream first. Japan sells fully formed ice cream cones in the freezers at <g class=\"gr_ gr_94 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep\" id=\"94\" data-gr-id=\"94\">convenience<\/g> stores.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On&nbsp;Friday we took a taxi to <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kinkaku-ji\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kinkaku-<\/a><g class=\"gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace\" id=\"5\" data-gr-id=\"5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kinkaku-ji\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ji<\/a><\/g>, the golden temple or &#8220;golden pavilion.&#8221; There were thousands of C<g class=\"gr_ gr_26 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace\" id=\"26\" data-gr-id=\"26\">hinese<\/g> tour groups and Japanese kids on field trips. Maybe the largest throng of tourists we&#8217;ve seen in any one spot on Earth in our travels thus far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/andrewlong\/43789361840\/in\/album-72157701466763341\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1919\/43789361840_ff1f4c1f36_c.jpg\" alt=\"DSC04898\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>Did you get that picture of the serene and tranquil zen essence of the pagoda? Hurry up!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We&#8217;re talking<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/travel\/article\/selfie-fight-trevi-fountain\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> Trevi Fountain<\/a> levels of tourists here, all scrambling to get that perfect shot of the gold-adorned Pagoda. We figured if you can&#8217;t beat em, join em, and started taking pictures with the children (who delighted in saying \u201cHerro! Herro!&#8221; to us to practice their English).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/andrewlong\/43789344120\/in\/album-72157701466763341\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1964\/43789344120_0045019e7c_c.jpg\" alt=\"DSC04972\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>&#8220;Walk! Stop! Look at me! Walk!&#8221; One wonders how many of these kids got to look at the pagoda in real life.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We took a cab back to the nearest JR station to visit Inari during the day and finish our hike to the top, but first, we sated our hunger with a stop at the floating sushi restaurant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/andrewlong\/45606976701\/in\/album-72157701466763341\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1964\/45606976701_5d27d78272_c.jpg\" alt=\"DSC05053\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>Yeah yeah, I know. We have these in LA, but it always tastes better when it&#8217;s &#8220;authentic.&#8221;<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Back at the shrine during the day we were determined to hike through the thousands of torii to the top of&nbsp; Mt. Inari. And so was every other tourist in Kyoto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/andrewlong\/45606959461\/in\/album-72157701466763341\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1954\/45606959461_0a1da81d03_c.jpg\" alt=\"DSC05187\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>There were more people than torii, so getting a photo like this took patience and good blocking.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/andrewlong\/44693107435\/in\/album-72157701466763341\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1980\/44693107435_76522227ac_c.jpg\" alt=\"DSC05079\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>I can&#8217;t tell they&#8217;re all actually Chinese from the back, can you?<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On our way there we misunderstood the map and took a wrong turn into the forest valley at the base of the mountain where we found a small shrine covered in moss and a tiny man-made waterfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/andrewlong\/30665991427\/in\/album-72157701466763341\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1956\/30665991427_38143c0558_c.jpg\" alt=\"DSC05330\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>Only the most vicious guard dogs wear pink dresses.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The trail took us by a small town and back up the hill, where the <g class=\"gr_ gr_130 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace\" id=\"130\" data-gr-id=\"130\">torii<\/g> started again and relieved us that we weren&#8217;t totally lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/andrewlong\/43789276340\/in\/album-72157701466763341\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1951\/43789276340_f2bb1d2bc8_c.jpg\" alt=\"DSC05338\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>It&#8217;s weird to take a low light photo, increase the exposure in the computer, then add darkness back in. But there you go. It&#8217;s &#8220;emotional&#8221; now, right?<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We finally reached the true top of Mt. Inari about an hour later only to discover there were no views at all from the small shrine. I ran back down the trail to the earlier viewpoints to take photos of the sunset over Kyoto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/andrewlong\/45556248062\/in\/album-72157701466763341\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1952\/45556248062_470e192023_c.jpg\" alt=\"DSC05619\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>How the Instagram sausage is made.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After walking out of the mountain in the dark we took a cab north to the park behind Yasaka Shrine and ate at a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kaiseki\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">kaiseki<\/a> restaurant recommended by our cab driver who assured us it was just as good as the others that cost $200 per person up the same street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/andrewlong\/44882374554\/in\/album-72157701466763341\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1930\/44882374554_8ea23f9f6f_c.jpg\" alt=\"DSC05763\"\/><\/a><figcaption><em>In the <\/em><g class=\"gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep\" id=\"5\" data-gr-id=\"5\"><em>states<\/em><\/g><em> we throw in some beans and call this &#8220;camping.&#8221; (We did sit on the floor while we ate, inhaled other people&#8217;s cigarettes, and saw a raccoon outside, so the experience isn&#8217;t as dissimilar as you might think, except for the price.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After dinner, we took night photos at Yasaka shrine and walked down Shijo Dori looking for the real geishas our driver told us about. Most of the geishas you will see in Kyoto are just Chinese tourists who rent kimonos at souvenir shops. After a while,&nbsp;we didn&#8217;t see any geishas and it was getting late so we hailed a cab. As the cab drove through an alley we finally saw two real geishas, and even though the driver stopped, they ducked inside a doorway and we didn&#8217;t get any photos.<br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Tuesday morning we started our JR passes and took the express to Kyoto. On the express, the ride is only about twenty minutes, surprisingly quick. After dropping off our bags at the hotel, we walked to Nishiki Market for lunch. We were a little bit frustrated because we were refused seats at a few [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":4031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/99"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3436"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5176,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3436\/revisions\/5176"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.andrewlorenzlong.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}