Kyoto: Arashiyama, Nijo Castle, Fushimi Inari, Okonomiyaki

Day Five

BREAKFAST

Aware that we had limited options, we decided to go to the McDonald's we'd spotted the night before - unfortunately, this wasn't open, so we opted for a DeliFrance bakery next door. Guess what? No photos. (I know, I'm a failure.)


ARASHIYAMA


 From Kyoto station we took a train to Sanarashiyama station. After studying a map and help from a station attendant we located the Bamboo Grove, which is indescribably beautiful.


Bamboo Grove. The colour seems a little washed out but the whole country seems to have a filter that makes everything seem older and more mature

After wandering around (and getting lost) in the Bamboo Grove we circled the area. There are many rickshaws driven by both men and women available for use. There are a lot of small shops in the area also good for souvenirs, of the edible and non-edible kind.
Artsy photo of a rickshaw, courtesy of Dad.

Arashiyama and its surrounding area

In Arashiyama station is also the Kimono Garden


Kimono Garden: rows of fabric that makes one think of the traditional Japanese garment


LUNCH : NEIGHBOURHOOD RESTAURANT


 Though I can't describe much about it, it was directly to the left once you exit Arashiyama station. The restaurants vary from cheap to pricy very quickly side by side, and offers mostly Japanese-style food.
Beef bento, ¥900

Oyako-don (chicken and egg bowl), about ¥600 from memory

Beef udon, around ¥600

Hamburger steak, about ¥750

A hot and hearty oden set meal. Oden is Japanese stew (top right), which contains turnip, fishcakes, konnyaku, tofu, and a boiled egg in a light broth. The set meal comes with miso soup, tofu, pickles, rice, and complementary tea, all for ¥800



NIJO-CASTLE


 Nijo-jo, or Nijo Castle, is about ten minutes' walk from Nijo station, but as the area of the castle is so large and the entrances few, we had to talk about another ten minutes to reach the entrance. General admission is ¥600 per adult.
Some of the castle premises from above

Photography inside the castle is not allowed, but outdoors is permitted. If there's ever time to visit Nijo Castle I highly recommend it. Walking inside the castle was an experience - while we had initially thought hidden overhead speakers played tweeting of birds to add life (it was cold, and felt a bit dead), but in isolated rooms the sound stopped until we realised that it was the creaking of the old wooden floorboards - unlike ugly moans at home, these creaks were faint, delicate, and melodic, much like someone humming in an adjacent room or a particularly loud bird chirping outside - I'm not sure if this is advertised as one of the features of the castle, but it should be.
Outside Nijo Castle main entrance


The gate between Nijo Castle's main building entrance and the gardens

 The gardens and pond behind the castle are equally beautiful.
The castle gardens... I would have loved to be there in spring, when the cherry blossoms bloom
Part of the gardens

Normally uncovered, these branches are protected using bamboo shades over winter against the colder conditions

 A lot of the castle's history focuses on the artwork created when the castle was inhabited - there's a separate exhibition for this, but as we still wanted to visit other places we decided to forego it.

FUSHIMI-INARI


 Fushimi-Inari is a shrine whose entrance is directly opposite Inari station, making it very easy to access. Visible by the red gate at the entrance, there are a few small shops surrounding which sells trinkets and food, as expected in many tourist areas. I would hardly suggest eating there - having tried a couple of the stands, my travel partners agreed it was sub-par and over-priced. Let's just say I never thought takoyaki couldn't be delicious.
Takoyaki, ¥500 for 7
The entrance from outside the station
The entrance further in


 Fushimi-Inari is a row of red gates situated at the base of and along Inari Mountain, with rumours that suggest a dead body is buried within each torii (red gate), fuelling the eeriness of the place, especially as we visited when it was beginning to grow dark, and a little chillier. Already not a fan of creepy stories, I was not reassured when Sis#2 reminded me of the creativity (and often morbidity) of Japanese folklore.
The torii at the beginning

 The initial torii were larger than expected, and spaced quite far apart. As it continued up the hill, it split into two pathways, where the torii were smaller and much closer together, making be feel slightly claustrophobic. As it's suggested in travel websites, and by friends and family who have previously visited the shrine, the torii decrease in density as you progress up the mountain. Taking roughly two hours to scale the full mountain, there are few sights at the very top, and only a few torii, so we stopped about a third of the way up.
Torii as it progressed - unfortunately, as there were many visitors it became more difficult to take photos without disrupting tourists. Prompted to continue walking to avoid hold-ups, photos are few.
Parts of the village in the surrounding area at the bottom of the mountain

DINNER : OKONOMIYAKI MACHI-YA


 We returned to Porta dining for the second night, having passed by an okonomiyaki restaurant that caught our eye the night before. Called [お好み焼き 町や] (Okonomiyaki Machi-ya, translating roughly to Okononomiyaki Town Shop), the focus is on the Japanese-style pancake cooked in front of you on a hotplate. Unfortunately for us, the place was relatively full, so we had a table separate from the main grill at the counter, and had okonomiyaki, cooked elsewhere, delivered to our hotplate for us.
The hotaplate, greased and ready for action

 Condiments such as mayonnaise and famous okonomiyaki sauce came in extra bottles on the table, allowing us to serve the okonomiyaki, and garnish as our palates desired.
 Tonpeiyaki (a cheat's okonomiyaki which is more of an omelette as it doesn't use batter).
One of the okonomiyaki specials, basic okonomiyaki, modan-yaki ("modern" okonomiyaki). After slathering in sauce and mayonnaise, they generally tasted the same.
We collectively agreed after that it had been a good choice. Four okonomiyaki was substantial for the five of us, especially as it can become quite heavy. However, as the meal consists mostly of carbohydrates we became hungry shortly after, so we visited one of the many convenience stores surrounding the hotel for dessert. Do I have proof? Absolutely not. I'll try take more photos on my next holiday anywhere.
End Day 5

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