Today we spent the day in Kyoto. It is a big city divided in different sections, and on advice of our hostel we took an all-day bus pass and went on our way.
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| I guess on Sunday everybody's up early.. |
Fushimi Inari
Fushimi Inari has now been baptized by me as Torii country. It's well known for its shrines to the messenger gods and the forest path that leads up the hill.
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| Kodama brings a message of love |
More than a thousand torii will you pass on your way to the summit. You see and feel the masses disappearing as you near the summit and the silence returning. That alone is almost worth your perseverance. Reaching the top altar is mostly an accomplishment than an obligatory sight. You do get to think of the hardship the others still have to go through on your way down when you pass them..
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| Torii, torii (gates) everywhere... |
Next we took the bus to see the castle of the Shogun!
Nijo-Jo
Another touristic hotspot was the castle of the Shogun. Lying in Nijo, you can walk through the parks of the Shogun and through his Palace in a guided fashion. Pictures were forbidden, and in totality I didn't find it that interesting (especially based on its price and the fact half of it was closed off /in reparations..)
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| So have a picture of an awesome toad instead! |
Kinkakuji
Getting to Kinkakuji was easy . We took the (packed) bus and followed the stream of people once we came out. Known as the golden Temple, that's actually all that there's to say about it. Although we enjoyed the walk,.. Yeah.. That's all we have to say about it..
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| .. A beautiful gold building.. |
Imperial palace
The ride to the Imperial palace was long and difficult in the much too crowded bus. Let me tell you, although taking the bus might seem like the best choice.. Do your research and it might be more interesting not to..once we finally got there we walked around that beautiful, big park, only to find out you have to get a guided tour in advance if you want to visit either of the palaces or even the historic museum..
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| Nope.. Not climbing that.. |
With rain starting to fall and sores starting to form, we ended our journey a bit early and got a nice shower in our hostel before preparing for the next part of our journey through Japan..
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