Unintentionally climbed a mountain!

We decided it was about time we visited the number one attraction in Kyoto, Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine. The shrine is situated south-east of the city and would, by far, be our longest walk yet. We set off and quickly got into a good rhythm of walking. After about 30 minutes we stumbled across a grand looking temple with beautifully ornate buildings so decided to deviate from our plan and have a look around. Unfortunately we were unable to go inside any of the buildings but walking around the huge courtyard and admiring the intricate details outside was good enough for us and also meant we didn't go away from the plan for too long. We continued our walk and luckily our map shows us where Starbucks are so our first destination was to head for the closest Starbucks to the shrine to recover, have a tea and eat lunch. After about 2 and a half hours of walking we finally arrived at Starbucks! Sitting down felt amazing and then accompanied by an English breakfast tea was just fantastic. We regrouped and then set off for the Shrine. We couldn't find the entrance but actually entered from a side path, it seemed, and all I can say is wow! We were greated by a continual channel of huge archways in varying shades of red depending on age. It was incredible to see. The columns of each archway were also engraved with black Japanese symbols. We joined what seemed like a busy path and began our walk through the arches which are surrounded by forests. Not long in we saw a sign to a path off the main track so decided to go and explore, we were so glad we did. We found a little shrine but then behind this a path through a bamboo forest and into the wilderness. We decided this was to be our route. We didn't have a map but later saw one on a board that showed this path as a side loop from the map area. This way we stumbled across waterfall shrines, small sacred graveyards and little Japanese houses and farm land. Eventually after an hour or so the path led us upwards and that's when the mountain climb happened! We were about 50 steps up and a guy coming down told us we were nearly there. He lied. We weren't anywhere near but we did it and eventually reached the path of archways again. A few more shrines on and we reached the summit. When in the forest though there is no nice view nor at the summit. Luckily about 10 minutes down the other side, along the arched route, we got to enjoy a beautiful view of the city and felt such a sense of achievement. After meandering back down we began our walk back, where after about an hour and half we went back to our favourite mall to revisit the pet shop and have dinner. Most of the puppies and kittens were still there but a few had gone which was reassuring. We will definitely miss where we have dinner because we order one bowl of curry covered udon noodles and then bulk this out with the free spring onions and crispy batter they provide, and I mean really bulk this out! We decided, after all that food, to get the bus back from the station to our hostel. Given the long trek we endured I think we earned it!Read more