Kyoto -- Day 3

The Fushimi Inari Shrine was on our list because we've been seeing pictures of it on travel pages, bloggers' feeds and so on.  Therefore, the moment we stepped foot in Japan, I immediately told Carlos that we HAD to go to Kyoto no matter what.  Lucky for us, Osaka and Kyoto are not far from each other.

Getting There
Again, I'm very bad at directions, so I relied on Carlos for getting to places.  We stayed at a hotel right above Shin-Osaka station, so everywhere we wanted to go to was easy and accessible.  We purchased our JR line tickets from one of the machines at the station, but we had to do a fare adjustment when we got to Kyoto since the amount we paid for the ticket was less than the supposed fare.  Morever, even for someone who's bad at directions, I believe you'll be able to find your way around Japan as people are very friendly and helpful despite the fact that their English may be limited.  Also, it's easy to roam around with a smartphone on hand because they have apps for railway lines, etc.

This was one of the best coffee I had in Japan and I bought it at a supermarket right in front of the entrance of the shrine.  I give it a 10/10! :)

Things to do

• Okay, our initial plan or at least what I had in mind was to go to Kyoto and rent the Japanese' traditional costumes, also known as kimonos.  There was just so much culture and historical sites to see that I wanted to look and feel like a Japanese for a day.  However, Carlos convinced me to just enjoy the place and roam around like a real tourist.
• I'm so glad I listened to him because little did we know that the paths we were walking through would lead us up to the Inari Mountain where we climbed for 2 straight hours.  You can choose not to follow the routes, but we decided to do so because we were already there and I'm proud to say that we were able to reach the top!  Can you imagine us walking up with the kimonos on?  It would've been really hot and we prolly wouldn't have gotten up to the top.  Sometimes, I think Carlos is very wise, wiser than me that is.  Teeeheee!
• At every stop, they have little or small shrines where you can pray to the gods and wish for good luck (at least that's what I thought it looked like)  And they have those charms you can buy to write your name and hang them with the others just like the wooden foxes below.

We couldn't resist... another cliche photo.  Follow me to the Inari Mountain! :D

Stuff we came across

• When we got down from the mountain, we saw a bunch of people in the little shops buying souvenirs, food, traditional garments, etc.
• We saw a really long queue in one of the food stalls where an old man was selling this huge crab meat, so we got a little curious and queued up too.  BEST GRILLED CRAB MEAT EVER!  The mayo and sprinkled chili powder was just perfect when I took a bite out of it.  Definitely can't get this anywhere in Macau.
• We wanted to walk around some more in the old town and visit the temples nearby, but we were out of luck as they had just closed... Therefore, we just kept on walking until we found the station and saw the Kyoto Tower lit up.  Isn't it pretty?  (Check out the photo below)  I did not have any desire to go up though as we had already decided to go to Tokyo the next day.

We had dinner at Kyoto before heading back to our hotel and it was the best katsudon I had.  Carlos had already digged in before I could take a photo, so that would explain this.  We had an incredible time at Kyoto!  Good food and my awesome travel buddy = PERFECT TRIP! :)  Stay tuned for my next travel post.  I'm currently posting as much as possible as I've been slacking so much.  Thanks for the love guys!  Really appreciate your comments. :)