KYOTO TO TOKYO

Our last morning in Kyoto....we decided to go out for breakfast to a small cafe around the corner that our Airbnb host recommended....It is called Manaia....

We arrived before the cafe had opened....the young owner greeted us at the door...

...he had lived and worked in coffee shops in Melbourne, such a sweet guy...

I ordered his homemade granola, yoghurt and fruit. It was absolutely delicious and the coffee was excellent.

Our not so busy street this morning...

At the station waiting for our Shinkansen to Tokyo...

One of the towns on our journey to Tokyo...

We were so lucky. Pete booked our tickets days ago not knowing that there was a good side of the train to be on to see Mt Fuji. 

I was so excited to see this mountain...it really is stunning...

The outer suburbs of Tokyo....

After settling into our Airbnb Pete and I set off to explore our neighbourhood, Meguro. The expressway is amazing, it's massive.

Our neighbouring apartment buildings....

Next thing we know, we are in Shibuya....

One of the iconic sites that we planned to see...Shibuya Crossing, a famous intersection in Tokyo, known as the world's busiest pedestrian crossing. 

....the surrounding streets were crowded as well...

Colourful sunset on our way home....what an exciting day we had.

 

KYOTO

Pete and I started our day a little earlier today as we wanted to get to Kyoto's most famous site before it got too crowded. We caught the subway to Kyoto Station and then another train to Fushimi Inari-Taisha. This is the first gate to the famous shrine.

That's me with the umbrella....Fushimi Inari-Taisha was dedicated to the gods of rice and sake in the 8th century. It is one of Japan's most popular shrines. Fushimi Inari Taisha is the head shrine with which all the other Inari shrines (30,000 in Japan) are affiliated.

A pathway wanders 4 Km up the mountain. The pathway is called the Sen-bon-torrii...there are 10000 Torii...also there are hundreds of sub-shrines and fox statues. The fox is considered the messenger of the Inari, the god of rice

Looking back at the crowd entering the shrine.

....the forest was beautiful ...

A view of Tokyo halfway up the mountain...we were thankful that is was so clear....

Yep, lots of steps....

In Japan, the red (orange) gate , known as a tore is a symbol of the transition from the mundane, human world to a sacred, spiritual realm. The primary function of any tori gate regardless of colour , is to mark the entrance to a Shinto shrine.

What an amazing walk....

Next...we caught a train and then a bus to another well known temple in Kyoto ....Kiyomizu-dera. It is built around a holy spring (kiyomizu means "pure water"). It was first built in the 8th century but was reconstructed in 1633. There are a number of different buildings. In addition to halls holding fine Buddhist images, the complex includes a Shinto shrine .

Looking back at the very crowded street that we had walked up. There were so many shops where you could hire a kimono, buy something to eat or drink, buy souvenirs or delicate Japanese ceramics. 

There were so many women in kimonos....having their photo taken....

Incense .....

Restaurants in the temple grounds...

The main building features a huge verandah that juts out over the hillside, supported by 139 15m - high wooden pillars (they looked awesome up close).

We stopped and peeped into some of the shops on the way down from the temple...such exquisite crockery...

The Kamo River that we walked over on our way to the train station.

Lunch at Daniel's in the restaurant area of the Kyoto Train Station...great Italian food...then we headed home. On the trains and buses we saw so much of Kyoto...and the people that live there.