So, it turns out that all renting a bicycle did was allow me to get lost even larger distances from where I wanted to be. I started off going to check out Katsura Rikyu garden, because everything I've read tells me it's possibly the best garden in Japan. It's a fair ways away, and after biking for nearly 2 hours I get there only to learn that it is closed (for renovations, I think?) I wanted to leave the northern places for tomorrow, so I decided to then bike to Fushimi Inari. The problem with this was that it was pretty far away, and along roads that weren't labelled on my map, and it was around noon, so the sun wasn't much help. To make a long story short, by the time I figured out where I was, I was about 15km south of Kyoto, not even on the map I had anymore. By now the sun was starting to go down, so I had a clear marker for direction again, and now that I knew around where I was, I managed to get back on track again. When I eventually got to Fushimi Inari Shrine, famous for its torii gate trail, it was totally dark out. From the pictures I'd seen, I thought it was like a couple dozen torii gates in a line somewhere, but it's actually this long trail up a mountain with over 10,000 gates. There was some special ceremony going on at the main shrine at the bottom, and as you climbed up you could hear the monks chanting below, and this lonely flute playing. In a way, doing the climb at night was a lot more peaceful. There was only you, the red toriis, and that steady pulse of music from below; the rest of the world was blocked out by the night. When I finished the climb, I sat at the little shrine at the top for awhile and enjoyed the night, then made the climb back down. Tomorrow I might just play it safe at take a bus though.
Maybe this should have clued me in that I wasn't going the right way? The buildings in the background turn out to not even be Kyoto, but one of the satellite cities around it.
Walking up the torii path at night. Certainly a memorable experience.
View of Kyoto at night from somewhere about halfway up the path.
This one is just for fun. I saw these in a convenience story and couldn't help myself. Mega Burger Potato Chips - American Taste! Big Mac flavoured potato chips, yummy.
1 comment:
You have an uncanny knack for making the best of a bad situation.. Don't ever lose it because life does hand out bad situations sometimes and those who overcome them are the winners.
I guess the bicycle at least let you use some different muscles for a day.
The pictures are great and it's so good to share in your adventures. I checked out Jeanette's blog(s) too. Great reading and great pictures...You all have done very well in light of the circumstances you've been handed.
Good day to take a bus!
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