The first day of spring in Kyoto this year was not very spring-like, however, women still dressed in traditional garb and went walking and shopping. I'm sure if it had been a sunny day there would have been far more people out in kimonos.
Exhausted from two days of travel, I climbed into the “foreigner friendly” taxi at the Kyoto train station. The woman driver wearing white gloves looked at my piece of paper with the name of my hostel written in Japanese and off we went.
Based on the signage at the taxi stand, I had understood that the driver was supposed to speak English.
She did not speak English at all. Fortunately, her ability to use Google translate on her iPad at every red light was exceptional.
She used it for the language she needed to point out the Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple that is just north of the train station and to tell me that the cherry blossoms along the Kawabata Dori, the road on the east side of the Kamogawa River, would be in full bloom in a week's time. She apologized for that. As if the cherry blossoms were late and I was not early. She, like all the Japanese I met on my trip, were polite and kind. Their desire to help was exceptional. We arrived at my hostel with my tour of Kyoto already begun.
I was in Kyoto just before the cherry blossoms. This was taken out of the window of my taxi on route to my hostel.
I stayed at the Hostel Niniroom in Kyoto. On the left are the sisters that run the hostel. The top right photo is from a Takoyaki evening meal they had the day I arrived. Lower right is a view of the hostel entrance. It's quite beautiful. The sister on the right, an interior designer, designed it along with her architect father.
Enjoying a National Holiday in Downtown Kyoto
From the hostel owners, I got a map, the lay of the land, and an explanation of how the local transit system works. My aim for the remainder of the day was the Nishiki Market, the Gion District, and Maruyama Park. All would be busy given that it was the first day of spring and a public holiday in Japan.
Vernal Equinox Day is a holiday that celebrates a love of nature and all living things. The three days on either side of Vernal Equinox Day are for honoring tradition and paying respect to ancestors. I saw all of this. Despite the rain, people were wearing traditional dress, visiting shrines to honor ancestors, and taking pictures of the cherry trees just starting to bud. It was wet but wonderful.
Upper left is one of the covered malls in downtown Kyoto. Going clockwise to the right are images of just some of the kitsch on sale at a shop where everything is bought from a machine and on the lower left is a display in the very-crowded Nishiki market.
Maruyama Park. Top left and right are people visiting Yasaka Shrine to pay respect to their ancestors. On bottom left is the Sanmon or gate of the Shoren-in Temple.
Gion is Kyoto's famous geisha district though it is rare to see an actual geisha. I think I saw one down a side street scoot from a black car into a restaurant, but I can't be sure.
The Imperial Palace was a short walk from my Kyoto hostel. I went there for a morning tour that was free and in English, before going to the Fushimi Inari Tairsha shrine.
Fushimi, the Busy Shrine and Escaping the Crowd
It required one subway ride with a transfer to a Nara line train to get to Fushimi from my hostel. The total travel time was about an hour. On route I met a Vietnamese man as I tried to confirm that I was on the right train. We determined that I wasn't. I hopped off and took another. I did get there in the end and so did he. We met again wandering the gardens of the shrine. Clearly, our communication was not as effective as we thought.
Fushimi is a beautiful area and the shrine is definitely worth the trip. Its dramatic vermillion color is said to expel evil and disease. Wander through the town and enjoy some street food too.
Walking through the vermillion Fushimi Inari Tairsha shrine is considered purifying to Buddhists. These two women were in traditional dress for the holiday. The shrine was incredibly crowded the day I was there.
The Fushimi Inari-taisha shrine was very busy but I managed to find a bit of quiet. At the top of the shrine's steps, I went to the back of the patio near the fence. Looking to the right I saw a small shrine and noticed that there was a path to it. Taking the steps closer to the stairs I went down and had a look. Upper left is the small shrine. Lower left is a closer view of the stones at the shrine. On the right is the forest. As I was enjoying the quiet, a runner came along the path you can see which encouraged me to wander further in. I found two more shrines tucked away and a wonderful bamboo grove. See below.
The community of Fushimi offers you options in terms of restaurants, street food, and, yes, a cat cafe. The latter does not serve coffee.
The Vietnamese fellow I met on the way to Fushimi.
Solo Travel Kyoto: Arashiyama
Getting to Arashiyama on my third day was significantly more difficult. In fact, after one wrong train connection, which was corrected, followed by taking the right bus in the wrong direction, I gave up. I grabbed a taxi to Arashiyama where I wanted to see the famous Sagano Bamboo Forest.
To my disappointment, the forest was full of tourists and, as you will see below, the grove I visited in Fushimi on the previous day was much better (that is, if you like being away from the crowds). This, however, doesn't seem to be a value of Japanese life. Based on the recommendations I received from Japanese, it seems that the busier an attraction, the more people that are there, the better the experience is expected to be.
Arashiyama is a popular destination and has a main street lined with shops. The crowds get a bit lighter towards the bridge, which was the direction I was heading as my eventual destination was the Tenzan-no-Yu Onsen.
On the right is the famous Sagano Bamboo Forest in Arashiyama. It is, however, in a tourist area. Unless you're going at a time when it is unlikely that there will be a crowd, I recommend taking a walk down the trail into the bamboo forest that is just a few steps away from the top of the Fushimi Inari Tairsha shrine. You can't see it in the photo but the wind was blowing, the trees were swaying. It was magical.
The Hozu River runs through Arashiyama.
The super onsen I went to in Kyoto was only a short 15 minute walk away from Arashiyama. Read How to Onsen: The Naked Truth About Japan’s Best Cultural Experience.
Kyoto's Train Station
One stop in Kyoto that many tourists might not explore fully is the train station itself. A dramatic glass and steel structure, it offers extensive shopping and, more amazing, a fantastic view of the city.
Kyoto Train Station offers shopping and a great view of the city from the roof-top patio.
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