Day 3 – Monkeys and a Thousand Gates, Oh My!
Today was a massive day which consisted of 22,778 steps, 15.88 km travelled and 58 floors climbed.
So after our yummy experience of Tepenyaki last night, we got a somewhat restful night of sleep and were up and at it by 8 o’clock! We had a surprisingly delicious breakfast from a bakery at Kyoto station, where we picked from many pastries and sweets where there were no English explanations of what we were about to eat. Pleasantly surprised!
After a relatively short train ride we were off to Tenryuji Temple. A beautiful place that we were allowed to explore. We first went through the main hall where we had to explore barefooted. It was so incredibly peaceful there. We then got to explore the gardens, where we found a Zen garden styled area, as well as a huge pond filled with koi fish.
Following the paths leading around the gardens took us towards one of the main attractions (for me at least) – The Bamboo Groves; an absolutely stunning sight to see. The sun just peeking through the canopy of bamboo leaves meters above our heads made for some awesome photos; although the photos would never give justice to the beauty of the place. The groves lead us on to the hell, which was Monkey Mountain. Stairs. So many stairs! Even the stairs had stairs! I think 56 of the 58 floors climbed today were getting up to the summit to feed these monkeys! Of course I bitched and moaned all the way up, but was quickly quietened at the view that was in front of me; a purely breathtaking sight. You could see everything from farmlands, forest, and city all at once, with the bright blue skies and few fluffy white clouds – amazing.
Feeding the monkeys though, I swear, turned me into a child again. We got to purchase a small bag of treats that you were allowed to hand feed to the monkeys at the summit. They would cling on to the caged windows and hold their hand out waiting for you to give it to them. Most were gentle and really sweet creatures, and then there were some who were plain rude and snatchy (guess who didn’t get any more of my apples!). We were also lucky enough to come across a baby; a tiny baby who was only just learning that you could get an easy meal by asking the humans in the cage.
I have to admit, the journey down the mountain was a lot more enjoyable. We were pretty short for time at the point. So we found some food at this Udon place (delicious by the way – and suck it Brad! I got the last Katsu Udon). Quickly finished up and moved on, thankfully, with phone as the nice man ran out after me after it had fallen from my pocket – and headed on to Kyoto station, to start the last leg of our journey. The Fushimi Inari Shrine! I’ve been looking forward to this one. And it did not disappoint! It was very busy with people preparing for tomorrows NYE celebrations. But it was beautiful. Walking through the gates was awesome! I was so excited about everything! I may never leave Japan. So being that the Fushimi Inari Shrine is the shrine of the fox, there were so many adorable little foxes! Drew and I bought a wall scroll depicting a majestic fox glowing in gold and a tiny little key ring of a tiny little white fox sitting under the Inari gates. We had some magical experiences today. It was a full on day but I am so glad we were able to push through the discomfort and pain that was Monkey Park and were able to see what we saw today!
So we made our way home, sore and tired. We stopped off at the family mart and got some curry for dinner. I’m currently sitting here blogging as we’re skyping the other group in Taiwan who we’re meeting up with in a couple days. A nice easy night. But I think I am ready for bed! Tomorrow is a relatively easy day where we’re heading to the Golden Pavilion in the morning and a few other little experiences in the afternoon. Looking forward to it all!
