Every day is a revelation. And a challenge.
Kyoto Station is a place where you can
arrive by train, book into a hotel, shop at
supermarkets, specialty shops including those at the high end of the market,
eat a variety of Japanese food, see a movie and view the city from above, all without ever
leaving the station.
Asty Road, an arcade within the station
precinct has a wonderful variety of shops; especially pastry shops. The challenge is to return the next day and
find the exact shop that has those irresistible pastries. Beyond my capabilities, I quickly realised.
Lines are commonplace in busy areas such as
Kyoto station and the first line today was at the rail ticket vending machines.
There is a sanity preserving red button
on the machine; when pressed, this button comes up with the ticket buying
process in English. With the usual couple of false starts and dark mutterings, I
master the situation and after that buying a ticket is easy-peasy.
The ever-smiling man who answers all bus
service questions at the bus station advised taking the train to the Inari
shrine. Good advice; the trains get
there more quickly and run more frequently than the buses. Following the crowd, one of my rules of thumb
for travel in foreign cities, I soon found the shrine entrance and after
sauntering around the entrance buildings I joined the long, long line of people
making the pilgrimage through thousands of torii gates.
Entrance to the Shrine Shrine detail
The Inari Shine is a popular place for both domestic and international tourists and I spent some time in the forecourt area before venturing off on the walking trail.
The Worship Hall
Along the torii trail.
The day was warm and foolishly I started
without any water. I had to quit before
the half way mark, a very good idea when I look at the map of the complete
walking tail. After my stopping point
the trail becomes very steep and it would have been beyond my capabilities. At
this point I made a mental note to buy a walking pole, to help with balance. Especially when walking over uneven terrain
surrounded by people walking in the same direction and as many coming from the
opposite direction.
On the way out of the Shrine grounds I considered this somewhat irreverent idea - a shrine to Pepsi.
Back at Kyoto station I applied myself to
the serious business of buying a ticket for the bullet train which will take me
to Yokohama tomorrow. Happily it is a
painless process (apart from the cost!) and I didn’t have to do battle with a
vending machine. Instead a young lady
from JR assists me and now I am set to take the shinkansen from Kyoto to Yokohama, just after 11 am tomorrow.
Late afternoon and I am on another train to
the Bamboo Grove, after a misstep where I get off the train one stop too early
I eventually find my way to the Bamboo Grove using the usual method of tagging
along behind a group. This method almost
failed me as it was quite a walk to the grove and the people ahead were fast
walkers.
As a result I approach the main area
from the wrong direction but I discover a cemetery (below)
and groups of girls
dressed in beautiful, traditional Japanese costumes, having fun and thoroughly enjoying themselves (below).
The Bamboo Grove is a fascinating place to visit, even when it is quite late in the day. The sound of the rustling bamboo and the clicking of the stems as they sway in the wind is the soundscape to the walk. The Grove is open 24 hours a day, but I do think it might be an eerie place to visit at night.
My very ordinary offering of a Bamboo Grove photo - compared with this
I also discover the scenic train and rue leaving my visit until so late in the day. Quite by accident I see the scenic train passing
by as I walk back to the Bamboo Grove proper; it seems I have missed a great opportunity
to see something else by train. There is
more to the scenic train than first meets the eye, as you will discover if you
click on this link.
Another good reason to spend more than four
days in Kyoto.
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