February 23rd, 2023
In the morning we again got up quite early. On the agenda today was first of all a visit to another world-famous landmark of Kyōto, the Fushimi Inari-Taisha shrine. Fushimi Inari-Taisha is the main shrine of all shrines in Japan dedicated to the Shinto deity of fertility and business success - Inari. It is among the oldest and most famous Shintō shrines in Kyōto. Later, we were going to give our rental car a first spin.
Fushimi Inari-Taisha shrine
The shrine was founded in 711, according to records, even before Kyōto became Japan’s capital.
The path up the 233-meter-high Mount Inari is lined with numerous stone altars (otsuka) and marked by some 10,000 torii, all of which are donations from individuals, families or businesses. Individuals and businesses from all over Japan donate torii gates to the shrine, as they are said to have divine qualities that have a positive influence on business success. The path up to Okunoin Shrine is called Senbon Torii (One Thousand Torii). However, it is believed that there are as many as 10,000 torii on the entire mountain. Apparently, no one has counted this accurately yet. Some of the torii were donated as early as the Edo period (1603 - 1867). This long tunnel of bright orange torii is a very famous attraction in Kyōto.
We went there by train, it stopped right at the entrance of the shrine. Then we walked through the torii tunnels to the summit at 233 m. It went steadily uphill, it took us about 2 hours to the top. On the way there were many attractive motifs:
The path through the many torii leads up to the top of the hill, where - unusually for a Shintō shrine - the holy of holies (in this case, a mirror) is on public view.
After the shrine, we went back to our hotel for a quick breakfast. On the way, we grabbed coffee and Sakura Soy Latte for Luise at a Starbucks in the train station and four very tasty mini croissants for everyone at a croissant store. After a good breakfast, we went for our first drive in our rented Toyota Corolla.
After we had paid horrendous 6,100 yen (approx. 45€) for parking, Luise drove sovereignly out of Kyōto. The first destination was Lake Biwa (the largest lake in Japan). After that we wanted to visit the west coast. Later I drove the way back (including the original Japanese traffic jam experience near Kyōto), which worked quite well after initial acclimatization and despite the left-hand traffic.
First we drove to the west coast of Lake Biwa, where you can see the torii of Shirahige Shrine standing in the water, it is said to be the oldest in Japan. Unfortunately, the main road is directly on the lakeside, so you can’t get close to it. In order to have a better view of it, a observation platform was built next to the road from which the photo on the left was taken.
Passing the shore of Lake Biwa, we then continued towards the west coast. We drove through the large town of Tsuruga. From there, a ferry departs to Sapporo on the northern island of Hokkaido. At some point the road ended. There was a parking lot where we could get off and walk to a lighthouse. We thought that this would be a nice walk along the shore, however, it went steeply uphill through the forest. Some signs warned of bears 😨.
Simone complained a bit at first, but then came up with us. The path was very beautiful and somewhat adventurous. At the top, however, the lighthouse was not very spectacular.
Since it was getting close to sunset, we made our way to the west coast on the Japanese Sea. To get there, we drove through a modern, very long tunnel and then continued to a beach called Suishohama Beach. The beach was empty of people. We took pictures of the beginning sunset. Despite the clouds, the light was very beautiful. However, what you can’t see in the pictures is a nuclear power plant at the other end of the beach, located on a small peninsula.
Then we headed back to Kyōto. This time I drove. Unfortunately, we got into a traffic jam just before Kyōto. That was similar to what we are used to at home on the A40 highway near Essen. Arrived in Kyōto, we then searched a slightly cheaper parking lot, one that was mostly occupied.
For dinner we went to a Coco. This is a restaurant chain in Japan that is specialized in currys. Luise took udon noodles (hence her bib), we chose rice. You could choose the spiciness of the curry on a scale from -2 to 10. Luise chose level 1, we chose level 2 and we were well served with level it. It was again very tasty.