Breakfast didn’t start until 0700 which is late considering that the sun rise is 0500 (actually a bit earlier than that).
I started my day with chicken nuggets, tater tots and miso soup.
I was originally going to visit Mt. Inari first to avoid the excessive crowds of people, but I changed my mind and went to Nijo Castle as I haven’t visited it in 2018 according to my blog.
I took bus #9 (230¥) from the back of the hotel to the front of the castle. The bus wasn’t full yet as the castle wasn’t due to open just yet.
I arrived just at opening time and there was a huge queue formed to purchase tickets. Luckily the queue moved quickly.
The Honmaru castle is under repair, so it was not accessible. There were warning messages before buying the ticket (1300¥), which seemed pretty expensive compared to all the other museums I visited during this trip.
It was possible to enter the other castle which was not small at all. It was originally built by a Shogunate, but then turned over to the imperial empire. When the imperial empire took over the castle they changed all decor to include their logo. Feel free to read the history below:
The Southeast Watchtower
Entering the Kara-mon Gate
The outside of the Ninomaru-goten Palace
Probably the most interesting part of the castle was that they designed the floor to move slightly and squeak when someone walked on the floor. Apparently this was to warn the samuri of any intruders.
Unfortunately it was not allowed to take pictures inside the castle. They did however provide information signs in English. Most if not all of the painted walls were removed and preserved in the gallery and what was inside the palace were reproductions. This further questions why photos are not allowed when it isn’t even historical at that point.
After exiting the castle the path weaved through a small, but unimpressive garden. There was one koi in the shallow water.
Next I walked through the Honmaru Yagura-mon gate where I could see the Honmaru-goten palace under renovation.
Once inside the gate there was the Honmaru Garden which was quite nice.
I walked up to the base of the keep tower which had a nice view of the area, unfortunately the Honmaru-goten palace is covered in scaffold and tarps.
A picture of the exclusion zone through the fence.
I walked across the west bridge and took a picture of the keep tower base and moat.
The South Dozo (rice storage)
I wanted to walk around to see the cherry tree grove even though I knew there would not be any more blossoms. On the way I saw the Southwest watchtower.
I walked through the Minami Nakashikiri-mon gate to the cherry tree grove.
No blossoms on the cherry trees, but it looks like some fruit have started to grow.
Nearby the cherry tree grove was the Momoyama-mon gate. I also captured a few photos of the inner moat next to the gate.
Past the cherry tree grove on the exterior wall was the Minami-mon (south gate).
A couple of photos of a plum tree and plums.
Got rice? Well here’s another storage building.
In the back is the Nishi-mon or West gate.
I found my favorite tree – a Japanese maple (it’s the red one).
I then walked through the Kita Nakashikiri-mon gate
There was a nice garden (Seiryu-en Garden) near the tea room that I stopped to take a picture of with a small water feature and stone bridge.
There was a weeping cherry tree that was very nice (no blossoms)
I took a picture of the large Kita Ote-mon (North gate)
I got a few more photos from different angles before leaving the paid area.
And of course at the exit is the gift shop, just kidding – it’s the Ban-sho (guardhouse)
There were a couple of very faded signs near the entrance.
I walked around the outside of the castle to get some photos of the keeps and gates
I walked through Shinsen-en Garden briefly. It was nice and had a red wooden bridge over the water.
I walked to the Nijo JR train station and got another pork sandwich for lunch from the Lawson Station.
I took the train from Nijo station to Kyoto Station to change to the Nara line. Luckily the train from Nijo arrived at track 34 and I was able to see the Haruka Kansai Express train at track 30. Until this point I had no idea how to find the train. I wandered around to find the exit so I could find the train tomorrow morning.
Before the long hike I used the bathroom in the Kyoto station. Yes this sign was actually there.
I got the Nara local train to Inari. It was the second station, so a pretty quick ride. Total cost – 200¥ from Nijo – yes it was cheaper than the bus for a longer journey.
Exiting the station the torii gates greet all the tourists.
The Fushimi Inari shrine is a short walk from the station. I got a couple of photos, but there were many tourists so I didn’t stay around the shrine for long.
There was a free audio guide that could be used with a smart phone. Top tip: bring earbuds.
I started the hike up the mountain. Many tourists walk through the senbon (thousand) torii gates, and there are a lot of them (tourists and gates). Luckily the higher one climbs the less tourists there are, but there are still so many torii gates.
I stopped at the two viewpoints along the way that overlook Kyoto, it was a bit hazy and I couldn’t recognize any major points of interest.
Now all the tourists have magically disappeared as I continue the climb through the torii gates.
After walking up through the torii gates and taking pictures and videos I finally reached the summit. Only a small shrine at the top, no glorious view, so if that was the reason for you to hike to the summit you might as well stop at the second viewpoint.
I took some more photos and videos on the way down which was actually better as the writing faces up the direction towards the summit.
After returning to the main shrine most of the tourist stores were in the process of closing, but I still wandered around for a few minutes.
I took one last photo of the torii gate closest to the JR train station as I had a few minutes before the next train to Kyoto station.
Luckily I didn’t wait too long to go to the station as the platform was on the other side, so I had to walk up stairs and across the tracks to get to the train.
The train was busy, but not too full. After I got to Kyoto station I dropped off my camera at the hotel and had a drink before continuing the adventure.
At this point is where I found the fitbit I thought I lost at the castle. I left it to charge when I went to breakfast.
My next stop was to the JR train station to buy the Haruka ticket for tomorrow morning since the ticket office isn’t open at 7 AM. I found out that there is a discount ticket for foreigners at about half price (1800¥) if you have a ICOCA card which I had from my last visit in 2018.
In the train station they had a warning about avoiding Hiroshima during the G7. All the lockers were not in service at the moment due to the heightened security.
I took a couple of pictures of the Aqua Fantasy show even though it wasn’t really dark yet.
I walked to Don Quixote to check it out, the song they play is a bit annoying and I wasn’t really pleased with their small selection of souvenirs.
For dinner I really wanted to get spicy miso soup ramen, but last night’s dinner ruined ramen for me at the moment and I decided to get a Whopper at Burger King, which although it didn’t come with lettuce was not too bad and about a third of the price of last night’s miserable food.
I took some pictures of the light show on the stairs I remembered from 2018.
I caught the last two shows of the water show as they were only 30 minutes apart. I took a few hundred photos of it, but here are just a few of the more spectacular ones.
I timed the walk from the train station to the hotel to make sure I had plenty of time to get to the train tomorrow morning.
I went back to the hotel to rest and pack.
I somehow managed to get everything in the small carry on sized suitcase and I was now in good shape to leave quickly in the morning.
Today’s timeline:
