Day 17 - Day Trip to Nara
Wanting to avoid some of the weekend tourists, I decided that I would head down to Nara today. I was up early, and jumped in the Keihan Railway from Sanjo to Fushimi-Inari. I could have taken a JR line, which would have been covered by my JR pass, but it would have doubled the travel time to around 60 minutes as it would have required a changeover at Kyoto Station. The fare was just ¥220, so no complaints at all.
The pathway of thousands of torii shrines leading to
Fushimi Inari Shrine is possibly one of the most recognisable places in Japan. I've you've done any research on where to visit in Japan, you've no doubt come across this place. Each of the torii gates are donated by individuals and corporations, with their names inscribed on each gate. Fushimi Inari is one of thousands of shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. No admission cost for this one!
I didn't hike the trail for particularly long, as I wanted to get to Nara. I highly recommend getting to this place early, as it would be unbearable with masses of tourists. I was there at about 8AM, and managed to get some pretty clean pictures without many people in.