Saga Arashiyama -> Inari (¥230)
I passed by a Mini Stop, so I picked up their version of spicy chicken (¥128), and curry bread (¥105) for the walk. I walked up the hill, through the tourist shops, and found myself at the mouth of Fushimi Inari Taisha, my favourite attraction in Kyoto.
Fushimi Inari Taisha is basically a mountain trail framed by thousands of temple gates or torii, all lined up the whole way. It looks amazing. Check out the photo.
I walked up at a fairly even pace, stopping to check out the different little shrines and tombstones along the way. I usually walk to around a third of the way, then take the loop road back to ground level, but today I was feeling ambitious (and plus, I left Arashiyama earlier than planned so I had time to kill). The sun was starting to shine, and my clothes were starting to dry once I reached the midway landing.
There, I was faced with two choices – keep going up, or walk to Tofukuji by going down a steep path. With the weather looking good, I thought, “why not – I’ll get two sightseeing spots in one”.
See, sometimes I’m such a fool.
About 5 minutes after entering the trail, the sky lit up, followed by a tremendous BOOM sound that sent the birds scattering.
“Oh, are you kidding me right now?!”
Clearly Mother Nature has a sense of humour, because for the second time today, I found myself literally running down the mountain, trying hard not to slip – and getting completely drenched again. Far out..
After what felt like forever, I found myself in suburbia, where the rain intensified – probably because there weren’t any trees to cover me. I walked briskly downhill and reached Tofukuji.
Usually I would be enthralled, but I was so wet and annoyed that I just took the one photo from the driest spot I could find, then continued running down towards the station.
I arrived at the Daily Yamazaki next to the station, went in and bee-lined for the face towels (¥300). I spent the next few minutes trying to transfer the moisture from my clothes and hair to the towel. I was, by this point, not only tired but aching all over…
After that, I bought a train ticket and sat down to eat my curry bread. When the train came, I managed to get a seat and promptly fell asleep until my stop, Watanabebashi, from which I walked to Umeda.
Tofukuji -> Watanabebashi (¥460)
Oh yeah – the reason I did it like that instead of going straight to Umeda was because of the ease and price. If going to Umeda from Tofukuji, your cheapest option would be to do the following:
(Keihan Line) Tofukuji -> Gion-Shijo (¥150)
(Hankyu Line) Kawaramachi -> Umeda (¥390
Total ¥540 (thus an ¥80 saving – how stingy of me ;))
Now I’m just sitting in McDonalds charging my phone. I picked up the cheapest burger and thick shake they have on offer (¥100 each). I have to head over to Umeda Sky Building and check in for the bus, which starts at 7:00pm.
I hate being the first one there… I’ll probably show up a little later 😉