The next stop on my trip with my family was Kyoto. In Kyoto we visited three popular shrines.
The first shrine we visited was Fushimi Inari-taisha. This popular and heavily photographed shrine has many paths under tunnels of Torii. In the picture below you can see there was a heavy stream of visitors entering the path.
Along the way my sister and I decided to take an unmarked path and make our own way ahead. We expected that the path we took was a shortcut. It had some very nice views of bamboo.
After walking on deserted paths for half an hour we realized we were a little lost. Instead of turning around however, we pressed ahead and enjoyed the scenery.
Eventually we came to a sign for the top of the mountain, and followed that path up. The way down was easier than the way up.
The next shrine we went to was Kinkaku-ji, another popular and famous destination. This site was so crowded that it was difficult to get in, and we had to wait in a thirty minute line. The photograph above is of the closed off section of the shrine.
The last place we went Ryōan-ji, a Zen Buddhist temple. Pictured above and below is the rock garden here. The meaning of the garden is up to interpretation, and so there is a place for guests to sit and observe.
I thought that this temple was the most beautiful of the ones we visited on this trip. To come into the building and view the rock garden you had to remove your shoes, and inside it was very pretty and quiet.
This temple even had a miniature model of the rock garden so that blind guests could observe the pattern of the rocks.
