Imari

Last full day in Kyoto so I'm trying to make it count. 

Sat downstairs in the hotel and picked up the comp breakfast. I've been eating portions a more reasonable person should eat so breakfast was fairly light finishing with a huge orange. 

Thumbing through the lonely planet the nijo palace and the Inari temple seemed to be good bets. Both on the subway and both pretty historical and culturally important.

The palace. Nice enough but didn't blow me away. Maybe I'm jaded. 

Looking at the map I plot a course for the temple. 

I get a fair shake from the subway attendant who points me on the right direction and I walk for about a mile. 

About half way I start to run out of gas so I walk into a little beef bowl joint. It's like yoshinoya but it's another name. I get Addison bowl of beef and kimchi. It's good but it's about twice what I've been eathong so I feel big. This might have been a bad idea.

Good thing I still have half a mile to walk so that will settle it a bit.

It does and I get to the temple. In a forest of brown bark and green leaves dozens and dozens of oats colors bright orange, they say vermillion, but the contrast is fantastic. 

The is a small shrine up a path and part that shrine is another walkway lined with the Orange gates as far as you can see. So I follow it. The path snakes through the woods and I'm surrounded by people following the path.

The site is fantastic.

The path turns and forks. One way main temple the other mount Inari. Well fuck I'm here, it's mt Inari. I feel good. Last few days I've walked miles my feet are under me and I'm okay most of the day. However half and hour in the term mount starts to cycle in my brain and I think they have not used the term carelessly.

It was beautiful. There was a stop at a small lake and small graveyards and memorials but the climb wouldn't stop. 

I got to an overlook which was nice but the sign said I was a little more than half way.fuuucccckkkkkk.

I'm glad I had that fucking beef bowl before I got there or I would be passed out at the foot of one of these fucking gates.

I decided to push on to one more stop. So at sammonine rubbed the foot of one of the fixes rubbed the head of the dragon. Tipped the shrine and rang the bell and made my way down.

At the hotel I'm beat but I made the most of the day

Have my ticket for tomorrow. I'm moving on.