Travel: Japan 2016 Day 14 // Kyoto // Walk: Fushimi Inari Shrine

01/01/2016

あけましておめでとうございます~.

Happy New Year and wishing everyone a joyful, happy, and bright 2016.

On the first day of 2016, 1/2heart and I woke up pretty early because we wanted to see the Torii gate on low tide - where we could walk up to the gate.
(the rest of our companions couldn't be bothered to wake up. Ha~!)

And we thought we were early. The streets were already filled with people, especially at the Itsukushima shrine and Daisho-In Temple.
Have to admire Japanese people!

The torii gate were filled with coins amongst the barnacles.

After breakfast at Watanabe Inn - which also includes zoni (it is a kind of mochi in soup) - we headed back to mainland by ferry.

Our destination is Kyoto, but not before I had Anago Meshi (if you were in Hiroshima or Miyajima, you have to try this! Anywhere is fine. We had one just outside the station.)

Then we headed to Kyoto, boarding the Shinkansen and a few subways again.

For our stay in Kyoto, we are staying at this AirBNB place. It is a charming old Japanese style house, and absolutely spacious for the 4 of us.Tomoka - the host of the place - and her family welcomed us with an Osechi Ryori. Truly a special and memorable experience for us, as this is a new year's tradition usually only spent with family members.

After dinner, they left to go home to Shiga (despite our persuasion to just stay the night). So we went to Fushimi Inari Shrine (which I had been to last year)

The Shrine was full of people. I guess it would be the same with major shrines anywhere on new year's day.





How cute are these candies!!

The thousand torii gate at night...