JAPAN TRIP: DAY 12 Fushimi Inari Taisha & Ichiran Ramen (Kyoto)

4.3.16

JAPAN TRIP: DAY 12 Fushimi Inari Taisha & Ichiran Ramen (Kyoto)

It was Sunday and we woke up a little bit late. Our first destination that day was Fushimi Inari-Taisha (Shrine), you might have seen the pictures of this place a lot. A place with rows of orange torii gates. From our guesthouse we walked to Kiyomizu-Gojo Station for a train ride straight to Fushimi-Inari Station.

Before entering the station, we had breakfast at Subway nearby the station.

4 stops after Kiyomizu-Gojo Station, we arrived at the Fushimi-Inari Station. The ride costed us JPY 210 each.

From the station, we had to walk around 5 minutes to the shrine. The area was quite packed on Sunday noon.

Like other tourist spots, you would find many stalls and shops before the shrine. Food, souvenirs, you name it.

The entrance was for free. Fushimi Inari Taisha is the head shrine of Inari - the Shinto god of rice.

Foxes statues could be found around the shrine, as foxes are regarded as the Inari's messengers.

At the back of the shrine, you may find Senbon Torii - thousand of torii gates. Each gates are donations from individuals and companies, as the donator's names and donation dates are engraved on the gates. The cost of each gate are different depending on the size of the gate. For us tourists, these gates are the mandatory photo spot. If you happen to visit Fushimi Inari Taisha on Sunday and planning to have a photo session here, just come earlier. It was hard to take a good picture at noon since people passed by all the time due to the large crowd.

Smaller shrines can be seen at the back of these torii gates.

If you want to, you can hike to the mountain summit to enjoy a great view of Kyoto. But we were too lazy to hike and just walked down.

Taking dogs to the shrine on a stroller? I think after I saw a goat dressed in kimono, this view was just something common in Japan.

I really love Kyoto environment. Even an effortless photo turned out to be like the photo below. No editing, no filter, the color tone was just as nice as it is already.

As we walked to the station, we found this tofu-gelato stall that caught our eyes. My friend bought one and I just tried a little since I was having a cold symptom that day. The tofu on the top of gelato was soft and delicious. If you are weak for ice cream, Japan is a dangerous place, for ice creams are everywhere!

And I wonder, why did students wear their uniform on Sunday?

Since it was passing lunch time, we headed to our next destination, Ichiran Ramen! I think it is one of the most well-known ramen chain in Japan. We stopped by at the branch nearby Nishiki market (map at the bottom of the post). We had to queue for the ramen.

As we reached the entrance, we were given these papers to choose our reference regarding the ramen we ordered.

We had to purchase our ramen through the machine below. Just click which ramen you want to choose, and what additional condiments do you want, then insert the money into the machine.

Then the machine will print tickets like below, I picked Tonkotsu Ramen - JPY 790 and tamago (egg) - JPY 120.

After we had our tickets, we still had to queue for seats.

From the panel on the wall, we could see which seat is occupied or not.

Finally I got my seat. Each of us got a private booth. I handled my tickets and preference paper through the window in front of me.

First, my tamago was served, unpeeled!

And finally, this bowl of ramen arrived. The tonkotsu ramen with thin noodle, sliced pork, green onion, and Ichiran's original red sauce. It was said that this red sauce recipe is only known by 3 of their experts, therefore only those three could produce this red sauce and regularly supply it to all of their branches, including the overseas branches. And one more thing, Ichiran claimed their tonkotsu ramen trans-fat free! Should I feel healthier after slurping down the whole bowl?

The thin

It was delicious! And since I knew that the most expensive part of ramen is the broth, I always finish it to the last drop.

After our lunch at Ichiran, we walked around the area, visit some shops and headed to Kyoto International Church for Sunday service. I had this bowl of Unagi-Don at Yoshinoya after church, and headed back to our guesthouse after dinner.

One more post to go and I'm wrapping this Japan trip series up. Also, another trip is coming up soon! Hint: somewhere I've been before. Oh I'm so excited already!

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