11 Feb AF SuperDope Japan Part 4
What I wanted the most out of this trip wasn’t to spend my time aimlessly searching for car shops or car related things to do. I’ll get enough of that with VIPFEST and Osaka Auto Messe. What I wanted out of this trip was to do as many touristy things as possible within the time frame of me being here. Along with fatassing like a king and eating all that good good out here. Eating is also a very important part of my trip. But the most important thing was seeing Japan culture and history in any area that we can get to. So with that said, I finally got to visit the beautiful city of Kyoto! I had a ton of fun here because it showed me the more beautiful side of Japan, where it’s not just bustling cities and normal suburban areas. So our first destination? The amazing Fushimi Inari Tori gates!
This was simply, beautiful. This area, and everything that dwells in it is truly amazing. I’m not going to go into the history side of the gates and this whole area, as I myself know next to nothing about it, but, just being in the area and taking it all in was awe inspiring. Walking around truly does give you a sense of wonderment, as you walk along areas that existed for over a hundred years.
A lot of the traditions still remain when people visit the area. For example, using the above to cleanse the hands and body to prepare yourself to meet the gods/spirits that exist. We actually took part in some of these things and with the help of Hiro, was able to do it without looking like a complete fool.
One of the more famous reasons why so many people visit Kyoto is to see the insane amount of Torii gates all over the area. Hundreds of these are spread all along the trail up the mountain. Yes, we didn’t know that this was a trail/hike that lead up the mountain side. But we took it in stride and just did it. It was really worth it seeing each one of these torii gates placed one after the other across the entire trail. And as you can tell, Freddie enjoyed all of it.
While going through all of the torii gates, there were breaks in-between that had small shrines. Each one differing in meaning. Some for fortune, some for luck, some for health and even some for couples prosperity. Viewing the many shrines was truly interesting as each was setup in their own personal way. Not any one shrine resembled another and each one held a special meaning. After nearly spending 2ish hours hiking up and down this mountain, it was time to eat!
Stopped by a tuna spot that was basically eating at someones house they converted to a restaurant. But, it was an amazing experience that felt like eating at your friends house and their mom/dad made something for you. Felt “homey” and made for awesome food. Such as the “A lot of tuna bowl”.
Some of that double burner action “dad” had going while make some of our fatty tuna pieces.
And our fatty tuna bowl was complete. This was amazing in so many good ways. It was the perfect amount. It was delicious and overall was perfect after our mountain walk.
After feeling refreshed from our meal, we made a short drive down to another temple, the Kiyomizu-dera temple. Large, vast, and beautiful in every way. The only thing that kind of sucked about this temple, was that they were performing some construction. But it was ok as the rest of the areas were still accessible and equally pretty.
Last but not least, Kyoto is a very traditional area. Traditional in the sense that there are a TON of Japanese women and men, in traditional kimono’s. You can walk around to every temple in the area and you will always see beautiful kimono’s everywhere you go. It was awesome as I had always hoped to see traditional wear when visiting Japan and finally got my chance.
And of course, we had Japan’s #1 best model ever!
Thank you for viewing part 4! Still got more from our trip to Japan!
