Japanese shrines and temples from Kyoto to Nachi
Snow on Kyoto You are a traveller. You are queuing to take a photograph at Fushimi Inari-taisha shrine in Kyoto, Japan. Tens of tourists are lined up outside the very first vermilion coloured gate. It’s one of thousands of gates that loop up to Mt. Inari and back and there is plenty of time to take a photograph, but your companions don’t realise this. The bearded one is fiddling with settings on his camera. The curly haired one is zhuzh-ing her hair for a closeup. Torii at Fushimi Inari-taisha As you walk around the shrine you notice several visitors wearing kimonos. There are a bunch of kimono rental shops around Kyoto. Japanese visitors dress up in richly coloured and intricately fitted kimonos and walk around the old streets and ancient shrines, stumbling awkwardly in wooden clog sandals on the cobbled walkways. At Kiyomizu-dera You walk through gate after gate at Fushimi Inari-taisha. Later you learn that these gates are called torii, they mark the e...