Must visit areas in Kyoto: Fushimi Inari Shrine and Arashiyama Bamboo Grove

Fushimi Inari is one of the most iconic places to photograph in Kyoto. You may be familiar with the area already, as it was one of the scenes in Memoirs of a Geisha where Chiyo runs through the red torii gates right after meeting the Chairman for the first time. The visually stunning moment has led thousands of tourist to the temple hoping to relive the exact same running scene of the young Geisha.

We hailed a cab from Gion going to the shrine and it took us around 15 minutes to arrive at the destination. The cab will drop you off at the foot of a tiny street, which is closed to vehicles. You will find yourself in front of a big torii gate as an indication that you are now entering the street leading to Fushimi Inari.

There seemed to be a weekend market the time we visited, where stalls lined up at the sides of the road, selling snacks (takoyaki, korokke, dango, baked fish on stick, etc), drinks, souvenirs and even furniture.

At the shrine proper, you are greeted with the "Romon gate", and right behind you will find the main building of the complex. At the back of the building starts the beginning of the journey to 10,000 torii gates.

Yay! The best part is to reenact the memoirs of a geisha moment!

If you're wondering what do the Japanese characters in the torii gates stand for, they are actually the names of the companies that have donated to the shrine for maintenance and/or restoration - great advertising as well, if you can read in Japanese.

Once you are inside the gates, it feels like a never ending tunnel! Its as if the further you go, the longer the torii gates are before your next exit.

Right after our trip to Fushimi Inari, we headed on over to Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. 

We took a cab from Fushimi Ward to Ukyo Ward (since we were not familiar with the train system of Kyoto and didnt want to waste any of our precious time!) On our way to our destination, we actually fell asleep on the cab! I woke up to a picture perfect view of the mountains, the stream and the beautiful blue horizon. 

It actually took us 40 minutes from Fushimi to Ukyo! Good thing we were travelling in groups, our cab bill reached around Y4,000! Thank God for the very courteous cab drivers of Japan and for consistently good service, I actually think taking cabs if you're a group of 3 or more is well worth it. Hassle free and gets you from one place to another on time.

The entrance to the bamboo grove is a tiny street at the side of the main road, where we found quaint food stalls that serves Japanese delicacies, dessert and drinks.

There were also shops at the side that sold hand crafted items such as baby bibs, towels, shirts and plush toys.

Walking up towards the sprawling bamboo forest, it was such a calm and relaxing experience! You can feel the cool breeze, smell the scent of nature and hear the birds chirping and bamboo swaying. A great place for meditation and a morning stroll. You can even rent a bike if you prefer the slightly uphill climb. 

Another great thing about Arashiyama Bamboo Grove is, it will cost you nothing to visit such an amazing and picturesque place! Its a MUST visit destination in Kyoto.

Address of Fushimi Inari:

Fushimi Inari Taisha, 68 Fukakusa Yabunouchicho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture 612-0882, Japan

Address of Arashiyama Bamboo Grove:

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan