Living Abroad – Tips for Living in Japan, Cell Phone Service

Hey everybody, as you guys may have noticed, I was abroad in Japan for approximately 11 months (until July 2013). One of the biggest questions I have been asked by prospective visitors to Japan, as well as fellow students who will be study abroad, is how to handle for cell phone service. Well, here’s everything to my knowledge about cell phone service in the land of the rising sun that I am aware of. And just as a heads up, for the land of technology, getting your cell phone to work is a royal pain in the ***

One thing to note is that Japan has very restrictive laws with regards to getting a cellphone plan. Unless you are a long-term resident, or on some sort of extended visa, it is impossible to simply purchase a sim card and use it for when you are here. It’s quite annoying, but can be worked around by renting a sim card for your trip here (alternatively, you can use T-mobile’s new free International roaming, but this is also short term). Note that this is for short trips (1 week to 2 months), and should NOT be used for long term visits. For long term visits, there are two options: go Prepaid, or sign a contract.

Sign a contract

As you might be expecting, signing a contract isn’t all too different from what you experience in other countries. You sign a contract with a phone company, purchase a phone, and pay a monthly fee for phone service. For foreigners, there is the added barrier of requiring your foreign residence card, your passport, and other forms of identification before getting service. And what makes this even worse is that while there is a 1-year contract, which is bad for students studying here for only 8-9 months. If you want to sign a contract, you need to be willing to break the contract at some point in time. This involves a fee which is usually around 10,000-15,000 yen, and even if you do this, the phone you purchased (e.g. an iphone) can’t even be used back at home in the USA. It is forever locked to Japanese carriers, and they don’t provide any way to unlock them. It truly is a pain in the *** to get going, and there’s a ton of rules to keep in mind. Nevertheless, if you are interested in pursuing this, it can’t hurt to bring your own unlocked Smartphone from the USA. NTT Docomo allows you to use unlocked phones on their network.
Softbank Prepaid
The non-contract option is getting a Softbank prepaid cellphone, which provides for both phone calls and texting ONLY (No internet). Texting/SMS in Japan is usually done though email, so you will get a dedicated softbank email upon purchase. You need your residence card and passport for to get the phone, and the entire process takes roughly 45 mins to 1 hour to setup.

Note that prepaid means you are not on contract. There are plans with contracts as well, but considering you may only be here for 1 semester (and the shortest contract being 1 year long), you’ll probably need a prepaid plan. Unless you’re willing to pay an early termination fee (usually well more than $100), prepaid is the way to go.

Pricing:
Prices are about 6000 yen for the phone itself, and a 3000 yen deposit (for cell service) that lasts for 2 months. For unlimited texting/messages, 300 yen is deducted from the 3000 yen deposit per month. Phone calls also use up parts of that 3000 deposit, 9 yen per 6 seconds (wtf?). Incoming calls are free of charge.
Smartphones from USA/elsewhere:
If you have a GSM smartphone (AT&T and T-mobile only, or unlocked iPhones from Verizon), you should be able to use it with your Softbank prepaid plan. You must unlock your smartphone via your carrier (or jailbreak, root, etc), and afterwards you need to move your sim card from your Japanese cellphone to the smartphone. Note, Softbank does NOT sell sim cards separately, so you need to buy your phone initially and swap the sim card out. Also, you might need to cut down your simcard if your phone uses micro/mini-sim cards (the newer iPhones use mini/micro, as well as newer Android phones). You can find instructions for to cut sim cards via Google or YouTube. Be careful when cutting though, you usually only get one shot. x_x

Continue reading if you want to read more about specific settings needed for smartphones in Japan.

Adventures in Tokyo – Tokyo Disney Sea

Disneyland is often associated with being a land of dreams. Or,  at least, Disney tries to present it that way. Filled with crazy rides and contraptions, life sized volcanoes and rivers, Disney land tends to be this huge otherworldly existence that can’t help but inspire some sense of awe. And all of this is less than a 1 hour train ride from Tokyo, Japan, one of the largest metropolitan cities in the entire world, having well over 30 million people. No wonder Tokyo Disney land is one of the most successful theme parks in the world. 🙂

What was most noticeable about my particular trip there was, well, the sheer number of high schoolers and middle schoolers there. They are quite easy to spot, with their school uniforms and all, but I didn’t expect to be literally surrounded left and right by school uniforms from various different schools. It’s one of those moments that make you realize that all those school uniforms you see in anime are for real, and that there really are students that choose their school based on how cute their school outfit is. Of course, the other thought that came to mind was “why the heck are these kids here? It’s a Wednesday (a school day)”.

Ahem, excluding the noticeable amount of students cutting class, Disney Sea can only be found in Tokyo (there are no other Disney seas in the world, or at least, to my knowledge). It is definitely worth checking out, even if you only drop by to see the glorious park itself. The park has a huge man-made volcano in the background, with a small little river nestled in a venice-styled neighborhood. They even have the boats that you might find in Venice, giving me strong vibes of the Aria anime (which is a great slice of life, by the way. Do check it out). there is a small pirate ship on the water, and some handsomely sculpted bridges all around. It is absolutely gorgeous, and definitely worth checking out, my short description here does not do justice to just how awesome the place is.

Of course, if this theme park was just about it’s scenery, it would get boring pretty fast. There are a ton of rides worth checking out,and I’ll just list them here in no particular order:

1. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

This ride is based on the novel that goes by the same name, and the ride is what you’d expect; you’re taken on an underwater journey where you can see various fish, monsters, and so on. It’s a charming ride that gives you the impression of riding a small submarine. While it was a disappointment that we didn’t ride the actual submarine in the water (seen here), it was loads of fun.

2.  Tower of Terror

There are, admittingly, Tower of Terrors in other disneylands across the globe, but it is still a thrilling ride worth checking out. I can’t say much without spoiling it, but you are pretty much sent on an adrenaline-rush of a ride, where you are thrown around at high speeds in the complete dark. Don’t worry, it’s perfectly safe, and an absolute thrill that gets your blood pumping.

3. Stormrider

This ride is similar to the “Back to the Future” ride in Universal Studios, where you are placed in the passenger seat of a ship flying through an intense storm. You even have the occasional hull breach, rain pouring in, and crashing effects that make the entire experience feel quite real. It’s an experience that gives you some perspective on just how intense mother nature could be, and have a blast while doing it.

There are actually a lot more rides worth checking out and exploring, but unfortunately, that would take a tremendous amount of time. Do you know what this means? You should go there in person and check it out one day 🙂

This series of posts, Adventures Abroad in Japan, was all possible in part due to the generous scholarship from the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship. For anybody that is interested in Studying Abroad, do make sure to check them out!

Visiting Tokyo – The Ghibli Museum in Mitaka

From what I hear, visiting the famous Ghibli studios is a rather drab affair. Instead, most Ghibli fans do either the following:

1. Visit the actual real-life counterpart locations to places in Ghibli films (I personally managed to visit the location that Ponyo was based on, which was pretty cool).
2. Go to the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo.

Of course, most tourists tend to opt for the Museum in Mitaka; after all, it’s a fairly convenient train ride transfer from the Yamanote line at Shinjuku station. For Tokyo residents, that’s as straightforward and simple as it’ll ever be. And since most people tour Tokyo anyways, it’s a good way to learn a bit more about the iconic studio.

With that being said, the one thing that you should keep in mind is that the Japanese seem to have this strange fear of photography indoors, making it neigh impossible to share the beautiful inner workings of the museum. There are countless little bits of memorabilia and items from the original Ghibli productions; I personally saw a replica of the little doll-house that was featured in arrietty, as well as the mask of noh-face hidden away in a treasure chest. A lot of iconic Ghibli items and trinkets are littered throughout the museum, which makes it a real shame that you can’t openly take pictures of these.

…Of course, though, there are always chances to sneak in a few pictures here and there. For instance, the picture above depicts an artist’s station that is reflective of what you might find in the actual studios. The first thing that comes to my attention is the use of paint, and other tools that require manual labor; Ghibli is one of the few studios that still try to stick with hand-drawn animation, and perhaps this workstation is reflective of such. However, Ghibli certainly has started using more recent technological tools (as seen in the likes of Spirited away), so this is all just a speculative guess on my part.

Aside from the workstation shown above, it was also cool to see real-life-sized items from the various Ghibli films that I’ve seen. Just take a gander below to see what I mean:

Of course, there were also your standard fare stuff that you were allowed to take pictures of, such as the robot from Laputa on the rooftop (pictured to the right), or the laputa-style cube-with-cuneiform(?) engraved in it.

While I know my words don’t do the experience justice, it’s a rather magical affair if you’re a fan of Ghibli works. As a bonus, you should try to time your visit during the times when they show their Totoro mini-sequel; yes, Studio Ghibli animated a little mini-sequel to their iconic movie, and it is exclusively available for viewing at the museum during certain particular months of the year. Unfortunately, I didn’t go at the right time, so instead I watched this adorable short-film about a puppy having a bad day. It’s a shame I didn’t get to see the exclusive Totoro mini-film, but at least the film admission ticket was pretty cool; a replica film-strip from Arrietty.

 

P.S. You should go enjoy a “Valley of the Wind” Beer. 🙂

This series of posts, Adventures Abroad in Japan, was all possible in part due to the generous scholarship from the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship. For anybody that is interested in Studying Abroad, do make sure to check them out!

Mountain Climbing in Kyoto: Climbing Daimonji

While I don’t necessarily take up mountain hiking as a hobby, it is quite obvious that Japan has quite a few mountains. As a matter of fact, historically, most major cities in Japan were built in areas surrounded by mountains. The mountains were said to be able to help ward off evil (perhaps it has a real-life correlation to preventing invasions or something, I don’t specifically know), so the obvious result of this tendency is that most cities that were founded in olden times have mountains surrounding them, Tokyo and Kyoto being no different.

With that being said, with so many mountains around, there was bound to be some event where I’d end up climbing one of these things, so what better way than to climb at 10PM at night while lugging along some snacks and a few cans of sake and beer?

To be more specific, in this case, I was climbing Daimonji, a mountain on the east side of Kyoto that is famous for it’s giant burning 大that is lit up every summertime. It’s a grand spectacle that I, sadly, won’t be able to see due to leaving Japan before it happens. Nevertheless, some of my crazy Japanese friends from Kyoto University (京都大学) decided to try and climb this mountain late at night in the middle of winter, and drink some alcohol at the top. Just a heads up, Japanese people LOVE to drink. Seriously, I feel like there are drinking parties every other week here, and they are all always dominated by beer. At least, that’s the general trend I’ve noticed amongst Japanese college students. Don’t let that anime fool ya, Japanese people love their beer.

Anyways, seriously speaking, the idea of drinking at the top sounded pretty damn awesome; I mean, come on, climbing to the top of a mountain when it’s pitch black, and drinking some sake under the dazzling stars while looking over the brilliant cityscape at night? That’s a real adventure right there, even if you realize that it’s probably stupid to climb down a mountain while intoxicated on a semi-dangerous mountain trail.

What I can guarantee you right off the bat is that the trek up the mountain will be a huge annoyance. Climbing up a mountain is no easy task when the mountain trail is all beat-up and windy, but what made this even more difficult is the complete and utter darkness there at night. I’m warning you in advance, make sure you bring proper equipment (flashlights, etc), and do NOT go alone. While the mountain trail isn’t the most difficult path to follow, if you’re not careful and didn’t prepare, the potential to fall to your doom is definitely there. And yes, of course we were prepared; we bought some cheap flashlights at the 100 yen store. :3

It took a good hour or so to reach the top of the giant 大 symbol, and by that point, we were completely and utterly exhausted. One poor girl showed up in some really nice, expensive looking high heels, which I’m sure got ruined from this hike. But hey, once we got there, all the cursing and whining about the climb instantly came to a stop. To put it simple, the view from the top is absolutely breathtaking. Words nor pictures can do the view justice; while I tried to take some good pictures, it just wasn’t doable without a proper camera for nighttime photography. The only half-decent photo I managed to take is the one near the beginning of this post, where a bunch of my buddies are banzai-ing towards Kyoto.

To give you a general image of the scene, imagine sitting atop a mountain that is several hundred meters tall. The air is pristine and clean, it is pitch black and cold, you are surrounded by trees and nature, all with a steady cool wind softly blowing at your face. From where you are sitting, you turn your head left and right, and all you see are lights. Storefronts, buildings, cars, lights from the city. No matter how far ahead you look, it’s all lights, dazzling lights. And if you went on a cold winter night, the skies should be fairly clear as well; when you look up, you see the dazzling stars and moon peeking through the sky, staring you down. The lights from the city blot out some of the stars, but you still get a beautiful view of the night sky. And while admiring this amazing view, you crack open a few snacks and some drinks, and chatter away with some friends, all while admiring this view.

A sort-of-terrible picture taken from a different point on the mountain. The spots that aren’t lit up tend to be other shrines, or in the case of Kyoto, the former Imperial Palace

Honestly speaking, this was an experience I ended up enjoying infinitely more than I expected to; I mean, come on, mountain climbing doesn’t exactly sound enthralling or anything, does it? Rather, it sounds like something old men might enjoy as exercise. But going at night was really a breathtaking experience that I’ll never forget, and yes, we did safely climb down the mountain afterwards. Mountain climbing at night certainly is an unconventional (and potentially dangerous if you’re not prepared) activity, but the rewards are definitely worth it. And after all that, I ended up buying a strawberry chocolate cream crepe. Delicious stuff Japan, delicious stuff.

This series of posts, Adventures Abroad in Japan, was all possible in part due to the generous scholarship from the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship. For anybody that is interested in Studying Abroad, do make sure to check them out!

Koyo in Kyoto: the Advent of Fall, and a traditional temple of Japan

Kyoto, Japan, is known as the ancient capital of Japan (the Miyako, 都). In particular, the city is famous for it’s vast array of traditional temples and it’s scenic views of nature during the four seasons. Sakura flowers in springtime, snow-covered temples in winter, the festivals of summertime, and the brilliantly colorful leaves of Fall. While these are all similar in many cities of Japan, traditional Kyoto is especially well known for it’s beauty during these seasons.

The changing of colors in particular, called Koyo (紅葉), is peculiar to Kyoto due to the presence of oft-visted temples such as Kiyomizudera (with it’s famous view over a stunningly beautiful forest along the side of a mountain). Here, though, I’m going to focus on a temple a little less mainstream than the likes of Kiyomizudera; a Buddhist temple called Daitokuji.

While I can’t quite claim that Daitokuji isn’t famous, it certainly isn’t the first temple that comes to mind amongst people (especially those from outside Japan) whom wish to explore the Koyo. I personally had no idea the temple even existed until I went there on a school trip, and while we ended up going there on a rainy day, it ended up that the rain was a blessing in disguise. The rain made the scenery, and the plant life in the garden, burst to life with lush colors that you would rarely encounter otherwise.

The temple itself may seem rather normal and plain at first, with the likes of your everyday Buddhist temple as seen above. Since many major shrines and temples were actually supported and built by the privileged classes of premodern Japan, many temples of the same time periods are similar; thus, it naturally isn’t a surprise to see many similarities architecture wise. In that sense, Daitokuji isn’t particularly special compared to other temples in terms of visual aesthetics.

During the koyo season, however, Daitokuji’s meticulously maintained zen garden easily becomes the most awe inspiring, the most beautiful aspect to the entire temple. The leaves of trees around the temple slowly transform into a brilliant golden-red color, and if you sit within the confounds of the temple while peeking outside at the leaves, the scene is truly breathtaking.

A panoramic photo I took of a part of the garden at Daitokuji. Click on it to zoom and see more of it.

The trees are absolutely gorgeous in Daitokuji’s garden around Koyo season, but that doesn’t mean the garden doesn’t have it’s other charm points. The garden has a very traditional feel and aesthetic to it, filled with the likes of moss-coated wells and solemn yet beautiful tombstones coated with green.

And of course, as I already mentioned, the greenery around the temple comes to life with lush colors, all courtesy of the rain. The temple’s garden is quite the beauty, and while it might not have the particular grandeur of the more famous attractions of Kyoto during the Koyo season, it is still worth visiting. It has a sense of tranquility and beauty that I certainly appreciated when I visited, whether it be the meticulously curated Zen rock gardens, the beautiful fall leaves, or the lush greenery surrounding the temple.

This series of posts, Adventures Abroad in Japan, was all possible in part due to the generous scholarship from the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship. For anybody that is interested in Studying Abroad, do make sure to check them out!

Adventures in Kyoto – The Natural Beauty of Arashiyama

Kyoto is the ancient capital of Japan. Of course, the modern day capital is Tokyo, and if you compared both of the cities you will notice some huge disparities. Tokyo, plain and simple, is a modern-day super metropolis of sorts, with towering buildings and roads crammed into every nook and cranny of the city. It is a modern day marvel, a sprawling supercity filled with over 30 million people.

In comparison, Kyoto is famed for it’s natural beauty, temples, and scenery. With famous temples like Kinkakuji, Ginkakuji, and famous festivals such as Gion matsuri, Jidai matsuri, and Aoi matsuri, it is the epicenter of traditional Japanese culture. Some local Kyoto-ites argue that Kyoto, by and large, is the true capital of Japan, but that’s a debate best left off to the Japanese.

Arashiyama, to the west of Kyoto city, is a bastion of natural beauty, particularly in the Spring and Fall. With a vast green forest nestled around a beautiful river, Arashiyama is serene in atmosphere and transquility. Of course, though, this is during the less-busy seasons of the year. During Spring and Autumn,  Arashiyama gets particularly busy with tourists, whom visit to see the gorgeous beauty of the area.

My particular visit to Arashiyama was during the Fall, the time when the leaves are in various shades of gold, red, and orange. Japanese maples are gorgeous in the fall, all accentuated by Arashiyama’s natural abundance of mountains and bamboo forests, nestled alongside a small river.

One of my particular favorites of the area was the bamboo forest that I walked through, where the stalks of bamboo literally stretched towards the sky. They are much larger than the bamboo I have seen in the United States, each with the thickness of an average human arm. Just walking through one of these forests feels magical, in a sense, especially when you consider how bamboo has been a part of Japanese history for centuries.

Of course, aside from the natural beauty, there’s also good food. Since Arashiyama is a tourist attraction, there are a tremendous amount of shops and restaurants littered throughout the area. The one that I visited was called Yoshimura, which had a small but beautiful view of the river from the second floor. And there, I had my first experience eating nishin soba, a soba noodle dish topped with nishin fish. There are some spices and negi added in, in a shoyu broth. It was delicious, and eating it while overlooking the river was a pleasant experience.

If you ever do go to Arashiyama, you should visit during one of the prime viewing seasons of the year. Those are mainly Spring and Fall, with each season adding it’s own unique flavor to the area. Of course, there is more than just natural beauty here. There’s also the famous monkey park, and temples all around.

This series of posts, Adventures Abroad in Japan, was all possible in part due to the generous scholarship from the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship. For anybody that is interested in Studying Abroad, do make sure to check them out!

Adventures in Kyoto – Gainax Exhibit and Manga Museum

Generally speaking, Tokyo is the city known for it’s association with anime, but that doesn’t mean Kyoto doesn’t have it’s fair share of interesting stuff. In particular, Kyoto has something called the manga museum, a “museum” where they stock a crap ton of manga and other anime related goods. Quite honestly, it’s almost as if you walked into a library when you go there; only, there is exclusively manga. An otaku’s paradise, no?

Interestingly enough, apparently the museum is actually a renovation of an old middle school, and thus, you get the dual benefit of exploring a Japanese middle school, AND read manga. Sounds like a good deal, especially since there was a special Gainax exhibit going on at the time we visited the place.

Just as a heads up, I’m pretty sure we weren’t supposed to take pictures in the place (Oh Japan and it’s aversion to photography indoors). So you get a nice look at some sneakily taken photos of the gainax exhibit. Because, come on, who the heck could not resist taking a photo of a human-sized Gurren Lagann?

Stressing out during the planning phase. Poor Gainax studio cardboard cutouts…

There were a lot of Gurren Lagann memorabilia scattered about, but what made this Gainax exhibit particularly fascinating was how it gave you a sneak peak into the inner workings of the studio itself. While there weren’t any live studio members, they gave the next best thing; cardboard cutouts of all the staff, each one “hard at work” doing their job making our favorite series. The exhibit walks you through the process that the studio goes through to make productions, and you see everything from the argument-laden planning process, to the grueling drawing/animation phase. It’s a rather fascinating thing to see, even if they’re cardboard cutouts (they were well-made cardboard cutouts, to be fair).

Stressing out over drawing what looks like Gurren Lagann. Is that a Asuka and Rei figure I see over on the shelf? :3

Life in the studio also seems pretty tough, if the picture of their studio layout is anything to go out. I mean, for pete’s sake, they have a freaking bed in their studio. Those last-minute deadlines and all-nighters must be tough…

Studio layout…. Is that a bed I spy in their studio…? =_=;

The manga-museum part was, well, nothing special if you’ve seen manga before. The only difference was that it was all in Japanese, something that could be good for reading practice. Oh, and there were a ton of young middle schoolers in the museum. You pay a small fee to get in, and get to read all the manga you want. Why couldn’t I have a manga museum when I was a kid? Life can be so unfair sometimes…

This series of posts, Adventures Abroad in Japan, was all possible in part due to the generous scholarship from the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship. For anybody that is interested in Studying Abroad, do make sure to check them out!

Adventures in Kyoto – Toji Temple and Flea Market

Southwest of Kyoto Station, amidst the hustle and bustle of modern day Kyoto, there’s a somewhat famous Buddhist temple called Toji. It is only a 10-20 minute walk from Kyoto station, so if you ever visit Kyoto, I would highly suggest visiting it if you are interested in Buddhism in Japan (and, on occasion, some shopping. Let me elaborate).

Toji itself is a temple that is over a thousand years old, dating back to year 796. It has plenty of Buddhist statues such as the one shown above, as well as a small pristine little garden. It’s most famous trademark, though, is it’s towering wooden pagoda. It is the tallest wooden structure in Japan, and unlike traditional pagodas that have smaller roofs as you approach the top, Toji’s pagoda has roofs that are essentially the same in size. The resulting impression is that of a tremendous, toweringly huge and earthy structure that you don’t fully appreciate until you are in front of it’s massive wooden pillars (which by the way, are thicker than your average human being).

It leaves quite the strong impression, but equally important to note is how Toji has a famous flea market held every 21st of the month. There you can find goods ranging from kimonos to tea cups, arabian knives to modern day toys. The selection is huge, and the lively market makes for a very enjoyable shopping experience.

I would say that if you ever want to pick up some cheap kimonos, see a buddhist temple in Japan, or even just want to randomly explore, Toji is definitely worth checking out.

This series of posts, Adventures Abroad in Japan, was all possible in part due to the generous scholarship from the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship. For anybody that is interested in Studying Abroad, do make sure to check them out!

Food in Kyoto, Japan

…I swear, at this rate, I might end much fatter when I leave for America, something which I thought would be impossible considering how much “healthier” Japanese food is supposed to be. Seriously, the Japanese seem to really love their sweets and fried foods! And it all looks so, soo tasty. o_o

Exploring Kyoto – Fushimi Inari

As any standard Japanese person would tell you, Kyoto is the bastion of all that is traditional; it is the iconic city that represents Japan’s traditional culture. Given that fact, it should be no surprise that Kyoto has numerous famous Shrines. There’s Kiyomizudera, a shrine famous for it’s great overlooking view of Kyoto (as well as it’s seasonal beauty in the Fall). There’s Kinkakuji and Ginkakuji, more often recognized via Kinkakuji’s iconic gold-leaf-coated structure.

And there’s also Fushimi inari, the main shrine known for it’s endless number of torii shinto gates. There are literally thousands of these gates, which makes it difficult to mistake this shrine for any other shrine. Of course, it’s head deity can be recognized via it’s name, “Inari” being the Shinto god of foxes, fertility, and a bunch of other stuff.

There’s a long history to this shrine, but I won’t delve into the details (you can read all about it on Wikipedia or something). What I want to talk about is something a little less formal… Mainly, the damned walk up the shrine.

Yes, the shrine is located on the side of a mountain, and that makes the visit to Fushimi Inari an extremely tiring affair. Yes, make sure you’re ready for a good hike. On a side note, curiously enough, important shrines in Japan generally were on mountains or atop hills for historical reasons: partly due to Chinese influence, and partially due to the status it conferred (there’s a reason why the trek to the imperial palace is an uphill one).

One example of such small shrines

Nonetheless, back on topic; yes, the trek up the mountain is arduous. There are a lot of stone steps that dominate this shrine, but what makes it all fascinating are all the little shrines and alcoves that are littered along the way to the top. You see dozens of these little stone shrines along the path to the top, and each one usually has some small offerings left behind by tourists, or other little details that are fascinating to see. Yes, the trek up the mountain is tough, but it’s not exactly an unfulfilling experience.

The view from the rest area. ignore the random pole on the side…

As you climb the mountain, midway into the shrine, you’ll run across a small rest stop. It’s a small teahouse of sorts, complete with Japanese snacks, ice cream(!), and places to sit around and enjoy the scenery. Fushimi inari is nestled in the thick forests surrounding the shrine, completely with small little streams of water and other facets of nature coexisting with it. If you are a fan of nature, it’s a scenic place to be. Of course, as an added benefit, you get to see a lovely view of all of Kyoto from the rest location; I’d bet money and say that the overlooking view must look stunningly gorgeous at night (whether Fushimi inari is open at night is, well, a different story).

While I wouldn’t say Fushimi Inari was my favorite shrine visit, it was certainly a memorable experience. For anybody that wants to visit, though, my only suggestion is to bring enough motivation to climb to the top. Believe me, it took a concerted effort from me and my fellow visitors to make it to the top. Motivation was a tough thing to find that day…. sigh…. 🙂

 

 

This series of posts, Adventures Abroad in Japan, was all possible in part due to the generous scholarship from the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship. For anybody that is interested in Studying Abroad, do make sure to check them out!