Torii Gates, Teppei, Tall Trees and Typhoons

Sep 4, 2025

We started the day strong by getting on the wrong train.

We were heading to Fushimi Inari Shrine and somehow managed to board the incorrect line, but luckily, we had built in enough buffer time (thanks to Evan!) to reroute and still arrive with time to spare.

We met our guide, Teppei, in front of the shrine and immediately knew we were in for a morning.

Teppei was a character. So energetic, so enthusiastic, so... sweaty. This man wore a full dress shirt, slacks, and loafers to hike up a mountain of stairs. By the end, his white shirt was completely soaked through. He definitely gave Evan a run for his money in the sweating department.

The real funny part though was that he was heading to his day job AFTER hiking up the mountain with us. Oh no!

We began our climb through the iconic torii gates which became those bright orange-red arches that seemed to go on forever. (And really they did because before 9am we had over 10,000 steps!) Teppei explained that each gate is actually a donation—individuals or businesses pay to have their names inscribed as a way of honoring the deity Inari, associated with prosperity, business success, and agriculture. And not only do they sponsor the gates, they’re also responsible for maintaining them.

There are thousands of them.

The vivid orange color of the gates is believed to ward off evil spirits. And now it all makes sense why I slept well at night and Candace had recurring nightmares (I chose to paint my room bright orange in high school) ...maybe mom should try sleeping in there. 

Early on, we stopped to do a traditional fortune ritual involving a stone that's referred to as the “Omokaru Stone.” You make a wish, then lift the stone. If it feels lighter than expected, your wish is said to come true. If it feels heavier… not looking great.

(Results will remain undisclosed.)

As we climbed higher, we passed smaller shrines scattered along the path and each one was dedicated to something different. One for prosperity, one for relationships (you know we stopped there), and others tied to more niche blessings. 

At one point, Teppei pointed out a sacred tree with exposed roots and said they were symbols of grounding and connection. He said people often pause here for reflection. I think he just needed a break from all his sweating.

Also: apparently in Japan, seeing a spider first thing in the morning is considered good luck.

We saw a lot of spiders.

This did not make Evan feel lucky.

Cats are also considered lucky—especially in connection with prosperity—and we saw quite a few of them lounging near one of the shrines. Evan had no problem soaking up the good luck from the felines. 

We kept climbing. And climbing. And climbing.

At a certain point, we reached a viewpoint. It was not the summit, but honestly, it was the best view of the entire hike. 

Teppei, meanwhile, was documenting everything. He insisted on taking photos of us every few minutes. At first, we played along. Then we ran out of normal poses. Then we started posing strangely.

Big mistake.

He loved it.

We now have more photos from this hike than from the rest of the trip combined.

On the way back down, Teppei bought us postcards and introduced us to inari sushi—sweet tofu skin filled with rice, named after the shrine itself. We sat nearby to eat and ended up next to a group of middle school girls on a field trip who were absolutely fascinated by us. Teppei translated back and forth while they asked questions and giggled. 

^^yep apparently we even needed a photo of us eating...

After our climb, we attempted to go to Vermillion Cafe, only to discover there are multiple locations and both are underwhelming.

So we pivoted and took the train to a soba noodle spot that was recommended by Marie. It was so good. Kyoto continues to deliver on food.

Next up: Arashiyama Bamboo Forest.

We took two trains and even hopped on a little trolley/cable car to get there. The bamboo forest itself was cool to see but if you’re tight on time in Japan this might be a skip.

That said, the surrounding area was beautiful. We wandered to a bridge over the river, found a bench, and just sat for a while watching everything go by.

We also spent a solid amount of time watching the rickshaw drivers and questioning how they are physically capable of pulling full-grown adults around all day. Truly impressive.

Afterward, we headed back to the area we were staying in and made a stop at our now-favorite spot, Sights Kyoto, to grab a drink and catch up with Marie. We told her about our day including how much we loved her lunch recommendation, and she told us another group had also been in earlier marveling at the sponge. HA!

For dinner, we went to an obanzai restaurant (another Marie recommendation, obviously). Obanzai is a traditional Kyoto-style meal made up of many small, seasonal dishes. It felt like a never-ending parade of plates. Some were incredible and some were not my personal favorite. Evan gladly handled anything I didn’t finish.

After dinner, we found a hidden speakeasy tucked behind a bookshelf of liquor bottles. We had to stop in. I ordered a caramel popcorn cocktail that tasted exactly like popcorn (mindf*ck?!) but was very sweet, while Evan had a yuzu martini that he really enjoyed.

We got to chatting with the bartender after spotting a bottle of gin from Koval, a distillery that's local to Chicago. Of all the places to see something from home... a hidden bottle bookshelf bar in Kyoto.

We also noticed they had mezcal, which was confusing because earlier in the trip someone told us it wasn’t allowed in Japan. The verdict is still out on that one.

We walked home in the rain which turned out to be the beginning of a typhoon.

Luckily, Marie had warned us earlier in the day. She mentioned that as foreigners, we likely wouldn’t receive emergency alerts, (which we didn't) and reassured us that we didn’t need to evacuate. She told us just to expect heavy rain and strong winds and that our best bet was to stay inside.

The bartender at the speakeasy had a slightly different recommendation: go to your favorite bar and ride it out.

We’ll see what tomorrow brings.