Japan Trip - September 2009
- Part 2 -
- Part 2 -
All images ©2009 Copyright the author
Day three was spent in Osaka, firstly in the Minami-ku area around Dotonbori for a feed of sushi at the Ryugu-tei restaurant, and then in the southern suburb of Sakai so my wife could visit some hundred yen shops there.
Osaka Dotonbori
Day 3
Day three was spent in Osaka, firstly in the Minami-ku area around Dotonbori for a feed of sushi at the Ryugu-tei restaurant, and then in the southern suburb of Sakai so my wife could visit some hundred yen shops there.
Osaka Dotonbori
Dotonbori in the Minami-ku (southern) part of central Osaka is a popular area for entertainment, food, and shopping. Dotonbori is one street running near and parallel to the canal.
The entrance to the Shinsaibashi-suji shopping arcade from the bridge over the canal. The Ryugu-tei restaurant is a short distance along the arcade from here.
The canal behind Dotonbori.
A TV crew talking to a group of people on the bridge.
Some shops along Dotonbori.
The legs on this crab move in and out from the wall a little.
The sign beside the dragon says something-or-other ramen, so the shop presumably sells ramen noodles.
These octopus balls are very common around Japan. The writing on the side says 20 for ¥1000, 10 for ¥500, and 6 for ¥300. They're quite tasty if you like octopus.
Inside the Shinsaibashi-suji arcade.
A side street off the arcade.
The Ryugu-tei restaurant.
The Ryugu-tei menu. Prices have gone up ¥100 since we were here last year.
Sakai City, Osaka
Sakai city is a southern suburb of Osaka, on the way to Kansai airport. It has a large 100 Yen shop in the Rainbow Plaza there, about a kilometre from the station, and another couple of 100 Yen shops in another plaza right beside the railway station.
Near Sakai station, heading to the Rainbow Plaza.
On the train back from Sakai City.
The central ticket barriers at Osaka station.
Ticket machines at Osaka station.
Day 4
Day four started with a visit to the Fushimi-Inari-Taisha shrine, located in Inari just out of Kyoto on the Nara line, and then the Tenryu-ji temple in the Arashiyama district on the western side of Kyoto.
Fushimi-Inari-Taisha Shrine
Looking back towards Inari railway station from the entrance to the shrine.
Near the entrance to the shrine.
The main entrance. Entry is free.
Beside the main entrance.
The main entrance from inside.
The shrine is home to a range of gods, and foxes are thought to be their messengers. Consequently there are quite a few statues and other images of foxes around the place.
Around the main shrine area.
A minimalist garden. Raked sand as a feature is common in temples and shrines.
Heading up towards the corridor of torii gates.
The corridor of torii gates.
A map of the shrine. I only followed the corridor of gates to around the central ponds and then looped back to the left. My wife went further around the back part.
More views of the corridor of torii gates.
Heading around the back part of the loop.
And back from the pond area along the route I took.
Sights heading down the lefthand side back towards the main shrine area.
This bowl is for washing coins. You then keep those coins and apparently wealth will stay with you.
At the souvenir shops.
Some souvenirs.
Tenryu-ji Temple
From Inari we took a train back to Kyoto station and then a bus to the Tenryu-ji temple, which is in the Arashiyama district of western Kyoto. It is near the Hozugawa river, which flows down from the western hills.
A pedicab near the temple.
Entering the temple grounds.
The main temple area.
Inside one of the main temple buildings. Entrance to the temple grounds costs ¥500, plus another ¥100 if you want to look through the buildings. The two main buildings are cordoned off from the grounds area, but you can still see inside the first one quite well from outside. We went through the buildings as well as the grounds.
The corridor to the second main temple building. The path along-side heads up to the rest of the grounds and towards the northern exit.
Inside the second main temple building.
Outside again and heading along the path to the northern exit.
The bamboo forest just outside the northern exit. There is a short stretch of road through the forest, after which we turned down to the river.
Tour boats on the Hozugawa river. These tours run from Kameoka in the western hills to this point, taking about two hours. Apparently there are a number of small rapids along the river and it runs through scenic gorges. There is a special tourist train to get up to Kameoka, or you can take the ordinary JR train. We considered doing the trip but changed our minds in the end.
Where the boats end up.
The weir separating the hills from the edge of Kyoto city.
