29 October 2017
Rain concentrator
Fog covers Fushimi Inari shrine
My rain dodging days have come to an end, today I was the single focal point of all the rain in the world.
I knew there would be a lot of rain, I knew I would get wet, I knew I would have to battle the terrible umbrella apocalypse, I knew I was going to the place with more tourists than any other place in the world, even on a rainy day - the infamous Fushimi-Inari shrine.
This is my 4th visit to Kyoto, and I have never been, generally because its not a very long walk, even if you go to the top and do the full summit circle walk, which I did, in the pouring rain.
I selected it as my destination today because I wanted a shorter walk, a walk that would be concrete paths, I also had some sort of a silly idea that the red Torii gates would shelter me from the rain, instead they concentrated the raindrops into huge drops, which all fell on me.
Whilst I dont mind getting wet, my camera probably does not like it at all, neither does my pocket wifi thing, and I am still not sure what the real status of my stolen Korean phone rebirthed in the UAE before being sold to me by a Chinese woman in Melbourne is, chances are its been opened and repaired and is not at all waterproof, so I best be careful!
This meant taking photos was a quick whip it out take a snap, stick it back in the case, as fast as possible affair, without getting rain on the lense, and I think some of my photos suffered as a result, towards the end the lense just fogged over and I gave up.
I had grand intentions to locate a path down the other side of Mount Inari, those plans went out the window, there were rivers of water running down the concrete steps, so I wouldnt have been able to navigate the muddy path down the other side.
My very wet appearance was a real shock to some locals, who gasped as they saw me, and would speak to each other in hushed tones covering their faces with their hands. I presume they were saying that a homeless foreigner is living on the mountain, hold onto your purse/wallet.
Also, this being a very touristy spot, perhaps the most touristy spot in ALL OF JAPAN, I got to see every kind of tourist, and most of them having a tantrum, women especially.
The best one was actually an Australian couple, the woman was really behaving like a small child yelling at her husband in front of everyone that he had ruined their stupid holiday by taking them up a stupid mountain HIGHER THAN EVEREST in a blizzard. She was actually sobbing whilst yelling, despite being about 40 years old.
The reality of the situation was, it was light steady rain, up a 'mountain' a couple of hundred metres high - and they had full body raincoats and umbrellas.
Once I got back to my hotel room, I soaked in the tiny bath, and have cranked the heating whilst carefully placed my damp everything in front of it. This means I am sitting here naked and sweating, good times.
Tomorrow is supposed to be sun again, I have plans! So far the weather forecast has been 100% correct, lets hope that continues.
Anyway, if you like photos of red gates, you will like todays photos.
A very damp and grey Kyoto station. Still when I was here, it was not actually raining, and I had delusions that it would not rain where I was going, I was very wrong.
Let the umbrella apocalypse commence!
This is the main shrine, its somewhat amusing that no one really comes to look at the shrine, just the gates behind it.
A sea of umbrellas.
OK, some people were just going into this bit, and thats all, about one hundred metres from the station.
This meant they were standing in there with umbrellas up, making noises of amazement. I was trapped in here for ten minutes without moving at all, so I backtracked and walked around it.
I honestly think some people were prepared to stand there for hours to get a photo without people in it, but I dont know how that could be possible.
Theres actually a going up and a going down path, so if you run to the top around the paths you can get a decent shot of the going down path. That sounds more confusing than it should.
After that point, the crowds really thin out, and so do the gates.
Theres about 9000 shrines along this path, for all different things, including horses, rabbits and dogs. I dont know that theres a cat shrine, which seems a bit of a failure.
I did a detailed analysis of the gates, they are not all the same, I think some are wooden, normally the ones at the front of any section, some are plastic with a foam core, and some are metal reenforced concrete.
Fog! I was hoping for fog, I wanted really dense fog, I dont think I will get it. However I also noted that the whole path is lit, you can go up here at night, hmm....
Enjoy the wonderful view of Kyoto.
Dog shrine, I think. the photos were suffering by this point! It became difficult to operate the camera controls with my wet hands.
More fog. Might be PICTURE OF THE DAY!
The lighting is good, makes the fog look better, but the wires are really annoying, I started to notice them more and more.
Ascend through the fog.
Once on the summit loop its quite flat, with a few downhill sections. It really is not a strenuous 'hike' at all.
Overweight tourists disagree with me, I am ashamed of you.
OK last one, very redundant, but its here.
There are lots of little areas like this, with tea shops and vending machines, and lots of wires! However there are no toilets, there are signs explaining there are no toilets on the mountain because it is considered sacred.
I had drunk a lot expecting to hike further over the top, so I twice urinated on the sacred mountain.
Donkey shrine, more wires.
Seriously, how annoying is that wire?
Seriously.
A very wet me, not looking too wet in the photo, although there appears to be leaf or a leech on my cheek, or maybe its on the camera lense.
Why do I still have 2 chins?
Why am I a middle aged man with a grey beard who worries about his jawline?
THE STANCE.
I still dont look as wet as I was. Although the weight of water on my long sleeve t-shirt (appropriate rain attire?) really shows off my man boobs.