Fushimi Inari Shrine

Fushimi Inari Shrine

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The vermilion torii gates at the Fushimi Inari Shrine in southern Kyoto.

One of the recommended tourists spots in Japan is the Fushimi Inari Shrine which is also considered as the most important shrine dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. The shrine also serves as a gateway leading to the wooden forest of the sacred Mt. Inari which stands 233 meters above sea level.

From Osaka we went straight to Kyoto which is less than 15 minutes by shinkansen or 30 minutes by local train. Here's the gang with Kyoto Tower in the background. :)


We headed straight to Inari which is the second station from Kyoto along the JR Nara Line.


The shrine is across the station so upon arrival you will see this giant torii gate called Romon Gate. Behind it stands the Honden building which is the main building of this shrine.

Torii gates are donations by individuals and companies. You might notice the writings on the back of each gate, these are the names of donors and date of donation. According to Japan-Guide.com, donors pay around ¥400,000 for a small sized gate and increases to over ¥1,000,000 for a large gate.

Torii gates are made of wood and painted with a bright red orange color (vermilion).


It's a bit of a struggle to take photos ha. You gotta have skills or a fast camera to take that solo shot! Haha.

We didn't bother hiking to the summit of Mt. Inari because we didn't have that much time and it was too damn cold to do so anyway. Picture picture na lang coz kahit san ka tumingin madaming maganda sa Japan. Hahaha.

Speaking of maganda, we found locals dressed in their beautiful kimonos.


No need to shoot ng patakas, just ask and they will happily oblige. ;)


These small wooden plates are called Ema. Shrine visitors write their wishes on these plates and then leave them at the shrine in the hope that their wishes come true. Most people wish for good health, success in business, passing entrance exams, love or wealth.


After our short trip to Inari we are back in Kyoto station where we had katsu lunch at Wako (Tonkato Wako or Tonkatsu Wako) before heading to Arashimaya. ;)

Our First Shinkansen Ride

Our First Shinkansen Ride

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Paolo blogged few weeks ago and shared how you can get a JR Pass in Manila. The JR Pass is available only to tourists visiting Japan. It is NOT available for purchase in Japan though so you need to order in advanced. This pass authorizes the holder to have unlimited train rides under the JR line so it's very recommended to those staying for a week or a month! ;)

There are exchange offices in different airports all over Japan.


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Once inside the JR office, you need to present your JR Pass Exchange Form and fill-up the other application form to claim your passbook. No need to line up for regular train tickets, just present the pass at the entrance/exit of the station.


How to use your Japan Rail Pass from JRPass.com on Vimeo.


For those who prefer not to get a JR Pass, you have the option to buy anytime but this will cost more.


JR Pass holders need to get/reserve their shinkansen seats through JR offices.


I love that Japan is slowly but surely opening up to the western culture. Believe it or not we didn't get lost this time around. Haha.


Inside the shinkansen on our way to Nagoya. It feels like we're inside an airbus plane but this one's more spacious. ;)


Don't lose your tickets! Guards check them once the train leaves the station. Nakakatuwa rin coz everytime lalabas at papasok yung mga guards lagi sila nag b-bow. ;)


Btw, the JR Pass is not valid for all trains like the Nozomi and Mizuho lines. This selfie was taken inside an N700 shinkansen that has a max speed of 270km/h.

Riding the shinkansen almost feels like you're inside the plane. If you ever do get hungry, they sell food onboard or you have an option to bring food from kiosks at the station. ;) So glad I was able to tick another item off my bucketlist because a trip to Japan will never be complete without riding the shinkansen. :)

How to get a JR Pass in Manila

How to get a JR Pass in Manila

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Blogger's Note: This is a guest post by my boyfriend Paolo. I've been bugging him for quite some time now to write something for my blog. :) If you're traveling to Japan then this entry is for you! Enjoy! ;)

Hi everyone! It’s an honor to be a guest contributor here. I look forward to sharing with you my experiences, and hopefully you guys learn a thing or two from it.

As you might have recalled from Maye’s previous posts, we’ve been to Tokyo last February 2014. We had so much fun (yes, despite that record breaking snow storm) we knew we have to come back. But this time around we went to different parts of Japan like Osaka, Nagoya, Kyoto, and Tokyo for 9 days. Some of you are probably thinking that it’s a tiring and expensive itinerary. Tiring? Yes. Expensive? Yes, but there’s a way to make it less expensive.

Japan is interconnected by trains, majority of which are owned and operated by Japan Rail (JR). And, because of their wide coverage of the country, they are offering the JR Pass. It entitles the buyer to have unlimited rides to all JR trains, buses, etc. The JR Pass is available for temporary visitors/tourists only.

As usual, trains are our primary mode of transportation, specially the shinkansen (bullet train). Let’s just say that we made the shinkansen our regular local train during this trip. Sa mahal naman nun, kailangan masulit di ba! :)

Photo taken inside the Hikari Shinkansen going to Nagoya.

There are 2-types of JR Pass: Ordinary and Green Class. With the Green Class JR Pass, you may use the Green Car (first class) area of the train which has bigger and comfortable seats, and it is more expensive compared to the ordinary one. The JR Pass is good for 1 to 3 weeks, price of course will differ depending on how long you'll stay in Japan.

For our trip, we purchased the 7-day ordinary JR Pass through the official website, www.japan-rail-pass.com. It costs us USD 557.00 (USD 288.00 each) including shipping. Please take note that the pass will come from London and may arrive 3-5 working days depending on you location, after confirmation of your purchase.

Blogger's Note: For those who don't have a credit card and prefer to get one while in Manila, you may contact Attic Tours.

The JR Pass was delivered via FedEx exactly 3-days after we purchased, a day before our departure. Very last minute lang di ba. Hehe.






At the back of the exchange order cover, you’ll see a map of the major stations with exchange offices.

You will not receive the actual pass, but, you’ll receive an exchange order that you will present in any JR exchange office to claim your pass. Here’s the list of train stations with exchange offices that you can go to, www.japanrailpass.net/eng/en009.html.

In the exchange office, you need to fill-up a form to indicate your preferred date of use. You can either activate it immediately or at a later date. After that, your JR Pass will be handed over to you.

Happy traveling!

Blogger's Note: In all fairness naman, sulit na sulit namin yung JR Pass. Medyo mahal lang tingnan but if you're staying for more than a week in Japan super recommended ko siya. ;)