bon voyage
Back to the trail

Letters back

  • Maya Chen

    2 days ago

    The mountain path is the photograph. You got it.

The plan behind the postcard

Hotel, ride, who went, and the days — take what you need for your table.

Quiet gates

November, four nights

Quiet gates

Fushimi Inari

Planned by Kenji Watanabe

Osaka

The mountain path is the photograph, not the first gate.

Place
Fushimi Inari
Kyoto, Japan
Family
1 adult
One person. One good frame a day.
Hotel
Hiiragiya Annex
Ryokan · 4 nights
Ride
ICOCA card, no car
Trains

Goes into your bag. Sit at a table so friends can pack next to you.

Where they slept

Hiiragiya Annex

The hotel

Hiiragiya Annex

Ryokan · 4 nights · Fushimi Inari

A six-tatami room in Gion. Dinner in-house once. The rest of the nights I ate standing up near the river.

How they moved

ICOCA card, no car

How they moved

ICOCA card, no car

Trains

Keihan to Fushimi. Walk up. The mountain does not need a taxi.

The days

1

Day 1

Arrive after dark

Fushimi Inari

  1. Check in. Bath. Sleep.
  2. No temple on the first night.
2

Day 2

Before seven

Fushimi Inari

  1. Fushimi Inari at 6:40. Keep climbing past the tenth gate.
  2. The mountain path is empty if you do not turn around.
  3. Noodles in Fushimi. Back by four.
3

Day 3

Lantern hour

Fushimi Inari

  1. Gion in the morning, before the buses.
  2. A bookshop. A long coffee.
  3. Walk the canal at lantern hour. That is the second frame.
4

Day 4

Leave the camera

Fushimi Inari

  1. Same path as day two, no film.
  2. Train to Osaka after lunch.