Japan: Day Three

Third day in Japan was great but exhausting. We woke up early and caught the Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo to Kyoto. Our first order of business was booking the rest of our trip - it's a three day weekend here in Japan and everything is booking up quickly. Luckily we were able to plot a great itinerary for the next few days, but it wasn't easy.

With our travel plans solidified, we set out to explore the local temples and shrines. First up was Fushimi Inari-taisha a Shinto shrine founded in 711.

The shrines were nice and there was a nice hike up to a nearby lake. After the hike we grabbed Takoyaki - battered doughy balls with octopus inside - from a street vendor. Here they are being cooked:

Next we walked up to Tōfuku-ji, a large Buddist temple complex. While the temple buildings were cool, the Japanese maple trees were all vivid colors; the scene was stunning.

In the evening we walked around Kyoto but there wasn't much happening. We checked out a few of the castles / palaces but they were already closed. We though about staying in Kyoto a bit longer but we're eager to see more of the country and leaving this morning (day four) for Hiroshima.