My outfit details:

balloon sleeve blouse (I bought mine in Japan but the one I linked is SO similar and only $24 on sale)

Agolde “Riley” jeans

Scenic flats

$7 heart sunglasses (my go-tos for trips, so I won’t be too sad if I lose or ruin them like I would with the $$ Saint Laurent ones!)

Kim is wearing a vintage dress, converse, and heart sunglasses.

With all the chaos that this year has brought, I got sidetracked and didn’t finish posting my Japan trip. What a nice memory that is! It was such a beautiful, fun, carefree trip. Well, besides that one day when I dropped my camera and broke Bobby’s expensive lens, and spent the rest of the day crying because I felt so guilty. And then poor Bobby felt guilty because I felt guilty. I couldn’t get ahold of him due to the time difference. We’re powered by guilt, this couple. Anyway!

Fushimi Inari Shrine

Kim and I had a short list of musts in Kyoto. I had been before, but she had not — and there are a few absolute musts. You’ll find some on tripadvisor lists, but being top tourist destinations don’t make them any less worthy. One absolute must see? Fushimi Inari Shrine, which is dedicated to the Shinto god of rice. Those foxes are Inari’s messengers.

Hiking through the thousands of Torii gates up a wooded path in the mountains is an unbelievably beautiful experience. Each gate is donated–mostly by businesses, which explains some of the advertisements on one side. We went very early to avoid large crowds. However, most of our photos on the solid, non-advertisement/dedication sides turned out not so great. It was due to the light and not wanting to disrupt any passersby. When taking photos, it’s always important to me that I don’t affect anyone else’s experience or get in their way. This is a big reason I often take photos before most people are awake. Oh, and then you don’t have to worry about people in your photos;) That’s a huge reason, too!

Hiking to the Top

It’s about a 2.5 mile hike to the top. The gates get more and more sparse as you go up. You don’t have to hike to the top–we didn’t, because we were limited on time and had another hike to consider! We went about halfway or so and then turned back, and the crowds were already getting crazy once we reached the bottom. On our train ride out, I stopped and got a few inari sushi treats for later, which is one of my favorite childhood treats. It’s sweet, deep fried tofu pockets with sushi rice and you can find it with different ingredients within, like mackerel or ginger. Trust me, they’re delicious. Apparently they’re the foxes’ favorite treats!