Today started off with a bus and train ride to Fushimi Inari-taisha to see the iconic red gates. I thought the storm from last night had passed as it was no longer raining, but I ended up being very wrong - and sopping wet. It was still a fun and beautiful hike. I went with a friend I made in Tokyo from the UK who happened to have a similar itinerary. I've made more new friends while traveling in one week than in two years in San Francisco. It's very easy to bond with other solo travelers.
Afterwards we visited the local market and tried Inari sushi for the first time. Looks weird but it was really tasty.
I left my friend and spent the next few hours doing laundry and drying off. I was pretty proud of myself for being able to ask for and purchase detergent entirely in Japanese, and even more proud of figuring out how to use the laundry machine :)
After drying off and hanging my laundry to dry I walked to a shopping street called Sanjo Dori and stopped into a random restaurant. Ended up having a delicious bowl of charbroiled chashu pork and pickled vegetables.
Next on the list was a short walk to the Nijō castle to view its gardens and palaces. Unfortunately no pictures were allowed inside the palaces.
And for dinner I had okonomiyaki, which is a savory pancake made with cabbage, other Japanese vegetables, shrimp, pork, and a delicious semi-sweet sauce.
