A Visit to Fushimi Inari-Taisha With New Friends

We accomplished half of our itinerary in Kyoto, Japan on our first day. We met up with Logan, Paula and their two boys, Lincoln and Brextan (9 and 5) at the tourist destination, Fushimi Inari-Taisha, a Shinto shrine.
It’s pretty much the star attraction of the city, and judging by the hordes of western tourists, that was pretty apparent.
We passed through many elaborate orange gates. The bright wooden structures are iconic to Japanese places of worship. After a bit of ice breaking, Nick and Lincoln went off a bit ahead of the rest a group. They were glad to have someone their own age to hangout with. We ambled through clementine hued torri gates so closely packed together they gave the illusion of being indoors. This mirage was fractured of course by the sunlight and the glimpses of the forest between the wooden pillars.
We didn’t summit the sacred Mount Inari, only getting halfway up before heading back down to the main shrine at the foot of the mountain.
For lunch, we had our first Japanese classic, you guessed it, sushi. Our Kiwi friends introduced us to sushi trains, conveyor belts that would deliver rolls right to you. All of us kids were shaking with elation and anticipation as we got our seats at the counter, separated by a few patrons from all adults but Paula. In front of each stool was a tablet where diners could order from a vast selection of tasty plates of nigiri, sashimi, maki, drinks, soups, dessert and more. Or if you wanted to actually see what you were ordering, take your pick of  delicacies wizzing by on a circular conveyor belt. Just before we parted ways to go to distant seats, I had one question for Dad. “ Can we go hog wild?”
With his blessing we did.
We summoned plate after plate of salmon, shrimp, tuna, eel and vegetable delights, savoring every bite. Nick and Lincoln splurged on a rather pricey plate of tuna nigiri and Dad was brave enough to sample nato, slimy rotten rice “the consistency of mucus and the taste of rotting flesh.” It was a meal to remember.
We decided to scratch our plan to go to the train musum when we stumbled upon a playground for the kids and drinks for the adults. We spent a few hours enjoying running around with kids as well as adult conversation and an unsuccessful geocache excursion.
In the evening we said farewell to our fellow family of travelers. All in all it was an awesome day.