Random Thoughts

After more than an hour of travel time by bus, we finally arrived Arashiyama District.

Our first stop, The Togetsu-kyo bridge.

The Togetsu-kyo Bridge has been a landmark in Western Kyoto's Arashiyama District for over four hundred years. The wooden bridge spans the Katsura River in front of Arashiyama Mountain, offering incredible views. The spring cherry blossoms and fall colors draw large crowds, as the scenery is spectacular. SOURCE.

The bridge has often been used in historical films. It is also a popular place for feeding koi (carp) which live in the river, or watching cormorant fishing in the late summer. It is also the site of an important initiation for local children. Young boys and girls (the latter clad in kimono) first receive a blessing from a local temple and then make their way across the bridge under orders to do so without looking back. If one ignores this instruction, it is said to bring bad luck as a result, so the stakes are high! SOURCE.

Yes, it was definitely a beauty!



This beauty is located at Tenryuji-susukinobaba-cho, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto, just 1-minute walk from Keifuku Railway Arashiyama Station.

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
- Darkest London Series Book #2: Moonglow by Kristen Callihan
- Book #3: Winterblaze by Kristen Callihan
- Book #4: Shadowdance by Kristen Callihan
- Book #5: Evernight by Kristen Callihan
- How to Fall in Love by Cecelia Ahern
- Currently Reading: This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper

What movies and/or TV shows did I watch this month?
- Invisible Sister by Disney
- The Intern
- On the Job

What special days did I celebrate and how?
- Valentine's Day! ♥♥♥

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
- Allergies are starting this month :(

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
- Met up with Hubby's College friends for an annual get together
- Celebrated the VDay with my sister, CFC Friends and Family (Day)
- Met up our new household! Yey!
- Had Taco Saturday
- Kids' Assembly

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
- Slice
- Cyma
- JayJ's
- Pancake House

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
- No shopping this month ♥

What have you learned this month?
- I've learned that to be able to control your emotions you must learn to detach yourself from the situations that make you mad, angry, etc. Take the gap, a few seconds, a few hours, a few days or even a few months just to let the emotions subside. But most importantly, P.R.A.Y.

- Every person has his/her own likes, rules, dreams and goals. You cannot expect anyone to be the same as yours.

- “Life is a series of moments and moments are always changing, just like thoughts, negative and positive. And though it may be human nature to dwell, like many natural things it's senseless, senseless to allow a single thought to inhabit a mind because thoughts are like guests or fair-weather friends. As soon as they arrive, they can leave, and even the ones that take a long time to emerge fully can disappear in an instant. Moments are precious; sometimes they linger and other times they're fleeting, and yet so much could be done in them; you could change a mind, you could save a life and you could even fall in love.” by Cecelia Ahern, How to Fall in Love

- “Things won't change unless you change you.” Cecelia Ahern, How to Fall in Love

You have a sky full of stars? Tell them through this song by Coldplay! (*wink*)

Have a good one, peeps!

On our third day in Kyoto, it was still raining and cloudy but we still looked forward to a great day!

As always, we started with a good breakfast...


And then off we went to ride a bus to Arashiyama District.


After more than an hour, we finally arrived in this beautiful district.


This is just a train station!


We've been putting off eating this green tea ice cream (didn't know how good it was!) until finally we felt like trying it...


Aaaah, it was definitely good! ♥♥♥

And, here's the preview of Arashiyama District.


Will post more about it later. (*wink*)

Check out our yet another yummy Japanese dinner on our 2nd day in Kyoto...

YES, we have officially decided that we will go back here just because of THE FOOD. ♥♥♥

Happiness is...

1. Beautiful Songs
2. Whom Shall I Fear when God is with me?
3. Feeling healthy
4. Relaxing Weekend ♥
5. Kids' Assembly
6. Taco Saturday
7. Movie and Wine Night with the Hubby
8. Summer Getaways Soon!
9. Musical.ly
10. Movie Time with the Kids

To know how this started and credits of the header, click here.

After the rain stopped pouring, we finally entered Fushimi Inari Shrine and went straight to the beautiful Torii Gates.

At the very back of the shrine's main grounds is the entrance to the torii gate covered hiking trail, which starts with two dense, parallel rows of gates called Senbon Torii ("thousands of torii gates"). The torii gates along the entire trail are donations by individuals and companies, and you will find the donator's name and the date of the donation inscribed on the back of each gate. The cost starts around 400,000 yen for a small sized gate and increases to over one million yen for a large gate. SOURCE.

The hike to the summit of the mountain and back takes about 2-3 hours, however, visitors are free to walk just as far as they wish before turning back. Along the way, there are multiple smaller shrines with stacks of miniature torii gates that were donated by visitors with smaller budgets. There are also a few restaurants along the way, which offer locally themed dishes such as Inari Sushi and Kitsune Udon ("Fox Udon"), both featuring pieces of aburaage (fried tofu), said to be a favorite food of foxes. SOURCE.

It was the highlight of our 2nd day in Kyoto. I highly recommend that you check it out too.


To get there...

Fushimi Inari Shrine is located just outside JR Inari Station, the second station from Kyoto Station along the JR Nara Line (5 minutes, 140 yen one way from Kyoto Station, not served by rapid trains). The shrine can also be reached in a short walk from Fushimi Inari Station along the Keihan Main Line.

So very true...

Come on, let's dance this day away!