Fresh fruit and veggies under the water wheel

When the summer comes, we set up a small wooden basket with a water wheel and keep cool the fresh fruit and veggies at our shop front.

The rainy season has arrived a bit earlier than we expected but it is still nice to walk in a moist air and the nature.

Mini torii with your name in Japanese characters to take home

Small toriis are also dedication from the visitors of Inari yama, usually from a small business owners and individuals who wish for their business success, family safety and health.

At Yakuriki, the shop 11, we have miniature toriis to take home, and we also turn your name into Japanese characters and write them with your wish and the date on the torii. It's only available at our shop, so don't miss it if you are thinking of a unique souvenir for yourself and your loved ones!

Fushimi Inari marked Top 2 tourist destination in Japan

According to the Trip Advisor website, Kyoto Fushimi Inari Shrine is marked the second of all tourist attractions in Japan after Hiroshima Peace Memorial Dome. It is the top of all destinations in Kyoto receiving many good reviews from the visitors from overseas.

Especially, the easy access from JR station which is only two stops away from Kyoto station, no time restriction for entrance and free admission are the attractive factors that bring the overseas visitors in. Also, Fushimi Inari Shrine is very unique for the red torii gates and the nature of Inari Yama at the back of the main shrine. A good hike up to the top of Inari Yama is highly recommended. What you will experience there is what you can take home as a good memory and the reviews would tell you what theirs were.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g298564-d321456-Reviews-Fushimi_Inari_Shrine-Kyoto_Kyoto_Prefecture_Kinki.html

Coffee trend in Kyoto

Japanese cafe style especially those ones in Kyoto (those ones serious about beans and taste) are rather secretive and private than public and friendly space. Many small cafes also roast their coffee and sell them to their local customers. Japanese people likes going to such cafe to enjoy their private space and time.

Drip or syphon coffee are the main stream in Japan until recently Starbucks and other Seattle style coffee got popular among younger generations for its style and fashion. Latte art is considered an additional valued Art (and some place actually charges extra 150yen for that!).

Melbourne, where we lived over the past years has countless of cafes that serve good espresso based coffee with a warm personal touch. Communication is what brings the customers back and of course the coffee that they make.

We hope we can provide such space in Inari yama especially for the people who are away from home, make them feel like home although in such a mystic place in Kyoto.

Facebook check in available at Yakuriki

Fushimi Inari is one of the most popular tourist destination in Kyoto but not many visitors know that there is a mountain behind the main shrine where a path with a pile of torii gates continues... Unlike other tourist places packed with people, you will find yourself in a contrast of red and natural green, tranquility and peaceful mind.

We are up in the mountain, find us at shop11.

The Spring and the Golden Week

The first week of May is usually a holiday week in Japan and it is called the golden week. During this week, many Japanese tourists are also staying in Kyoto on their holiday. Similarly, the gods of Inari takes a few days off from work and stay at a place called Otabisho near the Tohji temple in Kyoto. The day of their departure is a festival called Shinkou sai and the day of their return is called Kankou sai. In old times, Goshintai (object of worship) is carried by horses and a portable shrine for the trip but nowadays with trucks.

Now that they are back to Fushimi Inari Shrine, they will be busy until this time next year.