Japan Day 9- Fushimi Inari Shrine-10,000 Red Torii Gates!

Today we went to the Fushimi Inari shrine known for its 10,000 red torii gates that line a pathway up and down the mountain behind the temple shrine. There were thousands of people there and it was very crowded but it was pretty amazing!! (It is the Emperor of Japan's Birthday today...not sure if that had anything to do with it, or that it was because it was a Saturday.) Leading up to the Shrine and gates was a street full of vendors selling street food... it all looked and smelled REALLY good!  We didn't do the whole circuit (takes about 2 hours), but we definitely got the gist of just how many gates there are!  We probably only saw about 1/6 of the whole thing!!  We saw some beautiful girls dressed in their kimonos and our guide said the locals like it when you ask to take pictures with them, so we did.  They were very shy and we thought they might not want to take a picture, but their mother who was with them already had her camera out, so we knew we were OK!  The tour ended at a local sake brewery where they showed us the process of making this very alcoholic drink... it didn’t interest us in the least but we wanted to see the torii gates so we went on the tour. After we got back we went and found some street food... tasted like our chicken fingers in the States and I had it with a spicy BBQ sauce... it was good! We got some crepes (which are filled with fruit and custard and are exactly like the French crepes-- I was impressed!)  and boba drinks again!! They are so good! I think I'm addicted to those!  We went straight back to the hotel because I was FREEZING!! It was only in the 40’s today and it was windy so I was very cold!! We had the Edward Jones Farewell dinner tonight Where we had another delicious meal and entertainment!  Now I need to pack because we fly out tomorrow! I’m excited to go home!! It has been a long but fantastic trip in so many ways, but I’m anxious to get back to normal life and sleep in my own bed!!