October 24 — Our 28th Wedding Anniversary, 1000 Torii Gates, and Knife making

Twenty-eight years married, and we celebrated in Kyoto!

We started early with a walk through the city’s largest geisha district. Beautiful narrow alleys and little waterways made it a lovely place to begin our anniversary.

Along the way, we spotted a house that was decorated for someone’s 19th anniversary — we had to stop for a photo. What were the chances we would wander down that street and see an anniversary display? I think Mom was watching over us.

We learned about the women who have dedicated years to traditional dance, music and the art of entertaining. In Kyoto, fully trained geisha are called Geiko, while apprentices are known as Maiko. Although their apprenticeship typically lasts around five years, learning continues throughout their careers—a lifelong commitment to keeping these traditions alive.

Next was Fushimi Inari Taisha, famous for its seemingly endless rows of 1000 red-orange Torii Gates. They wind up the wooded mountainside, creating beautiful tunnels of colour.

It’s hard to imagine so many gates in one place! Although the famous section is called “The Thousand Torii Gates,” there are around 10,000 along the mountain paths, offered in prayer or gratitude for wishes fulfilled. We were shocked to discover that even the small Torii Gates require a donation of $2,000 to be installed. Check out the scale of the Shrine on the map below.

After lunch, we tried something completely different: knife-making. Yep, we made our own knives! It felt like a fitting continuation of our Samurai theme.

With our sword smith guiding us, we heated and hammered the metal until it began to resemble a blade. We added a clay design to the sides, and our master craftsman inscribed our chosen words.

Mine is engraved with “28th Anniversary” and Brent chose his mom’s favourite expression, “Aren’t we lucky”.

Such meaningful anniversary keepsakes—and a little different from flowers!

We finished the day with a tapas-style dinner about 15 minutes from our hotel. The restaurant came highly recommended and was fully booked for the evening—a favourite with locals and travellers alike. A lovely way to celebrate 28 years together!

A Few Interesting Facts

• Kyoto has five traditional geisha districts. Gion Kobu is the largest. These districts are often called hanamachi, meaning “flower towns.”
• Fushimi Inari is a Shinto shrine, rather than a Buddhist temple. It is the head shrine of roughly 30,000 Inari shrines across Japan.
• Torii’s are orange/red coloured gateways into sacred spaces: The shrine’s striking orange/red colour is traditionally associated with protection against evil. It is also the same colour as the Japanese flag, with the orange/red circle representing the sun.

Please Enjoy the VIDEO Taryn put together of our Time in Kyoto. Tomorrow we head to Toba.