Fushimi Inari Taisha, Kyoto, Japan

I ventured out on my own to visit one of Kyoto's most famous shrines—Fushimi Inari, with its thousand torii gates. I decided to wait until sunset, hoping to beat the crowds. While I didn’t hike all the way to the top, wandering through enough of the site left me in absolute awe. I even made a little cat friend along the way, who wandered over for a pat as I was trying to photograph him—a moment that caught the attention of many Japanese tourists. It felt like a good sign. It was nice to explore on my own, though the tanghulu I tried wasn’t quite as good as the one I had in Harajuku.