Arashiyama is a district in the west of Kyoto which is hugely popular with tourists. Eager to see what all the fuss was about, me and my friend headed their on a day off from university. Our first stop was one of the most famous sights in Kyoto - the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. Having seen tons of Instagrams and read countless blogs about how the bamboo grove 'feels like another world', I armed myself with my camera and expected to be instantly transported to a Ghibli-esque land. I have to say, I was a little bit disappointed.
Don't get me wrong, it was fun. I love the sound of bamboo moving in the wind and how small you can feel stood in the middle of the towering trees. I haven't seen bamboo so densely packed or well looked after anywhere else. But... firstly, I was disappointed by how short the path was. It's only 500 metres, which at a normal pace would take like 5 minutes. Obviously, it's really beautiful so you want to take your time and soak up all the magic, but that's kind of hard to do with how busy it is. You have to be constantly alert for cyclists or rickshaws running past, and navigate your way carefully past all the selfies/photos. Hence I don't really have any photos of it to share, despite it being one of the most Instagrammable places in Japan (I also left my ISO setting on way too high so I am partly to blame..). I completely understand why it's recommended to come very early in the morning; I can imagine how at that time, with the light just coming through the trees and no other people about, it could feel otherworldly. But for me, it was more of a pleasant stroll than an event in itself.
However!!! The rest of the day in Arashiyama more than made up for it. At the end of the bamboo grove we visited Jojakko-ji temple, which actually felt more magical with its mossy hills, lanterns and beautiful view of Kyoto. After that we headed down to explore the main street of Arashiyama. According to InsideKyoto, the main street is 'nothing but a tourist circus' and time would be better spent in the bamboo forest. I would disagree. There was such a lively buzz, a lot of really unique shops and tons of things to look at. My favourite shop was the 'craft museum of Arashiyama' which sold hanging mobiles and other handmade crafts that were an absolute treat for the eyes.
Next on the list was the Arashiyama Monkey Park on Iwatayama. So I actually wasn't sure how much I wanted to do this bit of the day. I know Japan doesn't always have the best treatment of animals so I thought it might make me sad, it was getting a bit late and cold, and it was a big old hike up the mountain to reach it. But it was only about 500yen so we went for it, and I am SO glad! Firstly, the monkeys (Japanese Macaques or snow monkeys) aren't confined at all. It seemed like a kind of similar set up to the deer in Nara, where they are reliant on the humans for food so choose to hang around but aren't forced to be there. There were no fences and no cages. I really enjoyed watching them... though from a safe distance, since they kept getting into fights and were definitely capable of getting quite aggressive.
But the monkeys weren't the only attraction; the top of the mountain also had the best view of Kyoto I have seen yet. And that's saying something, because I already seem to have viewed Kyoto from about 20 different angles around the city. We were there at about 4.30pm so the light was just starting to fade and (sounding like a broken record here) it was really really magical. Once the sun had set it started to get super cold so we headed down, spent a little bit of time looking at the peaceful Togetsukyo bridge then headed back to the station.
We hadn't really eaten all day so I finished off with a warm Chinese style dumpling to get me through the journey home. It was an exhausting day but so much fun and I definitely think that Arashiyama deserves all the hype it's got - though not for the place it's best known for. Unfortunately this visit was just before the leaves started changing so we didn't get to see any of the beautiful colours, but maybe I'll head back for sakura season and try to catch the bamboo at a better time of day.
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