Kyoto Day 5

by Brianin Japan, Kyotoon Posted on

On day 5 in Kyoto (Thursday) I rode over to Arashiyama, probably most commonly known for the bamboo forest. The setting here was my favorite throughout the week and riding my bike along the river looking into the valley was especially nice. I mentioned that the bamboo forest is one of the more popular attractions here however I think there are far more better things to see. I’ve uploaded some videos too so I hope they work for you… enjoy!

Riding towards the river through a lot of small farms and nice houses.
Came across these two men working in the field and I thought this little planting machine was pretty cool... did a lot of the work for them (see video below)
Made it to the river! From here it was just a matter of following it until I got to the town
Nice clear water
Almost there!
The "Kimono Forest" near Arashiyama Station
First stop of the day was at Tenryu-ji
The famous bamboo forest is right next to the back exit of the temple grounds. It was pretty crowded and the walk was shorter than I expected... could probably walk through in under five minutes. Still nice but maybe not worth so much of the hype that it gets? ahh well, check it off the list
At the other end of the bamboo forest is Okochi Sanso Villa...
They say this actor spent 30 years designing and building up his villa
Looking across the valley at some random house
The villa is mostly made up of the gardens and was pretty nice... I would say it's worth visiting if you're already in the area... admission comes with free foamy matcha!
I just thought this was a little creepy... doll museum place
Next stop was Nison-in Temple. Most of it was being renovated however you can still walk through the ancient cemetery on the hill side of the temple grounds.
Usually I don't mess/touch things I'm not familiar with or don't understand the meaning of, but an old man that works here told me to strike the bell for happiness so that's what I did hehe
After Nison-in, I continued walking to the next stop which was Gio-ji Temple... a rather small place but known for its moss garden.... I like moss so that's why I went...
All of the different types of moss present at the garden.
More of a garden than a temple to me, small but still something nice to see if you have time
Going further into the valley was Adashino Nenbutsu-ji. Apparently this area was where a lot of dead bodies were abandoned since the Heian period and so thousands of Buddha statues memorialize them here.
There was also this tinier version of a bamboo forest here which led to more gravestones... a little shorter than the previous and more popular one but I did have the entire place to myself
There are many old things in Kyoto, and apparently the two tea houses on both sides of this gate are some of them... I just liked the rooftops. This is after Adashino Nenbutsu-ji on the way to Otagi Nenbutsu-ji.
At Otagi Nenbutsu-ji... the farthest stop from the station I planned on walking to and I was pretty tired at this point anyway.
This place also had many statues (over 1000) but with a more humorous look to them..
After Otagi Nenbutsu-ji I walked all the way back to the main town to see the opposite side of the Togetsu-kyo Bridge
I didn't realize they had a monkey park here until I got to Kyoto so this was thrown into the itinerary as sort of a, "if I have time," sort of thing.... and I did hehe
It's a short hike up to the monkey park... less than 30 minutes I would say... typical switchbacks.
Nice view from the monkey park... can see all the way back to Kyoto Tower
What you see is pretty much the monkey park area... small but many monkeys
The girl with all the monkey friends... she's there to make sure they don't get into the building
Inside is where you can feed the monkeys from... they basically climb on the outside and take food from your hand.
Kyoto Tower in the distance (near my hotel)
It's a nice view
Baby monkeys!
Parenting hehe
Learning to climb
Baby ran to Mom when two other monkeys started fighting nearby
Just proof I was here hehe
Looking up the river...
They have river boat tours which start upstream and end up here near the bridge I believe... did not have time this trip to try one.
Katsura River
Nakanoshima Park
Bridge to the park
Park bench looking towards Togetsu-kyo Bridge
Bit of a hazy sunset but still peaceful
Many shops and restaurants closed early (about 5-6pm) so I think I was lucky to find some good food still!
Made it back to the station a little after dark

Strava Link! I actually only rode to/from Arashiyama Station area. I left my bike at one of the lots (¥200) because people seemed to be really picky about where the bikes are left. One shop owner actually followed me while I was walking and looking for parking, finally telling me no parking in that area. I generally don’t like to pay for bicycle parking and I later found a cheaper place behind the train station but live and learn I guess. The entire day was mostly walking everywhere after that.

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