Bamboo and Geishas

Our second full day in Kyoto dawned with a grey sky and still some light rain around but it was scheduled to clear. So we headed downstairs for the hotel’s “fresh” pastry breakfast before walking 20 minutes to Kyoto Station. We won’t be doing that again. The pastries, I mean. Awful.

Having arrived at Kyoto Station without rain impacting us, we bought tickets that would deposit us closer to the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. A different train system to Tokyo means a slightly different way to buy tickets - I could purchase return tickets in one go and avoid finding another machine at the other end. Win.

A family shrine we walked past. You can tell it is Shinto by the red Torii gate.

As with 99 per cent of our train journeys in Japan so far this one was just a journey of a few stops and again, we had to stand most of the way. The Japan rail system may be hugely efficient but they don’t have a lot of seats on their trains. Actually, there aren’t a lot of seats anywhere - something that has proven problematic when you have small children with sore feet. Maybe that’s why you don’t see obese Japanese people - they can’t put on weight because they never sit down.

Anyway, I digress. We arrived at our station and alighted for the short walk to the forest. We are out in the suburbs now so it is interesting to see streets and laneways of small dwellings away from the multi-level apartment blocks and hotels in the city.

The bamboo forest, with huge natural bamboo trees towering above you, is like stepping into another world. Bamboo walls the path on both sides to shut out daylight and noise. At least, it would shut out noise if there weren’t about a gajillion other tourists doing what we were.

Too many people blocked the path to try and get a photo or a selfie. I’m sure I’ll be in a few. There are too many people around for others to be expected to pause and stay out of the way. Get any photo you can get them get out of my way.

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest’s path winds along until it reaches Tenru-ji Temple, a place of worship for Buddhists of the Zen persuasion. The two main faiths in Japan include Buddhism and Shintoism. Temple equals Buddhism and shrine equals Shintoism.

A lot of coins in that pond.

The Japanese garden at the temple.

We walked the grounds of Tenru-ji Temple after purchasing entry only to find if we wanted access to the halls that would be an extra 300 yen per person and you’d have to walk back to the entrance to pay. Ah, no thanks. Maybe tell people this information when they are already at the entrance buying tickets.

Tenru-ji Temple, or the Temple of the Heavenly Dragon, has stood at the site for more than 700 years although most of the buildings are much newer than than that - it has been ravaged by fire eight times, most recently in the late 1800s. Because of this some buildings are as recent as 1912. The gardens, however, remain untouched, making them some of the oldest in Japan and dating back to the fourteenth century.

We took a seat next to the pond at Tenru-ji because it was covered a light rain had started to fall. The pond was full of big carp and what I think was koi. Aiden picked up a rock from the garden and asked to keep it. No, I said, as an elderly man picked up a nearby rock and pocketed it before walking away. The disrespect some people show in these places is mind-blowing.

With the rain looking to lighten, we headed back into the bamboo forest to finish walking its length before turning and retracing our steps back to the station. We came across an American tourist asking all the right questions of her friends on the way back. “This isn’t real bamboo is it,” she asked while standing in the midst of a giant natural bamboo forest. I honestly don’t know how some people figure out how to get out of bed in the morning.

We lucked out getting seats on the train back to Kyoto. Nah, just kidding. Of course we didn’t. Stood for every stop but the last. We attempted to find food in the shopping centre below the station but without luck - did I mention there is just nowhere to sit in Japan? We eventually admitted defeat and grabbed a taxi back to the hotel so we kind try for something a little closer to home.

The Geisha District by night.

We rested at the hotel for a couple of hours until sunset and then we headed out for an evening stroll to the nearby Geisha District which is not too far from us.

We walked along Hanamikoji Street which is beautifully lit at night with hanging lanterns. A couple of Geishas could be seen walking to their appointments. As with most places we’ve been in Japan, the crowds were excessive. We walked the length of the street and got out of there.

Sunny forecasts for tomorrow. That means heat. I think I prefer the rain.