Memories of Kyoto: Autumn in Arashiyama

In Western Kyoto, Arashiyama brings promises of monkeys, bamboo forests, and Zen Gardens. A couple trains can take you there, we take the JR line that brings us to the JR Sagano-Arashiyama station in under an hour. The station is small but busy. We step off and into a smaller Kyoto. The buildings are smaller, the roads tighter, but nature is more prominent here. Tradition Japanese shops line the road here and mountains jut out into the sky. Block out the sea of people and I could begin to feel the Zen seep through.

The December air is brisk but does not deter the crowds. The park is filled with life and activity. We move steadily through the crowds, weaving through people and cars rolling at a crawl. We stop for a quick lunch at a one of the Japanese girls favourite shops. They load up on sweets and we were good to go enjoy a beautiful and sunny day in Arashiyama.

The lines of people are all heading towards the Togetsu-kyo Bridge. We veer off to the right towards the parklands of Kamemaya. There is much less people out here. The hike is short and slight. The scenery, serene. Autumn trees dot the landscape with bright autumn tones. We arrive at the observation deck where a lone boat chugs alone in the river below. Our gaze follows the boat as it disappears into the deep valleys beyond, hugged by the green, and orange hills.

Our minds wander and our legs guide us further. Step by step we make our way around the multiple pathways and views. It's not too far away now, our main destination. The entrance to that photo famous bamboo forest of Sagano.

Ah Saganos Bamboo Forest. Not so much a forest as a grove. The path was narrow and the crowds were plenty. We entered wistfully craning our necks up to catch the gently sway of overgrown bamboo. Row upon row of thin green bamboo stretched up above us. A rickshaw pulls up and the crowd parts to make room. A smiling middle-aged couple bounce past on their carriage. We turn off onto a small detour. We only surrounded by swaying, rustling green and stop to watch the bamboo. A gust of wind hits the canopy above. The bamboo creeks and rustles violently, drowning out the traffic below.

After some deep breathes of the crisp fall air it was time to join the crowd again. The well shaded path is broken by some sunlight. It looks like a shrine or is it a cemetery? It's hard to tell. The path is blocked. We continue down the only path before shortly making it out the other end. It's an impressive little walk. Would be otherworldly if we'd gone earlier and avoided any other people. We do, and it's sublime. =)

Tenryu-ji is not far from here. The temple grounds is 500 yen to enter. Not a bad price for this 13th century garden. Bright red berries hang over branches in large bunches. There is a large koi pond in the centre. Around the meditation centre, an inviting patio wraps around the perimeter. People are taking off their shoes to enter. We do the same and investigate the interior.

Back outside we take a seat on the patio. In front of us the 14th century Zen garden presents itself in full; rocks outline the pond and the bright maple trees rise up behind. The mountains provide a grandiose backdrop to the intimate scene before us. Excited children skip along the ponds banks. Like living reflections of the red and orange maple trees above, colourful koi gently glide beneath water. Couples poise themselves on the rocks, hoping to catch the crimson trees and majestic mountains in their selfies. Again, take out the people, and the setting is all very Zen.

We take our time hiking up and down the temple gardens where we can. Other little temples and shrines are hidden all over the park. The Togetsu-kyo Bridge comes into view again. This time we cross. On the other side, monkey mountain awaits.

Monkey Park Iwatayama

At the top of Iwatayama mountain, monkeys run around and play. How to get there, well Google maps sure doesn't know. We wander around with our heads in the air and confusion on our faces. Luckily we're not the only ones. We find other lost souls who join us on our quest. An old Japanese lady comes out of an alley as we approach what we think is the entrance.

she screams and waves her hands.

We were obviously off path.

"Where? Where?" We gesture and plead but to no avail.

"No monkey" was all she could muster.

After another 10 minutes of aimless wandering we notice a set of steps. Surely this would lead us to the monkeys. An obvious trail formed and we were off! A good half hour later we spot our first Japanese monkey and he ran off, presumably to warn the others. We were getting close!

The hike ended in a large plateau. Off the cliffs edge, almost all of Kyoto could be seen. Low lying buildings stretched off into the horizon. Some monkeys sat and enjoyed the view with us. Others ran about, looking for tourists to feed them.The monkeys run behind fences where you can buy some food to hand to them.

There was so much more to see but the day was getting late if we wanted to make the sunset at Fushimi Inari we'd have to hurry and leave the park. Arashiyama might be crowded but is well worth the adventure. For the adventurous out there, many little paths and lesser known spots are hidden here. A day trip to Arashiyama doesn't disappoint when in Kyoto.

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