Shake it off Rosie, we got there in the end after our train to nowhere. Its going to be a beautiful day in Arashiyama and it is still early, so, lets be off and see this Bamboo Grove as we originally planned.
Its an easy walk from the train station, and this is the first sense of the countryside and wide open spaces we have seen in Japan outside of the built up cities.
We entered the Bamboo Grove, Rosie channeled out all of the other tourists and looked skyward. As far as the eye could see in front of Rosie the giant bamboo slow and dignified, swayed in the breeze. The stems were soooo tall, unbelievably tall. When you looked skyward the bamboo arched overhead forming a tunnel. The Operator bent over the fence and wrapped his knuckles on a bamboo stem that had the girth of his calf, it echoed hollowly.
The early light was ethereal as well, it was dappled and filtered and even though we were surrounded by many people, it was silent, like we were in a cathedral, everyone around seemed to be whispering. Rosie took a few snaps and was glad there were so few people about…it could have been a lot worse.
This wee suburb on the outskirsts of Kyoto backs onto the mountains and the beautiful Oigawa River runs through it.
We walked along the banks of the river and watched the graceful boatman with their poles navigate the calm water. The view of and from the Togetsukyo Bridge is picturesque. The town is starting to bustle.
Hold on, Rosie perks up and lifts her nose to the fresh breeze, she smells coffee and its espresso! Rosie dosen’t need any navigational help thanks Operator to find the source. She is charging towards the coffee kiosk riverside that already has a healthy que outside it. What a picturesque office to work from….big windows in the kiosk look out onto the river…shame there was no room to sit, take away only.
Riverside, near the bridge, in the shade we sat and had our first brew of the day, it might have cost $7NZD but it was the best coffee to date in Japan and worth every penny, Rosie even scooped out the foam with her finger when the liquid was gone…not wasting any of that bad boy!
Off to the Tenryu-ji Temple we wandered to have a look at its famed and beautiful grounds. On the way we walked past this group of statues. Each statue was different looking and in a different pose. They obviously represented real people of some sort…Rosie would have loved to know what these statues were because they were pretty cool.
Tenryu-ji was established in the 14th century, the raked zen garden is a feature of this sight and adds to the surreal beauty of the grounds.
You could quite easily spend a relaxed half a day wandering around this gem of a town, it has a slower pace and is quite enjoyable on a beautiful day like today, plus there are heaps more things to do and see in this neck of the woods.
Rosie had hit the high spots….minus the Monkey Park. Rosie has had a run in before with pissy smelling aggressive monkeys in Bali and visiting any more ever again are not on her agenda.
DISCLAIMER – Ok – my above description of the Bamboo Grove is one of a zen like meditative state Rosie instilled within herself and it is how I will remember the grove. My description is apt for my recollection and lasting memory of it.
If I wanted to give it a more unfiltered review, I would say if you are pushed for time in Kyoto, don’t go, visit somewhere else closer to home as there are more beautiful places to see. Unfiltered, the ‘grove’ is not a lush forest, it is a bit thin and straggly and not very wide on either side of the path.
The path surrounded by bamboo is itself only about 100 meters long. Taxis were driving people up the avenue so their passengers could alight take a couple of pics and drive off again….come on, even Rosie isn’t that lazy. Behind all this though, the essence was there, especially the area of Arishiyama as a whole which is beautiful.
Back in Kyoto, we have a nice long lunch in the sun riverside, a bottle of wine is needed as Rosie is still trying to get completely over the morning…the Chilean Sav (only white wine that seems to be available in Japan) certainly helps.
We have time up our sleeve and Rosie has been tossing up whether she wants to go and see the Golden Pavillion. We have left it abit late in the day as this is the #1 tourist attraction in Kyoto…if not the whole of Japan. The wine helped with the decision and at a more sedate pace we board another train to get there.
Kinkaku-ji is Kyotos famed ‘ Golden Pavilion’ and claimed to be one of the worlds most impressive religious monuments. Rosie couldnt help but agree with that statement from the guidebook.
Firstly though with The help of The Operator walking in front of Rosie with elbows slightly outwith his body he slowly yet assertively pushed against the crowd and created a wake for Rosie to follow in through the throngs of people 20 deep vying to take a picture of this beautiful temple. See below pic.
It was hot, it was nasty. There were hundreds of people here. People were crowding Rosie and Rosie hates being around so many people. The Operator knew where Rosie would want to take her shot from and was slowly but surely still ploughing through the crowds.
No time for politness in the final few steps to victory…they were Chinese tourists and Rosie has discovered through experience they are the rudest tourists around so she had no qualms about photo bombing their selfies and family pics as The Operator delivered Rosie, in front of them, to the railing lakeside and then guarded her back to stop anyone else from muscling in. Team Rosie and The Operator at its finest.
When Rosie raised her head to take in the view she had endured so much to get too the image of the gold plated pavilion rising over its reflecting pool is the kind that burns itself into your memory forever.
The noise and mayhem behind me disappeared, Rosie was entering that zen like state again that this beautiful serene garden scene demanded. There was not a ripple in the pool, the sky was cloudless overhead, beautiful purple flowering iris framed the view along with supurb gnarly old pine. The perfection and tranquility of the vista nearly bought a tear to my eye.
This pavilion originally was another retirement villa for the Shogun and was built in 1397. Upon his death it was converted as per his wishes into a Buddhist temple. In 1950 an obsessed young monk burnt the temple to the ground and it has since been rebuilt. The three story temple is covered in real gold leaf on the outside and features a bronze phoenix on the roof which was a new symbolic addition after the fire and rebuild.
As for the pavillion, it just gleams in the light, there dosent seem to be any shadows when you look at it and it just seems to hover above the water like something magical. Even when you look at the picture of the pavilion I have taken, it looks like its not real but has been badly photo shopped into a beautiful garden. Rosie is so glad she saw this beautiful building and garden in all its glory.
Snapping back to present time, The Operator has guarded Rosie well and given her plenty of time. As soon as we move away our place is snapped up and the tide of people rush forward to take our place as we push out.
We catch a taxi back to the hotel….that was stressful. Time for Happy Hour and dinner. We end up in the shopping centre at a sushi bar. This is the first (and will be the only) sushi we have had in Japan. The sushi train kept on rolling, take what you want off the conveyor….be careful…touch a plate and it is yours. Unlimited green tea is available to you from the tea dispenser in front of your seat. If you want to order anything special, take the picture off the conveyor and push the button at your seat for a waitress who will order it for you. How much you pay per dish is indicated by the colour of the plate you eat or order something off. Easy and delicious!
Thats it for Kyoto, what a beautiful city and we haven’t even really scratched the surface of what is to offer there. Everything we saw just kept getting more and more beautiful as we went from place to place. Rosie and The Operator would definately come back here again. If you are going to visit, do your research, mark the sights on a map and then compartmentalize the town into areas to cut down travel times so you don’t waste your time in the city. Three days here was good, I certainly wouldn’t stay for any less it is so fantastic.
Tomorrow we are going to Hiroshima by train where we will visit the Peace Park and see the remains of the haunting Atomic Bomb Dome.
