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Arashiyama posted Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Hello friends and families,
Arashiyama is a beautiful town on the Eastern side of Kyoto. We left yet again from the silver ball (this phrase is becoming redundant I know, but 'tis true). On this adventure it was Tara from New Zealand, Pritam (a fellow Canuk), Jonas and I. We took the Hanku line from Umeda to Arashiyama, and yet again, just as we arrived in the town, the rain started. This time we were unprepared and stopped at the local convenience store to buy ponchos (a real fashion statement I'll tell you). Jonas opted to brave the weather, which turned out to be the best course of action because it only rained periodically.
We set out without much of an agenda, and headed towards town crossing over the wide river on a sacred bridge. It wasn't much to look at, but it is still a pilgrimage route for the Japanese and considered of some importance culturally.
We passed a group of people lining up, and thought 'I wonder what they're waiting to see', so we investigated further. We ended up at an ancient buddhist temple whose entrance houses a beautiful lotus pond. I can't believe how big the flowers are - just gorgeous. I must have said *oh my they must be lotus* a million times which became the root of many jokes for the rest of the day. 'What are they Laura?' 'do you think they're lotus?' Anyway, it was my first lotus experience, so I was a little overly excited.
We paid the 500 yen entry fee into the 400 year old zen gardens which were beautiful. There was a coy pond and in the background was a bamboo forest. We meandered through the gardens and stopped at one of the hand washing stations. Very uncouthly, I dipped my cooling headband into the pool of water. We were already wet with rain and the temperature was rising steadily. It must have been in the low 30s by 9:30 that morning with 80-90% humidity. A fine day for physical exhertion and hiking.
It's a good thing we all wanted to see the bamboo forest so anxiously because it lent much welcome shade to our journey. I have a fascination with bamboo. Perhaps because Jonas and I loved Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon so much, or perhaps because of their ethereal beauty. The forest was a sight to behold. They are so tall and thin, and the leaves on the top are such a vibrant, light green that when the sun shines through, it looks like magic.
We walked through a small community of houses at the back of the forest. It was so different to see houses with property. In Osaka, the houses, if you can call them that, are all attached, practically one on top of the other. Space is a commodity. Near there we saw a bamboo lumber yard which was interesting. I took a small sample of dried bamboo, which turned out to be a big sample that I opted not to carry along for the day and left beside a pond at the base of one of the many surrounding mountains.
We had a short stop at a rest station near a railway and fuelled up for climbing mount Arashiyama and the monkey enclosure. So, back over the river and along the base of the mountain until we found the monkey enclosure. There was another 500yen fee which we opted to skip and walked north east along the river looking for a trail up the mountain, but it was not to be. We just couldn't find one.
The small trail along the river was barely wide enough for the four of us to walk side to side, and occasionally a truck would drive up from infront or behind and we wondered if it would make it past, but of course the trucks are not North American sized, and the drivers are adept at manouvering and we hugged the side of the mountain during these moments. The river looks like the set of a movie. It meanders through a valley between two mountains and was was much cooler when the breeze blew. Absolutely breathtaking.
At this point we'd been walking for quite some time, and we were all a bit beat. Pritam was forced to head home due to a mysterious illness keeping him from continuing (it turns out it was only lactose intolerance from 5 glasses of chocolatey syrup milk the night before - remember this for next time Prit).
Jonas and Tara decided we wanted to visit the golden temple in Kyoto and with map in hand set out to hike our way there. Well, we thought, 'on the map it doesn't look that far, so why not?'. Ouch, bad decision. By the time we'd made it into Kyoto, not only was it too late to see the temple because it was closed, we were so exhausted that we hopped on the city bus (our first time) to the train station home.
The extended trip was not for not though, as we passed some amazingly green rice fields, a fish farm where you can catch a fish for your dinner for 1,000yen, and some impressive landscapes.
The countryside of Japan is really breathtaking and with each of our adventures out of the city, we are rejuvenated, and excited to continue our discovery of this beautiful country.
NB Today we officially booked our Anniversary trip to climb Mount Fuji - pray for us that we make it to the top!!!
We remind ourselves constantly that it's not the destination that counts, it's the journey!
Stay tuned, and know that you are missed. Sayonara for now.
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 5 current comments...
kelly & kyle - 8/14/2004 Looks like the adventure continues! Jonas we received your voice mail. You can email us at kelly at kmdi dot utoronto dot ca (I wrote this way to avoid more spam!)
We've been looking thru your last 3 entries, the landscape is truly sublime!
Bridget - 8/2/2004 Hey Joe and Laura,
all of your pictures are so beautiful. It is almost unreal that you guys are there! I especially love the "heart" picture from Expo '70. We just got back from a weekend family getaway in Ottawa that was loads of fun.
I'm glad that you guys are having such a wonderful time!
You look great!
Love Bridget
Mom - 7/25/2004 Again your pictures are lovely, especially the bamboo shots. We're so glad you are adventuring out from Osaka. This journal was descriptive and most interesting. Thanks for making these available as we look forward to each new one. No pressure, mind you!!!
Hope your weather cools somewhat. Auntie Orae is reporting 90s in Orinda. Today is the first day in this world for little Rio. Amazing, isn't it.
Much love to you both and enjoy your preparation for Fuji trip.
Love,
Dad, Mom, and the Kit-boys.
Dawn - 7/23/2004 It has been fun catching up with your adventure. Bamboo shot very eerie in that one photo, quite misty with the light. Looking forward to more journals.
Chris - 7/20/2004 Okay, the bamboo forests are too cool but I think those rice fields are actually Lotus fields, eh Laura? :P
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