Arashiyama

Arashiyama is located on the western side of Kyoto. It's fairly simple to reach, with three train lines terminating nearby. Some guidebooks list it as part of Kyoto, while others categorize it as a kind of day trip. Arashiyama definitely has enough to keep you occupied for a full day, but can also easily be paired with some of the northern temples.

Coming from the Golden Pavilion, we took the Keifuku Electric Railroad into the center of Arashiyama. Stepping out into the tiny town felt completely different from central Kyoto - it was still super-touristy, but had a much calmer feel. The buildings were traditional and only one or two stories. Even the rickshaws seemed to blend in more naturally here.

We crossed the Togetsukyō - "Moon Crossing" - Bridge and hiked up to the monkey park. After climbing back down, we went back to the main street and checked out some of the gift shops. I ended up spending way too much money (mostly on myself). We tried some food - the sesame flavored pickles were so good here, also, the Mitarashi dango - before realizing we should probably check out Tenryu-Ji before it closed.

Tenryu-Ji was the most expensive temple we'd visited so far - $8 for a package that included the buildings and gardens - no 'temple only' offered here. As we went through, I could see why. The gardens were such an integral part and couldn't be separated from the experience. The buildings were nice, but similar to elsewhere.

We slowed our pace, sitting for a while to get our $8 worth of peace and enjoyment. It was wonderfully meditative. Toward the end of our little break, a large group (50+) of Brits or Germans walked by with several monks. It was a bit disconcerting to realize this was probably more white people than we'd seen in the whole of Japan, so far. 

The gardens led directly into the bamboo forest, which was neat, but hard to photograph given the cloudy afternoon and dim light. We followed some Germans through a neighborhood, hoping they were headed back to town, before pulling up a map on my phone. We made our own way back as it started to drizzle, pausing as a railroad gate clanged and lowered and a train zipped past.

I've seen, online, instances where people weren't as impressed as they expected to be by Kyoto. The magical medieval wonderland they were expecting is actually punctuated by dull - even slightly seedy - concrete blocks of shops and apartments. The antidote for that is Arashiyama, especially if you give it the time it deserves.