I Think It's This Way: Arashiyama

So because there are only so few weekends left, and so much to do, I've been piling stuff on top of another to fit it all in, finals and tests notwithstanding (priorities change in foreign countries don't you know)

So on Friday I jumped on a train to head to Kyoto again (if you haven't noticed, Kyoto's a preeetty big place full of tons of stuff to do, just like Osaka) to Arashiyama! Home of fun things! (There's a monkey park too, but I really didn't want to go there lol)

Btw here's Huis Ten Bosch pictures!

First off, I knew there was a bus to Arashiyama somewhere, I've seen it around Kyoto, I just had to find the stop it went to. Problem: I forgot to bring the magical bus map with me when I left school. This is a very big problem, and since of course said bus didn't leave from any of the usual bus stops, I had no choice but to walk to the tourist place to get directions. I asked about the bus, but she said there wasn't one, so...

By the way, when I got to Arashiyama I saw the bus, so it definitely existed.

Anyway, she gave me directions to go via train. I knew this existed, but I wanted to do the bus because it would be cheaper. Happily (and ironically), by bus from Gion-Shijo (sort of my home base in Kyoto) costs the same. Great. So after that little time waster, I got on some trains and headed to Arashiyama, yay!

(PS talked to the travel lady in Japanese, very proud ^.^)

So in Arashiyama, you are pretty much on top of the mountains. Many mountainy pictures. There is also a famous bridge that is Arashiyama's well-known landmark. You could take boat rides on the river, but it was definitely cold (in May, very weird) so...yeeaah no.

I started to head for, you guessed it, a temple, which is a World Heritage Site and had what I'm sure is a very nice garden when everything is blooming! (It was still pretty) I was amused because I was blindly walking towards it like usual, and the bus stop said 'Tenryuji-mae' and I was like, oh yay, that will take me to the temple (the temple's name is Tenryuji). Then I thought about it...mae means in front of. The bus stop said literally, 'in front of Tenryuji.' I found it! Heehee.

So as I said, the garden was very nice and things, but what I really wanted was to find the bamboo grove, which I knew was around there somewhere. I even saw some bamboo from one side of the garden, so I knew it had to be close. I exited from the other side of the garden because it appeared to be closer to the bamboo, but I was tempted to ask to figure out the right direction.

I am so glad I didn't. I exit the temple, and this is what I see:

I THINK IT'S THIS WAY

So I found it. And it was awesome. I enjoyed taking pictures, despite the annoying high school Japanese couple I happened to be following and kept blocking pictures >.<

So on the other side of this path there wasn't much but a train streetcarthing that costs money, so I turned around to walk back through the bamboo, why not? On the way, a man on a bike stopped me and asked me where I was from, and he spoke very good English. So we talked on the way back to the street; he was very nice! 

At this point I started heading back because I was meeting a friend for dinner and nomihoudai (literally: all you can drink). So I go to Kyoto, and find a Book Off (yay second hand manga store) but alas I forgot I had already gone to that one. (There is one book I need, it's a 2 part series and I'm not leaving this country without it)

Then I met my friend and we had a good time! 

But of course there's more!

~Rosie