On Wednesday, we went to Arashiyama (by subway and train). There are multiple attractions there - the Togetsukyo Bridge, the Arashiyama Monkey Park, lunch at a soba place overlooking the river, Tenryu-ji Temple, and Bamboo Forest. We also took a scenic train ride and returned by kind of a tram (Randen line), which made my transportation-minded husband very happy. Unfortunately, it was raining when we visited the monkeys, so I couldn't use my big camera and the picture quality suffered as a result.
We started with breakfast at our Kyoto Brighton Hotel...
... then took a subway and a local train to Arashiyama. At every station, the train machinist watches the platform intensely and gives the "all clear" sign at the end.
In Arashiyama, there is a special sightseeing train that goes along the river. There is also an option to take a boat ride down the river, through the rapids (16 km, 2 hours) - Alex is still bummed that he hasn't discovered this option in advance, and so we didn't have time to do it (we only saw their ticket office while we were waiting for the sightseeing train). I am ok with missing it, because the weather wasn't very compatible with getting wet on the river. Here is one of the boats (we saw several from the train).
Other than the boats, we saw some nice views from the train, but nothing special. In my opinion, an easy miss.
Once back in Arashiyama, we walked towards the river (among crowds of people, most of them dressed in kimonos or whatever - a very touristy place).
On the other bank, there is the Arashiyama Monkey Park, where supposedly you can "see and interact with" the Northernmost monkeys in the world. (That's why they call them "Snow monkeys" - not because they are white or anything.) Here we are starting up the hill in the park.
The sign at the ticket office says that there are more than 100 steps (about 20 min hike) up to the top. But it doesn't say how likely you are to actually see the monkeys. Yes, there are wild monkeys in the park. But am I going to actually see them, or only see informational signs about them?
I shouldn't have worried.
We then crossed the river back, seeing some nice birds along the way...
... and went for lunch at a soba place that I looked up in advance, with a nice view of the river.
(We had to wait a little longer to get seated by the window, but it was worth it.) Soba is buckwheat noodles.
From there, we walked through the Tenryu-ji Temple gardens towards the Bamboo Forest.
Bamboo Forest was pretty crowded, but still very impressive.
Technically, we could have disembarked from our sightseeing train one stop earlier and go through the Bamboo Forest then, it would probably cut down on walking somewhat. But anyway, we made it to the Arashiyama tram station.
Some disambiguation. When we arrived by train from Kyoto, that was to the Saga-Arashiyama Station, located in a totally different spot (more to the North). Next to it is the Saga-Torokko Station, from which we took the sightseeing train (there is also supposedly a diorama there, but it was so pathetic I don't even want to talk about it). As opposed to these two stations, the Arashiyama tram station is located right in the center, near the main street and not far from the river. It is very pretty, with colorful decorated posts, plenty of shopping and eating options, and there is even a footbath at the far end - but by the time we got to it, we were so tired that we didn't have the energy to explore it further. Just got on a tram and left.
> Day 8
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