Kyoto, March 14

10:23PM JST - “Visiting Arashiyama and touring through the evening?”

Hello there! I’m back again with another log about today! This one will be more interesting than yesterday’s XD Don’t worry we actually did something today~

So we woke up earlier today and got ready. We actually wanted to get breakfast at Kawa cafe, the one with the beautiful and very delicious breakfast ahha, but we decided that since we needed to travel a bit that we would do that tomorrow and go to another cafe where they also had tasty breakfast. We arrived there around 10:46AM and saw a special lunch menu which would start at 11:00 so w decided to wait for a quarter because it looked really tasty.
We both got french toast served with whipped cream and a ton of strawberries!! It was presented in a small pan which was warm so the french toast would stay warm, hmmmm that was a delicious breakfast.

After we finished we took metro and tram to Arashiyama! The tram was cute! It looked very vintage and only had 1 wagon, it was pretty busy in there so we had to stand the whole way. Wasn’t that bad, the tram ride was only about 22min so it was doable :) Arashiyama is famous for it’s big bamboo forest! And once we arrived at the station it was immediately clear that you were at the right place. You got off the tram and walked under a roof made of bamboo XD the pillars were from bamboo and even a few walls~ Very pretty to see.
Anyway we went on our way to really find the official forest. Today the sun wasn’t out and it was a bit colder. In the morning it had rained but now it just drizzled a little bit and there wasn’t a strong breeze so it didn’t feel much cooler than the said temperature. We found the forest and it was so stunning! You walked in and all the city noises were suddenly drowned out because the forest was so dense. I can’t really describe it but I felt like there was another atmosphere in the air. Very serene almost. Bamboo, as you know, is very straight and smooth, it also doesn’t really have a lot of leaves only at the top and they were really really long. I felt really calm and relaxed walking through it. It wasn’t busy at all which was really nice! I mean there were quite a few people but again here too you would think it would be way busier. Let’s say you had time to make photo’s without any people in it :D
Arashiyama is located West from Kyoto and it’s near the mountains! I didn’t think I would come close to the mountains I always saw when we had a high point to look over the city like the ferris wheel in Osaka or the temple is Osaka. We hiked up a mountain and there was no one else there. At some point we found a look out point and it was so beautiful. I think that is my favorite memory of today. The view we had from there was just so gorgeous. We could see the river which flows in between the mountains and the side of the next mountain which was full with trees. I could see the clouds touch the mountain tops and create a mist on them. A few secluded houses on the mountain side in between the trees of the forest. I could’ve sat there all day just admiring the view. I really loved that sight.

We descended the mountain again and saw that there was a temple located right next to the entrance of the Bamboo forest. The entrance fee was only ¥800 for both the Garden & Temple together so we decided to visit that too. We first visited the garden. It was quite big and very pretty. There were already a few flowers in bloom and that was nice too see, we’re getting closer and closer to getting to see a lot of flowers in full bloom~ The garden also had a beautiful pond surrounded by nature and you could see the mountains on the background. The sites where they built these temples and gardens are just so well chosen. It’s so pretty and I really wish I could live in such places. We took some polaroids ;) and continued onto the temple!
Tenryū-ji Temple is also known as ‘the Temple of the Heavenly Dragon’. In the middle of the main hall there was a big painting of a dragon with gold splatters! A bit intimidating because of the way it has been drawn but pretty nonetheless XD
Originally this site had been occupied by Danrin-ji temple on the 9th century and is historically significant as the first Zen temple in Japan! Throughout the centuries Danrin-ji temple conversed to Tenryū-ji temple and now Tenryū-ji itself is ranked first among the ‘Five Zen Mountains of Kyoto’. The temple had dealt with many fires with the most recent one in 1864, thus most of the present buildings don’t date back very far. The landscape behind the Hōjō (Main Hall) however, is one of the oldest in Japan! It has retained almost the same form as when it was first created in the 14th century, known as the Sōgenchi Garden.
In this temple too you had to take off your shoes before entering, so we walked around on socks. The floors were quite cold as they are made from wood and inside is only draped in tatami mats. I imagine these buildings to be very cold in winter especially as the halls are quite big with only thin sliding doors to cover you from the wind and a cold tatami mat floor. It was fun to walk around especially because there was also a special path through the gardens to other buildings! I think the gesture of taking off one’s shoes upon entering sacred grounds is very respectful. It’s also common in Japanese homes (Asian culture in general too) to take off your shoes when entering your/someone’s house and walk around the house in either socks or indoor slippers. I think that holds a significance and it’s also more hygienic since you won’t spread everything you’ve walked in outside into your home. Anyway it was very fun to walk around in the temple buildings~

Once we were done exploring historical and touristic spots we wanted a snack ;) So we went to hunt something tasty! We found a cute small store where they sold crêpes! We both got a Strawberry banana chocolate crêpe and it was delicious. It was filled quite well too. I admire that hahaha I really like crêpes but they’re always under filled in my opinion. These were certainly not, in every bite you either had your mouth full of strawberries, whipped cream with choco sauce or bananas :D I loved it!

It was time to head back to Kyoto’s center to grab some dinner! We really wanted to try Okonomiyaki, a traditional Japanese dish. You can kind of compare it to pancakes but then savory. They’re quite big and thick and the filling can be anything, we decided to both choose another one so we could share! I choose Kimchi with Pork and Jo-Anne had Green onions with Beef tendons. So what happens it that they will prepare a bowl of the ingredients you chose and throw an egg in there and other stuff. They mix it really well so it becomes like this thick paste and will put it on a ‘grill’ for you. The hot plate is right in front of you so you see how it’s made :D they spread it in a circle and then just let it heat and will turn it over when needed. It’s actually really simple but the result is delicious! So now you’ll have this thick savory pancake with your ingredients all mixed in! You can now choose to coat it with sauce or just eat it without. You’ll ‘cut’ it yourself while it’s still on the hot plate and eat piece by piece XD you can leave the rest on it so it will stay warm as it won’t burn.
We also both got a serving on plain rice with it and started eating! I really liked it. I’m quite fond of good quiches and other savory stuff and this fit my tastes perfectly!

So before we started this trip we had done research on stuff we could do etc. and I had seen there would be a light festival at Kiyomizu-dera which is like half an hour away from our guesthouse! It would start around 6PM till 9:30PM and we really wanted to go. So after dinner we chilled a bit on our room and around 6:30PM went on our way to Kiyomizu-dera! It was dark already and we haven’t really been out on the streets in the evening since there is not an awful lot to do once the sun drops XD well it was fun to walk around in the dark actually. A lot less busy and it’s also another atmosphere~ well halfway we saw that the light path would go through Yasaka shrine which was way closer to the guesthouse so we changed our course and headed to Yasaka shrine. Once arrived it was awfully quiet... You can feel it coming, Cancelled :,) because of COVID-19 precautions :,,,,,,)
Well it’s okay we still got to see Yasaka shrine by nightfall and it was quite pretty and the middle stage was illuminated by a lot of lanterns! We made a stop at starbucks on our way back to grab a warm drink as comfort food hahahha and headed back to the guesthouse.

Now i’m in bed, just took a shower and ready to sleep! Finally done with today’s report XD It was a nice day. We almost have had half of our trip already! I can’t believe it, it goes by quite quick. Sometimes I can’t even grasp I’m in Japan hahah it’s al so unreal sometimes...

That aside, I heard the news that back in the Netherlands there are a lot of new precautions implemented regarding COVID-19. Please stay safe everyone. Take care of yourself and think about your hygiene! Wash your hands and don’t panic :) Sending my love your way~

Sweet dreams!

- Yaru