After changing trains at Katsura, I found myself at Arashiyama. I wasted no time; pushed my way through the crowd and walked briskly through the streets and in just minutes I found myself on Togetsukyo Bridge, looking over the water. The sky was slightly overcast, but it didn’t worry me.
I said hello to the rickshaw guys, and browsed some of the stores on my way to Tenryuji. Walked leisurely throughout the grounds, so much nature! The garden in the back with its pond is a really nice place to chill out!
Then, out through the back exit, and through the bamboo forest. Really great place to go for a hike, which is why I’ll take this opportunity to recommend you spend the greater part of one day in Arashiyama!
I decided to skip the other temples and Okochi Sanso, and instead head straight for Adashino Nembutsuji, because it’s the only one I haven’t seen (and really want to see)…
The signs said that it was 1.6km or 30 minutes away. That’s strange, 1.6km shouldn’t take 30 minutes? But the further into the mountain I got, the harder it became to walk – steeper trails, uneven ground, you name it. Plus, did I mention – for some STUPID reason unbeknownst to me, I decided to wear my business shoes, thinking maybe it would help the blister or something (because the pair of shoes that caused the blistering are new; these aren’t).
So, can you imagine my shock when from out of nowhere, a storm came.
No, I was not prepared for this. Visibility turned to zero on the trail, and I couldn’t get under the trees because of the fencing. The rain was falling horizontally. I was wearing contact lenses, and my eyes were filling with rainwater every time I opened them. Pieces of tree bark, leaves, bugs, even small birds were pelting me with the rain…
I still had an uphill kilometre to go until reaching Nembutsuji, but I decided that it might be time to give up and get back down the mountain.. So that’s what I did. It was a painstakingly slow process. I was soaked all over – I could feel the water destroying my shoes, and my dry clean only cardigan was copping it. Finally, after what felt like forever, I arrived at Randen Arashiyama Station.
Wait, I didn’t even think about that until now – Arashiyama actually means storm mountain. How appropriate!
Spent the better half of the next hour wringing out my clothes and waiting for the rain to stop. Getting totally drenched when traveling really sucks because it usually isn’t likely that you’ll have a towel or similar on hand, and Japan hand dryers in the bathrooms are usually the type where you put your hands into them (thus you can’t dry clothes or self with them…)
Of course, after the rain stopped, the wind got strong – meaning that I was freezing in my wet clothes. So I decided to do something I usually swear against – eat at one of the expensive restaurants geared towards foreigners.
I got a Koburi set, which consisted of an oyako-don (chicken and egg, on rice) and soba, for ¥850. See, it’s on the pricey side, but when you have no choice…
After that, I decided that I’d had enough Arashiyama for one day. Went around the corner to the big souvenir shop (though I can’t for the life of me remember the name) and picked up various yatsuhashi for my family and coworkers back at home…
Yatsuhashi? Check this page for info 🙂
After that, I walked back over to Saga Arashiyama and took the train to Inari station! Next stop, Fushimi Inari Taisha! LE’GO!