Arashiyama (嵐山)

According to my Japanese friend, Arashiyama is one of the best spots in Kyoto during Autumn. Though we were able to go there when we went to Kyoto, I think we weren't able to visit everything that we wanted. First, I never really had a concrete plan on how to go around Arashiyama. I thought we could just walk around, go somewhere that interested us and not let the itinerary restrict us. But I didn't expect the drove of people. As exaggerated as it may seem, it looked like everyone in the Kansai area converged in Arashiyama on that day.

We got to Arashiyama by taking the Hankyu Arashiyama line (阪急嵐山線) all the way until its terminus, Arashiyama station (嵐山駅). A short walk from the station is Togetsukyo (渡月橋), or Togetsu bridge, probably the most well-known landmark of Arashiyama.

Togetsukyo

Towards the bridge were different food stalls, all having queues of people. I thought there were already too much people at that time, until I saw the other side of the river, and the number of people crossing the bridge. But we were already there, so we still went ahead.

After crossing the bridge, we were met by locals offering "tours" via chariots pulled by men. We didn't have time, and probably the money as well (we didn't ask how much it was), but that probably cost us the chance to see the famous bamboo groves of Kyoto. As it turned out, it would take time to reach the bamboo groves on our own, and it was already dusk. There were too many people roaming around for us to have a chance to get there faster, and we also didn't know which temple to go to in case we decided to visit one. The Arashiyama part of the itinerary didn't have details, but I never thought it would be that bad. Anyway, we just enjoyed the riverside, took that opportunity to rest, then headed back to Arashiyama station to go back to downtown Kyoto.