Arashiyama - Monkeys and Temples

Our focus today was the historic district of Arishiyama, a 15 minute train ride from Kyoto center. This area, with its many temples and natural setting at the base of the mountains was a retreat for the Japanese nobility from the 9th to 12th centuries. Now it is a tourist destination, especially during spring blossom and fall foliage periods. We headed first to the well-known Togetsukyo Bridge. Built prior to the 12th century, it was recently reconstructed in the 1930s. The setting was beautiful but the bridge itself was nondescript so we crossed it, following the signs for the Monkey Park. I did not know there were wild monkeys in Japan. As Kevin had never seen them in the wild, and there was supposedly an excellent viewpoint of the city from the top, we thought we'd check this out. The forested path up to the feeding station was pleasant and nearing the feeding station, we passed a few critters eyeing us. At the station there were dozens more lounging around, generally ignoring us as we worked our way between them. These monkeys could be fed through a mesh from the feeding building. They certainly weren't wild and it was all a bit creepy. So after a few quick view photos we left.

Looking rather comfortable, isn't he?!

Back at the bottom we began a suggested temple walk There are a number of significant temples in this area, the most well-known being Tenryuji. Ranked one of the city's top Zen temples, it is registered as a world heritage site. Unfortunately the temple itself was closed for renovations but we wandered through the beautiful gardens and exited at the other end. Here we found ourselves in a bamboo forest. A path ran through the forest of towering bamboo trees like a tunnel. It was quite surreal and unlike anything we've experienced. We continued along the route towards other temples and shrines, but decided that we couldn't possibly visit all (and most charged an entrance fee) so we worked our way through back lanes in a loop towards the train station. We passed many beautiful historic-looking homes with immaculate entrance ways and gardens, It was a relief to be away from the crowds of tourists.

the famous bamboo grove -- quite surreal!

Towering above the rooftops we could see another temple building so we headed in its direction. Exploring this temple was the best experience of the day! Seiryo-ji Temple was built in the 9th century and its significance comes from the large wooden Buddha statue inside. The statue is unique from the fact that it was unlike any other Buddha image and it had realistic human organs made from silk placed inside. A very kind monk noticed us wandering through the excellent museum-like display of ancient artifacts and came by with an Englsh description of the Temple. He also showed us the entrance to a stunning garden. Very impressive, few tourists and all free! We were once again reminded that Japan is a juxtaposition of old and new as, upon our return to the futuristic-looking Kyoto Train Station, we came across an outdoor concert of "big band" jazz. It is hard to imagine how a country which had once been closed off the the world for hundreds of years, could so quickly and easily embrace the modern western lifestyle. As this was a last opportunity to enjoy a nice Japanese meal, we decided to splurge on dinner. We enjoyed some fabulous sushi at a recommended restaurant at the train station, and after, realized that, for us, the standards for future meals of Japanese cuisine have been raised forever.

this meal set the bar for Japanese cuisine

After dinner, Kevin had his heart set on finding a pub he had discovered on the internet. Its theme was retro gaming, a passion of his. We took the metro to check it out and amazingly Kevin found it down a back alley off the main shopping street. It was a tiny space with a bar counter and 4 stools and an area with a control board and few computers projecting images on a wall, A few young guys were working with older paint programs and Kevin, intrigued, asked the young bartender what was going on. There apparently was some kind of show later that evening. And as we sat with our drinks, people began to arrive and the tiny space filled up quickly. We knew we couldn't last till the show began at 11pm (at least the mother couldn't) and people were smoking, so we left. But it made us realize the prominence of the gaming sub-culture in Japan and how much North Americans rely on Japanese talent to create all those Nntendo games our younger generation grew up on.