Kyoto is growing on me. Today we wen to Arashiyama which is known for its amazing Bamboo Grove. During the day, it was amazing to see such a vast forest of it, and I was more amazed by the number of houses dotted though it, off tiny side streets.
There were a lot of temples along the way and in that area too, but they were all expensive to get in to, so we just looked from outside (Can't be throwing dollars at temples when there are amazing free ones everywhere!)
Inside the grove there was also Tenyru-ji which is a huge zen garden. It was expensive to go into, but the entrance was free and beautiful, with smaller gardens dotted along the path.
After the bamboo, we headed across a small bridge and went up a huge climb to a monkey mountain.
There are over 100 macaque monkeys who call the small area home, and I think we saw almost all of them - there were monkeys everywhere!!
I particularly liked the baby monkeys, of course, but the aggressive female who almost charged at Sean comes in a close second.
The view from the top of the hill was spectacular, looking across all of Kyoto too.
After the monkeys, we had some time to kill, so we had a look around the Arashiyama area. Most of it was very touristy, which is alright, but we at least got to try some traditional Takoyaki - octopus balls (cut up octopus inside batter which gets fried up.
We also discovered that 7/11s sell 4 LITRES OF SAKE for about $20AUD. We didn't buy it, because cheap sake is nasty, but it's a handy fact to know.
People here love pets too. There was a woman doing an instagram photoshoot of her dog at the train station, and about half a dozen people all milled around taking photos too!
After our lovely wander around the town, night finally fell, and we went back to the bamboo grove. If we thought it was pretty during the day, it didn't even compare to the night.
The small streets were lit up by hundred and hundreds of lanterns, and the bamboo itself in places lit by different coloured lights.
At first the crowds of people seemed kind of annoying, but once we got to a crest in the path, looking down at the sea of people was really quite beautiful.
Even the small lake we had seen earlier was illuminated, and it was so still that the reflection was perfect!
For dinner, we met up with a girl we met in Tokyo and some of the people from her hostelwe went to a small specialty restaurant. Each district is known for it's own take on dishes, and where Tokyo was all about its seafood, Kyoto is known for its burnt soy and miso ramen. It was genuinely amazing!
After dinner, we headed to a small bar in Gion, the traditional district, but drinks were pricey, so we just had one and headed to Karaoke. Once again, the classic 2000s hits were pumping!
Tomorrow, the first Imperial Palace, and Nijo Castle xx