Revisiting Kyoto's Arashiyama

What?
Arashiyama (嵐山) is a district in western Kyoto (京都). Just like the rest of the ancient capital and cultural mecca of Japan, the area and adjacent hillside are dotted with temples and the occasional shrine. Arashiyama also offers an open air monkey park and scenic train (which I did not board), but most importantly, it breathes an authentic traditional atmosphere with its bamboo forest, preserved streets and quaint café’s that connect all the places of worship.
Where?
Arashiyama is located in western Kyoto and can easily be reached from Kyoto’s main station. The local JR station is called Saga-Arashiyama (嵯峨嵐山駅) on the Sagano Line (嵯峨野線), while Hankyu Railways serves the nearby Arashiyama Station (嵐山駅). Trams and buses also connect the area with the rest of Kyoto.
URL
Japan Guide Outline WikiVoyage

During my first visit ever to Japan, I of course spent a few days in Kyoto. In the meanwhile I have paid multiple visits to the ancient capital of Japan, and while the beauty of the Golden Pavilion or the zen gardens of Ryoanji still stands, the exponential increase in tourists has somewhat tempered my enthusiasm for this must-see city. Not that in 2005 there weren’t any visitors. Kyoto has always been popular, and even back then I felt I needed a break from the crowds. At that time I decided to spend a day strolling in Arashiyama in western Kyoto. The area was by far not as popular as today, and I remember strolling through the bamboo forest all by myself, something which is very hard to imagine now.

In any case, as my nephew was visiting and it was his first trip to Japan, I felt I needed to plan in at least one day of Kyoto. My brother was also tagging along, but he had already seen the big attractions. So for me, this was finally the chance to revisit Arashiyama, the place that brought me some well deserved rest so many years ago.

A lot like the rest of Kyoto, Arashiyama’s charm mainly consist of temples and shrines. However our first stop would be the Iwatayama Monkey Park. Visiting a zoo always brings a mixture of joy (looking at animals is exciting) and sadness (the cages tend to be quite small), but in an open air park like this you can let most of the wry feelings slip away. The monkey park has a great view over Kyoto, and of course a whole lot of monkeys doing their monkey business. It’s hard not to be charmed by the playfulness of the young ones. It’s hard not feel envy looking at some lazy sunbathing casanova being lovingly plucked by his girlfriend. It’s hard not wonder how much we really differ from these mammals when seeing them carefully open some peanuts (not all of them were as careful though). So in short, a visit to this monkey park is well worth the short climb.

An unobstructed view from the monkey park.

And of course there are also monkeys.

Inside Tenryuji temple.

Taking the time at the grounds of Jojakkoji.

After saying goodbye to the monkeys we descended again to cross the Togetsukyo Bridge. It’s famous but I’m not really sure why; there’s absolutely nothing special about it. So if you’re not going to the monkey park there’s no reason to stop by. We needed to cross anyway to get to the Tenryuji temple. This temple is quite large with a landscape garden that has been around for centuries. While definitely beautiful, the central location of the temple makes it easy to access, making it a popular stop for many tourists. My problem is that with such a garden, you need to have peace and quiet to enjoy it. And it’s impossible to get it with such popularity. So if you haven’t already seen many temples, by all means try it out, otherwise I suggest you skip this one. Behind Tenryuji is the bamboo forest. As with the temple, it’s hard to enjoy the scenery when you get bumped into every two seconds. It’s hard to imagine that almost 15 years ago I could walk this path on my own. But looking at the bright side, most people don’t go beyond the bamboo grove. So whatever lies on the other side is most probably for your eyes only (or for a few extra eyes only).

I remember Jojakkoji temple as one of the better ones. Not at the top of the list, but definitely worth a visit. The grounds were smaller than I remembered, but they were still as pretty, with a charming pagoda, many trees (with woodpeckers) and a great view of the city. Not many people make their way here so it’s easy to spend half an hour carefully checking out all details.
Our next stop was Gioji, a small temple I hadn’t seen before. It’s located next to other 2 small temples and it’s possible to buy a combi-ticket, but for some reason I only chose Gyoji. The garden is really small and should be visited in either spring or autumn. Even on this cold winter day I already enjoyed the green reflection of the moss on the ground and trees, so I can imagine it being way more beautiful in warmer seasons. The entrance is only 300 yen, so nothing keeps you from hopping in.

By now we were passing one temple after the other, but I preferred strolling through the Saga-Toriimoto Preserved Street with its quaint shops and cafes. In this season a hot cocoa is always welcome. The street connects the Adashino Nenbutsuji and the Otagi Nenbutsuji, my 2 favorite temples of Arashiyama. Both are similar in the sense that they are famous for their many, many stone statues. The difference is that the former’s statues are all similar and create an atmosphere as a whole, while the latter has 1200 uniquely shaped statues that are also appealing if you look at them separately. Especially the Otagi Nenbutsuji temple is worth a visit. As it is the temple located the farthest from the stations it barely gets visitors. 15 years ago I was alone, now I shared the grounds with only 2 other visitors. All statues are so expressive and seem to be full of joy that it’s hard not to smile. It’s their appeasing character that makes this temple so unique. By far my favorite temple in Japan.

All in all Arashiyama is still very enjoyable, although visitors here also have increased. It would be selfish though to keep the charm of for example the Otagi Nenbutusji temple to myself, so those who are looking for some quiet authenticity in Kyoto, this is the place to go.