Arashiyama, Kyoto (28 February 2015)

Since we only had one day to explore Kyoto, we had to choose our destination very carefully. After weeks of blog searching and asking around, we decided to visit Arashiyama. Essentially I find that it is the one place that captures Kyoto as a whole :

(1) Culture (tick) 

(2) Gorgeous scenery (tick) 

(3) A place to shop cool knick knacks (tick)

(4) Easy access (tick)

With that in mind, we took the subway from Tanimachiyonhome Station to Sakaisujihomachi, later we  changed subways using the Sakaisuji Line to Katsura, and made the final change to the Hankyu Arashiyama Line to Arashiyama. Sounds complicated?  Not really, Japan trains just need a little of getting used to :) The trip to Arashiyama takes about 50 minutes from Osaka.

The sign in front of the train station.

It was the end of winter and beginning of spring, so we get to enjoy the best of both worlds, the "naked" trees and blossoming flowers at the same time.

 Map of Arashiyama courtesy of Google 

(We walked from Hankyu Line (Lime Green Line))

Passing through the super clean and clear Katsura River

Moody faces of little tykes who just woke up from a long nap :p

MasyaAllah, this is what I call rizq, we manage to catch the early blooms of Sakura on the day of our visit. As you can see only one tree was flowering, the others were still bare.

 Togetsukyo Bridge of Arashiyama

The Tenryu-Ji Temple.

The Zen-est temple I've ever been. Anyway a little tip, parents with small children and strollers should avoid this temple. We learned it the hard way, especially with the double strollers, there's no ramps and some pathway are made of sand. Sadly that experience was not as Zen as we (and other patrons) would like it to be hahaha.That being said, I'm glad we get the chance to visit because the place is really pretty.

Group photo minus Cath and sulky Ryan :p

You can't come to Arashiyama and not take pictures at the famous bamboo grooves :)

The Japanese "beca" carrying Geisha's. 

I'm lucky that I managed to capture this unique photo.

Japanese clowns look a tad more serious than normal clowns, huh?

Anyway there's plenty of little souvenir and sweets shops at the side of the streets after crossing the Katsura River. If you want to get cute and quirky souvenirs like Geisha Umbrella's, Kimono wearing Hello Kitty etc. this is the place to get them. The prices are reasonable and we bought several cute "Japan-ish" trinkets from the shops.

All in all we had a good time, I propose that you plan your journey early so that you'll be able to explore Arashiyama. Since it was winter, it was dark by 5pm so we left early. Hopefully I'll get the chance to travel to other parts of Kyoto one day, inshaallah.

For more info on Arashiyama : Press Here