The Kyoto Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
Trying to get lost in a forest of bamboo
One of Yuki’s dreams is to run through a field of barley at sunset. Mine is to get lost in a forest of bamboo.
Arashiyama is one of the more popular attractions in Kyoto because of the massively tall bamboo grove. There is a free walking path through the forest that was quite crowded when we arrived in the afternoon because we had slept in.
The path winds its way through the bamboo grove, but it felt claustrophobic and distantly removed from the surrounding nature because of the tall fence and all the people. It was almost like walking through a zoo or something. It seems like it its popularity has become its demise.
At the end of the bamboo grove is Arashiyama Park. It has a nice view up the valley but like all of the pictures posted in the tourist brochures, we’re pretty sure it’s nicer in the fall than at the end of winter.
After the bamboo grove, we walked down to the Togetsu-kyo Bridge. This area is known for its scenic beauty. The name of the bridge means “Moon Crossing” and comes from a story back when Kyoto was Japan’s capital, when Emperor Kameyama (Kamakura period 1185–1333) went boating under a full moon and said that it looked like the moon was crossing the bridge.
Renting a rowboat is still a popular thing to do, as is getting a ride in a rickshaw. We saw lots of tourists doing this.
The Arashiyama train station was renovated in 2013 and houses around 600 poles decorated in kyo-yuzen style textiles. They are quite pretty and the girls in kimonos fit in quite nicely. You can rent kimonos in Kyoto and we saw that a lot of people chose to do this for nice photos.
The poles made an interesting display and public park in a location that wouldn’t normally be classified as a park. In fact, the park is beside the railway and blends into the station. The poles transform the space into a much larger area that it actually is and are instantly a point of interest. At night when they are lit up, I suspect that this place looks even more spectacular.
