A Train through Arashiyama | reminiscence of Kyoto
A portrait of the Oigawa river, from a carriage
The tunnel opened up to a vast expanse of track which hooked to the Northern ridge of a steep valley. From the open carriage you could observe such a wide and churning river far, far below, drenched in soft spring sunlight. Precipiced upon the opposing banks ran crumbling cliff-sides, there sheer faces obscured by troupes of coniferous pines and twisted, wild camellias. Occasional streamlets emerged from between the crinkled rock-face. Water tinkling like glass, leaping from crevices and spurting away from the moss-ridden stones to join their brethren; now coalescing into blossoms of white foam, now faster, rushing past islets and suspended logs where cormorants sunned their inky wings. And in a screech of iron against iron the carriage lurched past a final turn as the Oigawa banks widened toward green and open plains far, far before us.
Written on the Oigawa train passage out of Arashiyama Prefacture, Kyoto. 8 April 2023.
