Arashiyama Travel Diary

Two nights and one day surely was not enough time to explore Japan's former Imperial capital, Kyoto, which comes as no surprise since it is home to an incredible seventeen World Heritage Sites. Mind blown. And so, instead of walking around mindlessly in the modern downtown Kyoto in search of the best ramen in town (which we did anyway), we decided to put our JR Passes to good use and take a day trip to Arashiyama, where we were welcomed by its natural beauty.

Embracing Japan's second favourite mode of transport (the first being the Shinkansen), Brad and I hired a couple of bikes to make the most of our short time in Arashiyama. First stop, the Iwatayama Monkey Park, home to almost 200 wild snow monkeys. We hiked up Mt Arashiyama and before we knew it we were surrounded by free roaming monkeys. I'd be lying if I said it was a magical experience, because truth be told I was scared senseless almost the entire time. I did, however, feel incredibly humbled to stumble around their home and watch them play, fight, eat and groom each other. We were politely escorted down the mountain by one of the largest monkeys, with an angry look on his face, quite literally on my heel half way down. Needless to say, I was rather thankful when the monkey decided to make his way back. I don't think I've ever been more frightened in my life!

The rest of our day was a little more relaxing, as we crossed back over Togetsukyo Bridge, where we had lunch barefoot at a traditional Japanese house, was awed by the many ancient shrines and temples, and rode through the breathtaking bamboo groves.

It goes without saying that Arashiyama well and truly lived up to its hype. The only thing I could complain about is our lack of time, often declaring that we'll "do it next time we're here", which I have no doubt that we shall.