Sorry I have not been blogging. Time flies by so quickly here. I have spent the past few weeks getting ready for school. I had a school Orientation and Opening Ceremony to attend over the past week. I will blog about that later.
I realize I am very behind on my blog so I will try to do my best. Gambarimasho!
Last week, Matt and I went to Kyoto for the weekend. We heard that Kyoto is very beautiful during Sakura season and it is true. However, I think last weekend was also THE BUSIEST WEEKEND in Kyoto. The streets were packed with people all out to enjoy what the city had to offer.
Now, I want to introduce everyone to the 5 part series of the beauty of Kyoto.
Part 1: Arashiyama
Arashiyama is a little traditional town just west of Kyoto and boasts many beautiful scenic views. This was recommended to us by Matt's Japanese co-workers. And we are so glad they suggested it. This is THE place to visit if you want to see some of the natural beauties of Japan. Though there are many different attractions, Matt and I went to the Togetsu-kyo bridge, Tenryu-ji temple, and the Bamboo Grove.
The original Togetsu-kyo bridge was built in 1606 (the current one is a reconstruction) and is one of the popular sites in Arashiyama because the view of the bridge over the Katsura-gawa river is breathtaking. As you can see in one of the photos, the bridge was PACKED with people, so we avoided it. But we were still able to capture the views up and down the river.
After the Togetsu-kyo bridge, we went to Tenryu-ji Temple. The Tenryu-ji temple is renowned for its stroll gardens in Kyoto, especially during Sakura season. The temple itself was built in 1339 after a monk had a dream of a dragon rising from a nearby river, hence the name Tenryu actually translates into "heavenly dragon". Though the original temple building was constructed in 1345, the current temple buildings were rebuilt in the 1900's. We were unable to explore any of the buildings.
The Teaching Hall and Ohojo (assembly hall):
The Zen garden was designed by artist MusÅ Soseki and features a huge pond with carefully laid out trees and shrubbery. Beautiful, eh?!
Here's us hanging out by the garden:
After the Tenryu-ji temple, we walked over to the Bamboo Grove. The bamboo grove is a huge, almost magical forest filled with such tall bamboo trees that it blocks the sun. How many people knew bamboo trees had leaves raise their hands!
Pictures from top left, clockwise:
1. Picture of the bamboo grove and the peaceful walking path.
2. Picture of fellow tourists who were also enjoying the bamboo grove. See the girl with the kimono - isn't that awesome?! There were many people in kimonos this weekend, it was amazing to see.
3. Close up shot of the bamboo stalks.
4. View of the bamboo leaves blocking the sun.
This is one of my favourite pictures taken in the bamboo grove - breathtaking, isn't it?! The couple on the right doesn't look to shabby either!
And so we say goodbye to Arashiyama. You have been a great host.
Next stop: Kinkaku-ji, otherwise known as the Golden Pavillion.
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