Day 11 - Kyoto Part 2: Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Fushimi Inari Shrine & Okariba

Our second day in Kyoto was jam packed with activity, starting bright and early with an 8AM cab ride to Arashiyama, about 20 minutes from our AirBnB. For those who aren't aware, Arashiyama is a district of Kyoto, but is mostly known for the bamboo grove that takes its name from the surrounding area. The bamboo grove and its surrounding properties are famous for their beautiful scenery, verdant forests and of course - giant bamboo.

We met the group at the Saga-Arashiyama train station just before 9, and began our walk towards the grove. The best way to avoid the hordes of tourists who frequent the grove is to enter it from the back side (a lesson Lauren learned last time), so we walked past the extremely busy Tenryu-ji Temple entrance to reach the bamboo forest itself. The grove starts rather slowly, with sparse and less green bamboo growth giving way to more dense growth over a few hundred meters. By the time tourists reach the grove proper, the sunlight from above is significantly dimmed by the incredibly tall bamboo plants. The area is on almost every tourist's agenda, and suffers from massive crowds later in the day, so we started early to try to get ahead of the rush.

After we walked through the central path and the most iconic area of Arashiyama, we moved up the hill to a less crowded but incredibly beautiful area called the Okochi-sanso Villa, which requires a 1000 yen entrance fee, but is much less busy and has a beautiful garden, as well as lovely views of the river valley beyond Arashiyama.

The beautiful bamboo grove at Arashiyama.

After taking a walk through the garden, we moved on to the shopping district nearby, where Lauren, Devin and Neil all purchased as assortment of decorative fans to take home as gifts and souvenirs, while a few folks also grabbed some street food.

After wrapping up there, we all moved on to Nishiki Market, a massive outdoor market that consists of streets that are covered by rooves, but still open to the outdoor air. We all wandered around the market nibbling on street food as our lunch, before meeting up to head to our next destination, Fushimi-Inari shrine.

Fushimi-Inari is one of the most famous shrines in Kyoto and Japan, largely because it's very photogenic, with a long trail leading up the mountain that is entirely covered in Torii gates. The group of us explored from the base and up about 1/4 of the way to the top, before splitting up. Lauren, Devin and the others wanted to go relax at a bar near the train station, while Winn, Steve and I wanted to climb to the summit of the mountain, a 2 hour round trip. The walk was beautiful, and full of interesting scenery, though the final portion consisting of some very steep steps was very tiring. At the summit we got some great photos of the Kyoto skyline during the day, before descending again to meet up with the group and head to dinner.

A view down the shrine from the side of the mountain as we ascended.

A very hidden zen waterfall, where practitioners come to meditate under the dripping water.

One of the ponds as we descended Mt Inari

The Torii gates are so close together it looks like a tunnel.

Kyoto's skyline from the top of Mt. Inari

Dinner that night was at Okariba, one of our favorite restaurants in Kyoto that is both delicious, and off the wall. The chef Aoki-san styles it as a hunting lodge combined with Izakaya (public house), but the service is extremely informal, with Aoki san dropping off giant bottles of sake at the table, or pointing you to a beer keg so you can pour your own pint of Asahi.

We ordered a massive variety of food, including Inobuta Pork Skewers, Smoked Duck, Bear Hot Pot, and Stewed Wasabi Leaves. Dan, Chelle and Lauren asked for an Omakase, so the chef brought them horse sashimi (which I wouldn't try), bee larvae (not bad!) and braised locusts (crunchy and odd, but not terrible). After the meal was in full swing, Aoki-san brought us some shochu with African killer bees inside, as well as some with a poisonous Japanese wasp and another with mountain snake. I believe the venom/poison is supposed to make the shochu more potent, and we all found ourselves gasping after tasting it - but it was still an interesting experience and a challenge for the squeamish among us.

After a wonderful and large meal at Okariba, we all headed back to our accommodations, ready to fall into bed and sleep like the dead before beginning our next adventure in Osaka.