After our feast the previous night we were up early to get to Arashiyama before the crowds and before the day heated up too much.
We had the option to catch the train, but the station at Arashiyama is a short walk to the main gate and we wanted to start as close to the bamboo forest as possible before too many people spoiled our experience. The taxi took us right to the path leading to the bamboo forest and was about a $60 fare. The forest walk was quite short but well worth the visit.
A small fee was paid to enter the Tenryu-ji Temple and garden, it was very peaceful and we had a wee wander, actually a wee as well, and sat and enjoyed the beautiful view.
We were not quite sure where to head next and it was beginning to hit 34 degrees when we came across Lucas. Lucas is a stunning looking individual who provides rickshaw tours. He assured us that we would fit and it was a bit of a squeeze but we made it. Lucas took us along pathways in the forest that we would have been unlikely to find, it was a marvel how he managed to haul us along and up small hills at a trot. He stopped frequently to explain the history and interesting facts.
Lucas is from New Caledonia and is fluent in French (of course), English, Japanese and Spanish. He had promised to take us to a place where no one else would be. And sure enough we arrived at a small shrine; we had to pay a small fee to enter. The garden was really lovely and made to look like a river. There was also a pretty pink tree called in English crape myrtle but in Japanese it is sarusuberi which translates to monkey slip as the tree has very smooth branches.
Continuing on Lucas took us through a residential area where the homes were very traditional, but the nice cars were very modern. It is quite an affluent neighbourhood and has beautiful views of the mountains.
We were dropped in the Main Street of Arashiyama where there were plenty of eating places and retail stores with a real village feel. By this time Lucas was dripping with sweat, and was off to find another customer. The 70 minute tour was 23,000 yen (approx $230 NZ dollars) which was quite expensive but well worth it, as we would never have seen even a smidgen of what he showed us by ourselves.
The train station is a 10 minute walk from the Main Street and by now it was 36 degrees. As usual a train was right there and we jumped on, thankful for the aircon.
We have used taxis a lot in Kyoto. It has made things easier, especially in the heat, and most fares have been under $20. But we didn’t need a taxi to get to dinner tonight!
Using ‘Tabelog’, an app for finding and booking Japanese restaurants, Lance found Hiro which was just around the corner. Once again it was a meaty meal; we even asked for veges but they only had shredded lettuce.
My menu had English and I didn’t realise that Lance was trying to translate his menu! Pig hormones? Really? Fortunately the young waiter gave him an English menu and we ordered pork cheek, skirt steak, which we cooked over a hibachi bbq. It all tasted pretty good so we ordered another load and also some beef rib, which was paper thin with marbled fat and was delicious.
Back at the hotel we enjoyed a couple of drinks before bed. Off to Osaka tomorrow!
Toilet tips and talk:
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| One of the panels that I had to use Google translate on. |
My advice for people in their 50s and over is to take your glasses with you to the loo and your phone. This not so that you can scroll through social media whilst using the restroom. It is to read the abundance and variety of instructions for ‘toileting’, some of which are all in Japanese, and you will need Google translate hence the phone.
All commodes have a washing button for front and rear, some include ‘oscillating’, more or less pressure, up or down positioning, blow dry, and sound. Most have cold water, which after the initial surprise, is quite refreshing in this heat.
The available sounds so far have been water running: I don’t know if this is to encourage a reluctant urination or to drown out embarrassing toilet noises. But they haven’t lived in our house, they need a tsunami setting rather than the sound of a trickling stream.
The flush: some receptacles have a flush button with a swirling water icon, others have no button and the flush is automatic, although I have had a few flushes whilst still on board the toilet. I have spent many minutes standing waiting to see if there will be a flush, and puzzling over whether it is an automatic late start or not. There other day in frustration I closed the lid (by pushing a button) because I thought that I was just going to have to leave without a flush (wees only) and when the lid closed it flushed! And yesterday in our hotel lobby I stood for ages rereading all of the panel buttons and switches only to find a large mechanical flush button on the wall behind the crapper! Such confusion!
Most public restrooms have a little seat for you to pop your baby in whilst relieving yourself.
There has been only one normal visit with no bells and whistles and that was for an emergency stop at MacDonalds in Tokyo. I snuck in the exit and ended up walking up 5 floors looking for the loo. I can hear your thinking, but no it wasn’t a huge MacDonalds; each floor was a tiny segment in a triangular corner of the building. At the fifth floor, with waves of sweat and panic, I thought that I would have to run back to the hotel. Whilst waiting for the lift I saw that the ladies was on the 2nd floor. Phew!
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