Japan #3

Monday March 31st saw us having another buffet breakfast, before taking a local train to Saga-Arashiyama to see the famous bamboo groves. A mere 10 minutes walk from the station, towering bamboo creates an otherworldly feel. The path through the grove is reasonably short and the place is quite popular with tours, so managing to take photos of the bamboo without other tourists in the way was quite a feat. The sound of the wind rustling was quite relaxing and one of the highlights was when a bamboo cane spontaneously fell, crashing against its neighbours like a giant wind chime. We bought some wooden chopsticks from a small stall as a souvenir, to add to our many other pairs from various holidays! Despite the choice, R still has his favourite pair from Thailand that he uses whenever the need arises.

From the bamboo grove, it was a short walk to Tenryu-Ji Temple, the head temple of a sect of Zen Buddhism. In 1994, it was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as part of the historic monuments of ancient Kyoto. The garden - a special place of scenic beauty - features a circular promenade around Sogen Pond. The path climbed up to a viewing point from which the mountains formed a stunning backdrop to the cherry blossom and curved roofs.

In the middle of the gardens was a Buddhist restaurant - Shingetsu Zen Vegetarian Cuisine; it was too good an opportunity to miss. According to their leaflet, eating is considered necessary for the proper functioning of the mind and body - an eat to live, rather than live to eat, attitude. Meals are carefully planned and are just enough to satisfy the palate and the soul. There is a harmony of 6 basic flavours: bitter, sour, sweet, salty, light and hot. Ingredients with strong odours such as garlic and onions are forbidden.

We sat on the floor at low tables and, after explaining that I was gluten free, the friendly servers brought me some tamari, instead of soy sauce, and pointed out which dishes I should avoid. Being vegan, we were more used to this type of food than the poor chap from Israel that we sat near and chatted to whilst waiting. Not being veggie, he seemed thoroughly daunted by the food provided. Even we raised an eyebrow at what R referred to as the 'little pot of horrors' situated top left of the tray!

After lunch, we walked to the Arashiyama Monkey Park which featured Japanese Macaques, otherwise known as snow monkeys. The sign on entry lulled you into a false sense of ease - 'monkeys 800m this way'. What they failed to mention was that the 800m was practically vertical! The steep 20 minute walk through the forest was beautiful but tough. No food items were allowed in the area. The monkeys wandered freely, seemingly unfazed by the people present, and the view from the mountain out over Kyoto was quite spectacular.

In the centre of a clearing stood a cage. On entering you could buy small packets of monkey nuts or apple to feed through the bars to the monkeys outside. It was an interesting role reversal with the humans being the ones in the cage and the animals free-ranging. I asked the lady which food the monkeys preferred, and so we bought a small bag of apple pieces. The monkeys reached into the cage and you could gently stroke their palms as they took the food from your hand. It was a magical moment. We took turns feeding them, then donated the rest of our apple pieces to a small boy, who seemed to be getting upset that the monkeys were spurning his offering of monkey nuts.

We sat outside on a bench, admiring the view and watching the monkeys groom each other. R was thrilled when he managed to use the one French phrase that he remembered from school : Le singe est dans l'arbre!

Having had our fill of monkey business, we walked down the hill to a lake, where we hired a rowing boat for an hour. The scenery was beautiful and we took it in turns to row up and down the lake. When I say 'took it in turns', R actually did most of the work and I had a little go! :O)  When R was rowing, I pointed out a small, radio-controlled toy boat heading towards us. As it pulled alongside, the doll in the back waved to us. Spotting the man controlling it from the bank, we waved back enthusiastically.

 

Sitting cross-legged in the boat whilst R rowed, my foot went numb so that, when we finally disembarked, I couldn't feel my leg and my ankle gave way and I hyperextended my knee. I had a limp for the rest of the day, which was made slightly worse by the hot Onsen that evening. After a restless night, it was luckily fine by the following morning.

We took the train back to Kyoto station and road about a dozen escalators to investigate the 'sky garden' on the roof. The view was a little scary and the 'garden' minimal, so I was glad to descend and get back to the hotel for a Rooibos tea, before heading back out for dinner at the Mercy Vegan Restaurant. 

Here, a Butterfly Pea Tea was more of a chemistry lesson than a beverage. The blue fluid turning purple with the addition of lemon juice. It had quite a pleasant, soothing taste.

Sweet and sour cauliflower and salad followed by sweet potato pudding (they had run out of the matcha pudding which had been a big hit on our previous visit) and a fruity shortcake made a very nice supper.

A hot Onsen followed by a Sake Violet for me and a Moscow Mule (Vodka, ginger beer and lime juice) for R by the firepit finished off the evening nicely.

Toodle pip for now. x