京都 2005 - 27 Arashiyama

[251105] Arashiyama in northwest Kyoto city is one of the places in Kyoto for enjoying e autumn glory of maple leaves. a beautiful district at e foot of e mountains, it has more temples than one can hope to visit, as well as e 桂川 Katsura-gawa river running through.

most guidebooks & travel sites touch on e 'standard route' covering e main sights - starting with e Togetsu-kyo (bridge) over e Katsura-gawa, & ploughing through e must-see temples & villas on e north bank. but e public park on e north bank (亀山公園 Kameyama-koen) & a path running some distance upriver along e south bank deserve their fair share of attention too.



e round hill (is it Iwata-yama?) on e south bank looks like a yummy multi-coloured gum drop =P

e famous 渡月橋 Togetsukyo crowded with tourists:




this guy found a way to escape (above) from e massive hordes. walking upriver along e south bank of e Katsura-gawa, where there were far fewer tail-less monkeys (humans) than 'tail-ed' ones (in Iwatayama Monkey Park):



Atago-san (above), climbed 9 days ago....

autumn colours of Kameyama-koen:







further upriver:




& even further upriver, as e path started to climb uphill:



Kyoto city has been left far behind by this point:



just like stepping into a full-colour version of a 水墨画 (Chinese inkbrush painting)....



beyond this point (above), e path ended at an onsen resort & a long steep climb up to Daihikakuji temple, perched high up on e mountainside overlooking e river. more views from e path:




Daihikakuji aka. Senkoji temple must be quite a deserted place, being rather out of e way. copies of (magazine? news?) articles with photos of e temple were pasted on signboards along e way, promising great views for 400 yen (e admission fee):



gave it a miss as e cat's knee was still lousy.

tourists disembarking after e boat ride down e Hozu-gawa from Kameoka :



toriigata daimonji:



finally seen all 6 of them! =)

warning sign (below left) at Iwatayama-koen - to warn e public against celebrating hanabi by setting off fireworks on this side of e river in summer?



a channel of e Katsura-gawa (above right)

at e southern end of Togetsukyo is a toy shop full of cute stuff including soft toy versions of Totoro & Jiji, e kuro neko from Majo no Takkyubin:



e store sells CD compilations of instrumental music, & e chiming music played in e store can be heard from afar =)

rickshaws on e opposite bank of e Katsura-gawa:




setting off after passengers have fastened e seatbelt across their laps beneath e red blanket:



on e way to Nonomiya-jinja & Okochi Sanso villa:



cute jizo outside Tenryuji - e last guy looks quite constipated:




CARPARK FULL at Tenryuji (& just about every other temple & attraction in Arashiyama):



Arashiyama on a Friday afternoon at e peak of e maple-viewing season - some of e main streets were converted into one-way roads to cope with e surge in traffic, leaving many confused people hunting around for e correct bus stops:





so glad to have visited Tenryuji about a week ago. it was madness today - e photo above shows e less often-used back gate. many of e temples sent staff out in bright yellow caps & vests to help direct traffic:



e matcha & vanilla ice cream sold in cones at just about everywhere in Arashiyama is advertised in e background (above). e cat tried this (below right) instead:



no matter how chilly e weather, enjoying matcha ice cream (& pudding & cream puff & chocolate) is a MUST while in Kyoto prefecture, e home of Uji city & e best green tea in Japan =)) e wagashi sweets (above left) were too horribly ex to try.

this guy seemed kinda lost in e crowd surging by: