TOGETSUKYO BRIDGE
TENRYUJI TEMPLE
BAMBOO GROVE
SAGANO ROMANTIC TRAIN
Good morning Kyoto!
After a soak in the bath, we slept relatively well. However, I woke up aching all over. I guess I'm not used to sleeping on a tatami mat. Nevertheless, I'm all set to discover more of Kyoto today!
This will be a relatively long post as I share all my amazing experiences in Kyoto.
Our room rate includes continental breakfast. However, we "upgraded" our breakfast option to a full Japanese meal and our scheduled breakfast time was 9am. As the common dining area was occupied by a group of students on a school trip, our breakfast was arranged in one of the guest room that was converted to a dining area.
Now, this is not your usual hotel buffet style breakfast where you can stroll in anytime you like and enjoy breakfast till closing time. The server takes a lot of pride in preparing the breakfast, ensuring it's being served piping hot at your designated time. So please try to be on time.
As we were leaving our room for breakfast, there were two groups of staff waiting patiently outside our room. One lady ushered us to the dining room while the other two staff entered our room for housekeeping.
When we entered the dining room, everything was nicely laid out on the table marked with our room number. While we were busy taking photos, the lady scooped rice into bowls, poured hot tea and soup and lighted up the burner for the tofu. So efficient was she until we didn't realise she had completed all tasks and left the room for us to dine in private.
The breakfast was amazing! Even something as simple as tofu tasted so good! Don't be fooled by the plain-looking tofu appearance - this one contained a tad of sweetness to the overall taste and the pudding-like texture had us slurping down the tofu in delight. Expectedly, the princess "choped" the tamago the moment she laid her eyes on it and was gobbled down swiftly.
No regrets for topping up the difference! Really money well spent!
If I ever have the chance to stay at a ryokan, I will definitely opt for the Kaiseki dinner option.
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| It may look like a simple meal but the quality of the ingredients used will blow your mind away! |
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| Tofu at its finest form |
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| Tamago The princess' favourite food |
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| Trying to roll her rice into sushi |
After breakfast, we went back to our room to pack and saw that the futons have been stashed in the wardrobe with the table back in the center.
Reluctantly, we checked out from our room and left our luggage with the front desk. The staff informed us as thunderstorm was forecasted in the afternoon, some sightseeing activities may be cancelled.
Nevertheless, we were determined to fulfil our wishes. So, Arashiyama - here we come!
Arashiyama, located at the northwestern area of Kyoto is a really popular place to visit. One of the many reasons for the popularity is that the scenery changes colour with the season - cherry blossom in spring and autumn foliage in fall. There are so many sights to admire at Arashiyama, so do allocate at least half a day here. The famed bamboo grove which is one of the star attractions at Arashiyama is our main purpose of visit.
There are many ways to go to Arashiyama, by train or bus. There are various train/bus passes which offer unlimited rides for a day or a few days. Do check with the hotel/ryokan staff on the one that best suit your itinerary. We didn't buy any of these passes as we only intend to visit a few designated places of interest at a leisurely pace.
As we wanted to purchase the Sagano Romantic Train tickets in advance, we travelled using the following route with our ICOCA card.
- Walk from ryokan to Karasuma Oike Station (about 10mins)
- Take Tozai line to Nijo Station
- Change to JR San-In line to Saga-Arashiyama Station
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| Nijo Station The mountains were calling out to us! |
- Arrived at JR Saga Arashiyama Station
- Walked to Saga Torokko Station (next door)
- Arrived at Saga Torokko Station about 11.30am
- Bought Sagano Romantic Train tickets at Saga Torokko Station but board at Arashiyama Torokko Station at 3.04pm
- Walked to main street of Arashiyama (10mins)
- Lunch
- Totgetsukyo Bridge
- Tenryu-ji Temple
- Bamboo Groves
- Arrived at Arashiyama Torokko Station upon exit from bamboo groves
- Board the Sagano Romantic Train towards Kameoka Torokko Station
- Walked from Kameoka Torokko Station to JR Umahori Station (10 mins)
The Saga-Torokko station is located next to the JR Saga Arashiyama Station. This is where sale of the Sagano Romantic Train tickets and Hozugawa Boat ride tickets are available.
(More details on Sagano Romantic Train later)
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| Sagano Romantic Train ticket booth |
We were feeling hungry when we reached Saga Torokko Station. The train journey will take us 25 minutes one way and we reckoned we won't be able to withstand the hunger. So we decided to purchase the Sagano Romantic Train tickets first and board the train at another station later.
To our dismay, it has started to rain after we purchased our tickets. Nevertheless, we headed towards the heart of Arashiyama, in the direction of Togetsukyo Bridge where a lot of food options can be found and we chanced upon this cosy family-run restaurant selling decent food at a reasonable price.
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| Always happy at mealtime! |
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| A simple bowl of udon on a raining day is priceless |
By the time we finished our lunch, the rain seemed to have reduced to a drizzle. So we proceeded quickly to cross Togetsukyo Bridge.
Togetsukyo which translate to "moon crossing bridge" is a central landmark of Arashiyama. With the Arashiyama mountains as the background, the bridge offers spectacular views when the trees changes colour with the season. Do expect huge crowds on the bridge and watch out for traffic!
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| The gloomy sky |
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| One of my favourite photo of my princess! |
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| Whining in progress as her legs were getting tired |
After crossing the bridge both ways, we headed towards Tenryuji Temple.
Tenryu-ji Temple, one of the most recognised Buddhist temple in Arashiyama, is listed under UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Sogenchi Teien (Sogen Pond Garden) located inside Tenryu-ji temple is a beautiful landscape garden which features a central pond with rocks and pine trees. It is designed as a strolling pond garden, in which a level path surrounding a picturesque pond allows guests to appreciate the scenery from a variety of perspectives. The garden is also built on a "borrowed scenery", using the Arashiyama mountains as its background to create a sense of added depth.
We only visited the famous garden to admire the landscape and exited via the north gate to the bamboo groves. The photos really didn't do justice to the sights especially in the rain but it did create a sense of mystique when walking on the gardens ground.
Though we were there early for the cherry blossom season, we managed to spot
some budding sakura blooms in Tenryu-ji Temple grounds. I cannot imagine the beautiful sight when it's in full bloom.
Now, I have this fascinating attraction about bamboo..............
When I chanced upon bamboo groves for the very first time in Hawaii, I was truly mesmerised by the sheer beauty of it. I just stood in awe, admiring the vast area filled with endless stalks of bamboo trees. The immense serenity I felt from that moment remains etched in my heart.
So when I read about Arashiyama bamboo groves, I knew I had to make my way there (well, at least no need to go so far to Hawaii right?).
No words can describe that surreal feeling of standing in the midst of this sprawling bamboo forest.
Take some time here to surrender yourself to nature - Stop in your tracks. Close your eyes. Inhale to that faint scent of sweetness emanating around you. Hear the bamboo leaves rustle above you when the wind blows. Let go of all thoughts in your head. Just live in that moment ~~~~~
For that few minutes, you can feel yourself being transported to another dimension of zen and tranquillity. Ok, at least that's how I felt.
Now, the Arashiyama bamboo forest is also one of the most photographed sight in Kyoto and thus is often flooded with tourists and rickshaws. It can be challenging to take a decent photo without getting photo-bombed by other clueless visitors. I guess the only way to avoid the crowd is to go very early in the morning.
The visit to Arashiyama bamboo groves is certainly the highlight of this trip for me. And to be able to create memories of such magical moment with my loved ones by my side is truly a blessing.
After exiting from the bamboo forest, we arrived at Arashiyama Torokko station for our adventure on the Sagano Romantic Train ride.
The Sagano Romantic Train is certainly not as "romantic" as I perceived it to be. When I started reading up information on this train ride, it had me more confused than ever. So I will explain how this works to my best ability.
The Sagano Romantic Train used to be part of JR San-In Line but it was replaced by a faster and straighter route. The scenic railway route was then preserved and fitted with nostalgic trains featuring wooden (and uncomfortable) benches. The view along the route changes with the season and this train ride is especially popular during the cherry blossom and autumn season. Trains do not operate in winter from 31 December till end of February.
It's a leisurely (maybe too slow until some might doze off) 25 minutes ride one way and all cabins are non-smoking. Once the seats are sold out, the standing tickets will be on sale.
There are 5 cabins which are named Cars 1-5. Car 1-4 have glass windows which can be opened or closed while Car No 5 (The Rich Car - don't ask me why it's called rich car) feature an open top concept - it has a window with no glass and a glass flooring - and is very popular during the peak season.
You can purchase your tickets 1 month in advance at any JR West Stations or major travel agencies except the Rich Car which is only available for same-day purchase.
If you have purchased your tickets in advance and still want to ride on the Rich Car cabin, you can try your luck at exchanging your tickets at any Torokko station (except Hozukyo) on the actual day.
This railway is not covered under JR Pass. Nevertheless, it's still a fun way to enjoy the views.
There are 4 stations on this route namely Saga Torokko, Arashiyama Torokko, Hozukyo Torokko and Kameoka Torokko.
The train journey starts from Saga Station and end at Kameoka Station.
At Kameoka Station, you have the 3 options
Summary of Sagano Romantic Train various stations
1. Saga Torokko Station
By the time we arrived at Kameoka Torokko Station, we had to take turns to carry the 20+ kg sleeping beauty and walked to JR Umahori Station. It was certainly challenging especially in the rain!
The initial itinerary was to visit Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) but the plan was abandoned due to bad weather. It also didn't help that the princess was too tired for anymore sightseeing. but that will give us the perfect excuse to come back to Kyoto again!
From Umahori station, we took the JR San-In line to Nijo station and change to Tozai line to Karasuma Oike station. From there, it was probably a 10 minutes walk back to the ryokan.
When we reached Karasuma Oike station (near the ryokan), the princess woke up and the first sentence she said was "I'm hungry". Gasp! So we stopped for a snack break at the train station café. The bread we had were truly delicious.
We picked up our luggage from the ryokan and made our way back to Osaka. As we were checking in to Hotel Monterey Grasmere Osaka which was closer to JR-Namba station, we decided to tweak our train routes by travelling this way
Upon reaching Osaka, we proceeded to check-in to Hotel Monterey Grasmere Osaka and we were pleasantly surprised to find our luggage already in our room.
The room is a typical Japanese hotel room size (small but comfortable enough) but the convenient location totally make up for all the disadvantages. It's just next to OCAT Building (where the airport limousine buses stop), next to JR Namba and 10mins walk to Dotonbori.
And we discovered the best amenity while staying at this hotel - there is a huge supermarket located just below our hotel!
It was such a difficult task to choose which bento to buy for our dinner as everything looked yummy! We ended up buying a mountain of food back to our room.
We went to bed feeling very full and satisfied ~~~~~~
<---- Japan Trip 2018 - Day 4 Japan Trip 2018 - Day 6 --->
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| Kuri (Temple Living Quarters) |
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| Sogen Pond Garden |
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| Time to reflect on the path you choose |
Now, I have this fascinating attraction about bamboo..............
When I chanced upon bamboo groves for the very first time in Hawaii, I was truly mesmerised by the sheer beauty of it. I just stood in awe, admiring the vast area filled with endless stalks of bamboo trees. The immense serenity I felt from that moment remains etched in my heart.
So when I read about Arashiyama bamboo groves, I knew I had to make my way there (well, at least no need to go so far to Hawaii right?).
No words can describe that surreal feeling of standing in the midst of this sprawling bamboo forest.
Take some time here to surrender yourself to nature - Stop in your tracks. Close your eyes. Inhale to that faint scent of sweetness emanating around you. Hear the bamboo leaves rustle above you when the wind blows. Let go of all thoughts in your head. Just live in that moment ~~~~~
For that few minutes, you can feel yourself being transported to another dimension of zen and tranquillity. Ok, at least that's how I felt.
Now, the Arashiyama bamboo forest is also one of the most photographed sight in Kyoto and thus is often flooded with tourists and rickshaws. It can be challenging to take a decent photo without getting photo-bombed by other clueless visitors. I guess the only way to avoid the crowd is to go very early in the morning.
The visit to Arashiyama bamboo groves is certainly the highlight of this trip for me. And to be able to create memories of such magical moment with my loved ones by my side is truly a blessing.
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| Approaching ...... There's even a faint scent of bamboo after the rain |
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| Yeah~~~~ Dream came true |
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| Thank you for this magical journey so far Can you see our little princess peeking behind us? |
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| No words can describe my joy of being here |
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| She took her own selfie |
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| We were thankful for the rain in a way as the crowd was manageable when we visited |
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| Waiting for our train |
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| Tea break! |
The Sagano Romantic Train is certainly not as "romantic" as I perceived it to be. When I started reading up information on this train ride, it had me more confused than ever. So I will explain how this works to my best ability.
The Sagano Romantic Train used to be part of JR San-In Line but it was replaced by a faster and straighter route. The scenic railway route was then preserved and fitted with nostalgic trains featuring wooden (and uncomfortable) benches. The view along the route changes with the season and this train ride is especially popular during the cherry blossom and autumn season. Trains do not operate in winter from 31 December till end of February.
It's a leisurely (maybe too slow until some might doze off) 25 minutes ride one way and all cabins are non-smoking. Once the seats are sold out, the standing tickets will be on sale.
There are 5 cabins which are named Cars 1-5. Car 1-4 have glass windows which can be opened or closed while Car No 5 (The Rich Car - don't ask me why it's called rich car) feature an open top concept - it has a window with no glass and a glass flooring - and is very popular during the peak season.
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| You can check your seat allocation |
You can purchase your tickets 1 month in advance at any JR West Stations or major travel agencies except the Rich Car which is only available for same-day purchase.
If you have purchased your tickets in advance and still want to ride on the Rich Car cabin, you can try your luck at exchanging your tickets at any Torokko station (except Hozukyo) on the actual day.
This railway is not covered under JR Pass. Nevertheless, it's still a fun way to enjoy the views.
There are 4 stations on this route namely Saga Torokko, Arashiyama Torokko, Hozukyo Torokko and Kameoka Torokko.
The train journey starts from Saga Station and end at Kameoka Station.
At Kameoka Station, you have the 3 options
- Take the river boat ride to Arashiyama (2 hours). Do take note that the boat ride is subject to weather condition and the tickets are only on sale at Saga Torokko Station.
- Walk to the nearby JR Umahori Station (10 mins) and take the train/subway to wherever is your next destination.
- Take the Sagano Romantic Train back to Saga Torokko (25 mins). You may see different views as the train will be in a reverse direction.
Summary of Sagano Romantic Train various stations
1. Saga Torokko Station
- Located next to JR Saga-Arashiyama Station, it's a red brick building with a locomotive museum next to it
- Sale of Sagano Romantic Train and boat ride tickets
- Start of the train journey
- 10mins walk to heart of Arashiyama (there was clearly marked directions, else just follow the crowd) or you can take the touristy rickshaw ride
- Located next to the famous bamboo forest
- Sale of Sagano Romantic Train tickets
- Hiking trails in the area
- No sale of train tickets
- End of train journey
- Sale of Sagano Romantic Train tickets
- Either walk 10 mins to JR Umahori station to take train back to Kyoto or Arashiyama or take bus to board the boat ride
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| Boarding at Platform 3 |
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| We can only see splattering raindrops |
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| Our best "view" of the ride |
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| One minute awake........ |
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| The other minute asleep |
By the time we arrived at Kameoka Torokko Station, we had to take turns to carry the 20+ kg sleeping beauty and walked to JR Umahori Station. It was certainly challenging especially in the rain!
The initial itinerary was to visit Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion) but the plan was abandoned due to bad weather. It also didn't help that the princess was too tired for anymore sightseeing. but that will give us the perfect excuse to come back to Kyoto again!
From Umahori station, we took the JR San-In line to Nijo station and change to Tozai line to Karasuma Oike station. From there, it was probably a 10 minutes walk back to the ryokan.
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| At Umahori Station Simply too tired |
When we reached Karasuma Oike station (near the ryokan), the princess woke up and the first sentence she said was "I'm hungry". Gasp! So we stopped for a snack break at the train station café. The bread we had were truly delicious.
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| Our family bread platter We had no idea what is each individual bread. So we just picked whichever looks "safe" to eat. |
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| When there's food, she's happy again |
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| Walking back to the ryokan to collect our luggage |
We picked up our luggage from the ryokan and made our way back to Osaka. As we were checking in to Hotel Monterey Grasmere Osaka which was closer to JR-Namba station, we decided to tweak our train routes by travelling this way
- Walk to Karasuma station
- Karasuma to Hankyu Umeda station (Hankyu Kyoto Line)
- Walk to Osaka station
- Osaka station to Imamiya station (Osaka Loop Line Inner Loop)
- Imamiya station to JR Namba station (JR Yamatoji Line Local)
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| Finally got a seat after several stops |
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| Beauty sleep again |
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| Osaka Station |
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| It took me a while to understand these information |
Upon reaching Osaka, we proceeded to check-in to Hotel Monterey Grasmere Osaka and we were pleasantly surprised to find our luggage already in our room.
The room is a typical Japanese hotel room size (small but comfortable enough) but the convenient location totally make up for all the disadvantages. It's just next to OCAT Building (where the airport limousine buses stop), next to JR Namba and 10mins walk to Dotonbori.
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| Our room for the next few nights |
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| Bathroom |
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| Such a thoughtful gesture - Fabric and air freshener To get rid of unpleasant odour on your clothes or in your room (after meal) |
And we discovered the best amenity while staying at this hotel - there is a huge supermarket located just below our hotel!
It was such a difficult task to choose which bento to buy for our dinner as everything looked yummy! We ended up buying a mountain of food back to our room.
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| Itadakimasu!!!! |
<---- Japan Trip 2018 - Day 4 Japan Trip 2018 - Day 6 --->
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