June 4

06/04/2013

Work up and went down to the "private baths" (individual bathing areas of which there are 5).   They were busy yesterday but free around 6am.    Figured I'd soak in one of them and then re-soak in the public bathing area.    No cameras allowed, sorry :-)    Also, from a "giggle" I got from an elderly japanese lady yesterday it seems that while Yukata's are okay for wearing from room to bathing area there was another more "fuzzy" (towel like) robe and pants outfit in each room supplied for this use. 

I found a pair in my room that fit and used this vs my Yukata...

But I can say the private bathing areas are interesting -- there are 5 and when the door to one is locked a light goes on so you know if its occupied on a panel (and at the door) when you get to the private bath area.    Nice system.   

Anyway, the first room you go into is a little sink area for shaving, brushing your hair, blow drying your hair, etc.    Complementary disposable razors, toothbrushes with little mini-toothpastes (like about 3/4" worth of paste long -- one use will use it all), Q-tips, etc.

The next room is the "shower and clean" japanese style with a stool and shampoo and body soap.    The idea is you wash off there to get clean before soaking in the next area.

The next area is a door to an enclosed outside alcove.   In the case of the one I entered (the other 4 might be the same or not-- maybe I'll check them out later) it was a nice hot sunken pool to soak in. 

There was bamboo around the whole area, which was nice... although I did spot a mosquito or two [hope they didn't spot me!].

After soaking for about 10 minutes I went back in, washed off, and headed back to the more public (but bigger and with steam rooms hot and dry) bath.    Took a steam, rewashed, and soaked for another 10 minutes before heading back to my room to change into my yukata and head for a 7am breakfast.

Headed to breakfast and was greeted politely and sat in a chair alcove, but this time in front of the restaurant (last night I was pretty much relegated to the very back).    I guess they decided I was okay, for a barbarian!

Good thing I checked the box as there was a whole SECOND layer with side dishes to consume:

Then I ate two bowls of the miso that had been boiling in the center hotplate of the table.   Yum!

Then it was onto some fruit juice -- there was a "walk to a juice bar" section that had a huge beverage self-serve selection.   This was some type of fruit juice (not orange) but it was only labeled in Japanese, so I couldn't place the name or flavor.   But it was good!

The waitress came by to make sure I knew there was also a full buffet section that was self serve -- oops!   Here's a picture or part of it:

That was plenty for breakfast -- I actually also got a piece of wheat bread and butter but forgot to photograph it.   They also had some made-to-order chefs, but that might have been for the american breakfast which I didn't order.   I didn't want to ask and didn't need the other stuff they were offering -- was already full enough.

Back to the room to change (its about 8:15am) and time to head out for a walk towards the Bamboo forest!

So I walked out and towards the river and will have to walk over the Togetsukyo Bridge again towards the Tenryuji Temple.   Somewhere behind the Tenryuji temple is a corner (or at least an entrance) to the Bamboo forest.   Also, somewhere near the Tenryuji temple is where I want (NEED) to have lunch -- an eel restaurant that was why I found Arashiyama in the first place!   

Lots of bike riders here in Japan... The above were kids headed to school, I think.   Kept walking myself until I found the temple and walked the long path, riddled with side stations for prayer and the like...

I even found somewhere on temple grounds where I think I was supposed to get my passport stamped...

Here are some additional side pictures as I walked towards the temple:

Turns out the temple is closed, but you can pay to walk the temple gardens for about $5 or so.   I bought a ticket -- well worth it...  saved walking entirely around the temple grounds and its a very pretty walk.

And onto the green paths of the garden:

And more...

This took me to an exit right next to a "JR" train station and a gateway into the Bamboo forest!   Hurrah!    I started walking into the path of the forest, which was very very bamboo lined and had great forest bird noises everywhere.    Note that this was really a pathway -- not a "walk into the deep dark woods never to be heard from again":

So a little ways into the forest path there is another attraction you can pay to go into.   Turns out a famous (or so it said) actor bought up land a built a series of gardens and paths and a cottage up in these hills.   I paid to walk the gardens and check it out.   Well worth it, as it was exceptionally beautiful, but a little challenging (even early in the morning) as it was a fairly hot day with high humidity -- worked up quite a sweat, but given the volume of last nights dinner (and sake!) and breakfast maybe this was a good thing afterall....

And walking the gardens--

And more...

And a bit further in the building people could stay in:

Still more path after this up to a plateau overlooking the hills beyond -- wow!  What a view:

The path continued on along the ridge line ... in the shaded areas there were little swarms of fast moving butterflies that were very pretty, but difficult to photograph!   I finally was able to get one to land and got a shot of it:

Eventually the path reached a building/platform that they used to use to rest and view the beauty of the place (not allowed to use it, but could walk up next to it):

Then the path started back down some winding steps and the like...  The only person I saw was someone who takes care of the grounds -- he was sweeping stones back off rock stepping stones with a broom:

Finally exited the gardens and continued along the bamboo forest until it got to a JR station.  I was thirsty, but like everywhere in Japan there were beverage vending machines....  Bought the juice shown here for about $1.20 -- chunks of aloe and white grape juice... actually pretty good!

I continued along the border of the forest road and ran into a group of school kids -- one or two of them spotted me and said "Good morning" (in english).   I think I was a novelty for them :-)   Being in uniform they were a novelty to me!

When walking along this road I found *ANOTHER* temple -- so paid $4 to get into its grounds and take a quick look around.   This was the "Jojakko-ji temple" -- a place known for being secluded and peaceful -- here's the "signage":

Pictures of the grounds:

I think I had enough of temples as I took a lot of photos and was now starting to think of them more like museums (which translates to "was really running through them and things were blurring together").   So I started navigating back to town.   On the way I came across an unexpected edge of a cemetery -- took this photo:

It was getting close to 10:00am and I really wanted to visit the Monkey Park and be there at 10:30am as from what I'd read this was a feeding time for the Japanese macaque monkeys that live there.   I headed back (as the entrance was on the other side of the bridge near my ryokan) and spotted the sign to go in and pay (I think it was about $6):

The stairs start up right after you pay and then convert over to a dirt switchback most of the way up the hill.   Its a hot 15 to 20 minute walk, but worth it.  Here's the start of the walk, then no-photos (per their request), then the end of the walk where it starts to get really interesting!

 You walk slowly through any strays at the top and into a building which thank all and any gods, has an air conditioner you can stand under (and drinks if you need to buy them).    They also sell, for about $1, a little bag of apples or peanuts that you can feed the Japanese macaque.    Unlike zoo's in the US, where feeding is strictly forbidden and the animals are in cages, the reverse is (more or less) the case here.   You can't feed them random food (they would probably eat it as they are omnivores, but it could get them sick and cause issues).   So there is a controlled type of food you can buy (cheap) and feed them (apples, peanuts, etc).    You (the humans) are in the building where the windows are open and have mesh over them, but the Japanese macaque can reach through and climb on the windows (just not get in through them).   You are allowed to place food in the palm of your hand and hold it towards them, they reach in and take the food while hanging onto the window mesh.    You are warned to not get too close (always keep your palm open and out of biting distance, keep your face away, etc).    They are primates, and primates can be nasty or aggressive, but they are also very very cool.    You are advised to avoid direct eye contact, but its okay to film and the like.

Here's one from the go-pro camera:

But what about me?

Check out the video of me feeding them:

And a second video:

After the bag of apples was gone I said goodbye to the primates and headed back down the hill to the Ryokan for a quick shower and then walked over to the Anago restaurant for lunch.    Unfortunately there was a huge line waiting to get in, but fortunately there was someone who spoke english in the line so I was able to figure out how to leave my name with the front and wait to be called.   It still took about 45 minutes to an hour -- but it was worth the wait!    Here's what I had for lunch:

After lunch I walked back towards the Ryokan.  Saw some cherry blossoms (late bloomers).   I missed the window for the major blossoming, but this one tree (on one side only) had some great white blossoms!

And then I saw an evil sign.  I read it and had no choice!

But to walk up stairs and take a picture of the street below (entrance to the temple grounds that I took this morning)

And order a green tea frozen tofu with sweet beans and some fruit and sweet potato (or other sweet root veggie) for a dessert treat:

After that I was going to go back to the Rykoan, but I decided to check of the old fishing boats (no longer used for fishing, but to push tourists around).   Turns out its only a 30-40 minute diversion, so I agreed to a price and had a private boat ride.   As my "driver" didn't speak much english I probably didn't get the full historical tour that others might have, but there was a slight breeze on the river and I was under a covered "tent" out of the sun, so it was a good way to hang out for an hour and look at the river banks from the river itself:

And lots of great views and a video:

At one point I was visited b a local bug that wanted a rest in the shade of the boat awning.   A great dragon fly!

Here's a video of a portion of the river ride:

So once the ride was over I headed back to the ryokan and took a nice shower in my room followed by a visit to the public baths for a long soak (my ankles were not happy after walking all day!)    Then a long nap before ANOTHER kansaki meal for dinner.   While I expect a few menu variants from last night at least I now have more of a clue as to what to expect (and maybe what is expected of me) at this huge meal!

Here's photos of the meal tonight:

 It also came with rice and miso, but I asked them not to bring them out as I was too full!

Whew!   WHAT A DAY!!!

After going back to my room I have been typing this blog and inporting photos for almost 2 hours -- time to pass out!!