Shinkansen Ride to Kyoto, Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, and Tenryū-ji

Posted by Chelsie on May 27, 2015 | 3 comments

This morning we woke up bright and early and were excited to take a bullet train (Shinkansen) to Kyoto. The train was beautiful and we had spacious first-class seats which were really comfortable. Like everything else in Japan, the Shinkansen was a wonderful experience. We were treated to beautiful views of cities, rural farming areas, mountains, and even the ocean at a few points as we were jetted away at 150 mph to our destination. Despite being a 285-mile journey, it only took us 3 hours to get to Kyoto.

When we arrived at the station we were totally overwhelmed. The main station in Kyoto is a multi-level sprawling complex that seems to never end. It’s literally a city with a city here and guess what? Our hotel is actually inside the train station…that’s how big it is. The great thing is that there is enough people-watching and food options to last a lifetime. After checking into our hotel, we ventured further into the station and found a large department store with a whole floor dedicated to restaurants. We found a delicious-looking katsu (fried pork) place and enjoyed a leisurely lunch that was out of this world. The pork was perfectly fried crispy and tender and the rice was a much superior quality to anything you would find at home. Andrew especially liked the special katsu dipping sauce which was kind of a sweeter, milder version of steak sauce.

After lunch we relaxed a bit in the hotel in our Yukata (lightweight, Japanese house robes) before catching a train to Arashiyama to enjoy the famous bamboo grove and Tenryū-ji, the head temple of the Tenryū branch of Rinzai Zen Buddhism. The inside of the temple had closed already, but the views of the outside were just stunning. Since it was late in the afternoon, the sun was low in the sky, casting a beautiful golden glow to the buildings and surrounding mountains. After that we walked through the famous bamboo forest which was cool and calming.

For dinner we enjoyed Okonomiyaki which are savory pancakes grilled tableside and some Wagyu beef with vegetables. When we asked for a table, the hostess told us that there were no open seats, but that they had another location just a short walk away. We assumed that she would give us a map, but she was so gracious that she called ahead to make sure they had a table and then walked us there herself. The graciousness of the Japanese people never fails to astound us. Dinner was great, but we both decided that the pancakes weren’t our favorite thing.

Tomorrow we are looking forward to seeing some more temples.

Cheers!

Chelsie and Andrew