Friday’s Footprints – My Japan – Arashiyama

I first travelled to Japan when I was 19. I somehow wrangled a job as a golf caddy in a country I knew nothing about and spoke zip of the language (and I knew less about golf, but hey – when you are 19 you can do anything right??)

My 6 month trip turned into a year, and over the course of the next decade I spent about 3 years of my life living and working in beautiful Japan.

I thought I would use my “Friday’s Footprints” on occasion to share with you some of the places and people I love.

Japan is a really amazing place to visit. It is well set up for tourists, not as expensive as you might have heard, easy to get around, the food is awesome and the people who live there are delightful.

Arashiyama is a small town on the western outskirts of Kyoto. The name literally translates into “Storm Mountain”

Our friends, Mari & Koichi, with their daughter Moe live here, and I have been lucky enough to visit it on numerous occasions in its various seasons

I met Mari and Koichi by chance as I caddied for them during the early stages of my first trip. Mari spoke English well and we became friends forever-after! (Despite my terrible caddying skills!)

Arashiyama is a beautiful place to visit, especially during cherry blossom season or when the leaves change in autumn.

It is especially famed for its beautiful bamboo grove and at peak times tourists flock in their thousands! (Best to try to avoid – a quiet day is incredibly peaceful in the green!)

The main temple, Tenryu-ji is right near the heart of the town and is well worth a look

You can cross the famous Moon Crossing Bridge, Togetsukyo – a landmark of the area for over 400 years! A tradition when children reach certain ages, is to receive a blessing from the temple on the other side, then walk back along the bridge without glancing back, or bad luck will ensue!

Up in the mountains on the other side of the bridge, you can visit the monkeys at Kameyama  Park. The animals are not caged, but rather, people can go into a building and be the caged ones looking out if they don’t feel comfortable among the local residents!

Every time we visit, we go to this little restaurant by the river

The thing is you have to grab a stray boat and paddle over to it!

It totally adds to the uniqueness of the area

Crazy fish lunch

Arashiyama is filled with beautiful pathways

Stunning colours are everywhere in November

Every outing is an adventure – you never know what you might see

The town seems full of artisans –

We met Bruce, who has this amazing shop full of his designer pencil cases!

He has created so many beautiful designs, the whole shop is a work of art.

The town is beautifully free of department stores, McDonalds & such, but has quirky interesting shops – yes its tourist driven in a lot of ways, but it has the charm of a small town – and it is fabulously fun to browse!

Quite often we will wrap up a stay with a BBQ in the front drive of our friends house, often joined by neighbours or other friends. The atmosphere is one of fun, with awesome food and a whole lot of laughs!

I hope you have enjoyed a small glimpse into “my” Japan

Cheers