Oh, the Places You'll Go: Arashiyama

Will the amazing names of Japanese places ever cease to amaze me? Probably not. (Seriously, try saying that aloud. Arashiyama. A-rash-ee-ama. (*bumbles off into the distance, muttering Japanese words to myself* (*trips over* *pretends it didn't happen)))

Arashiyama is a tourist district on the outskirts of Kyoto, Japan. There are tons of shops and restaurants, but the main attractions are the bamboo grove and the kimono forest. 

(Trying to get there was a bit interesting. We had to catch a bus from Kyoto, but every time we had tried to catch a bus we'd gotten on the wrong one and had gone in the total opposite direction. (We ended up standing at the bus station, lost, with another Australian family, who were lovely and just as confused as we were.))

The bamboo grove was absolutely amazing. I'm used to forests, lush (hey there, Canada!) or otherwise (what's up, Australia?) but a bamboo forest was totally new to me. The bamboo was huge and totally blocked out the sky, it was absolutely gorgeous. The path through the grove wandered and twisted for ages, and it was a lovely way to spend half an hour. 

The kimono forest was maybe my favourite thing. What's not to love about stunning kimono fabric contained by glass pillars? I only wish it could have been longer; the whole path through the "forest" would take about two minutes, if even, to walk through if you didn't stop to admire the view. (Which of course I did. (I always do. After returning from my 2013 France trip with my school, my teacher admitted that she'd always double-check for me because I was a) quiet and b) always stopped to admire the view or take pictures.))

Man, I get so nostalgic writing about Japan.