We traveled to Arashiyama in Kyoto to find peace, and mostly succeeded. We also found people, lots and lots of people.
Getting Around
We booked a private tour for our trip around Arashiyama. The tour guide we had, Koko from Chris Rowthorn Tours, was incredible. She was very knowledgeable and knew all the best places to go. Unfortunately for us, we took the tour during a holiday in Japan, Culture Day, meaning lots of tourists.
Otagi Nenbutsu-ji
Our first stop was Otagi Nenbutsu-ji. The temple grounds contained 1,200 carved stone Rakan (disciples of Buddha). Worshipers sculpted and donated these in support of the restoration of the temple after many natural disasters left it in disarray. The statues were sculpted with amusing faces to warm the hearts of visitors of the temple.
Nembutsu-ji
Next we traveled to Nembustu-ji. Nembutsu-ji is a central temple in the learning and practicing of Amida Buddha. One of the core aspects of the teaching at Nembutsu-ji was to simplify the teaching of Buddhism for the commoners – more achievable goals and written in a easier to read language. The temple is dominated by a central area with over 8,000 stones of Buddha. These stones were gravestones discovered all over the Adashino region of Kyoto and moved to Nembutsu-ji.
Giou-ji
At this point in the tour we started to see more tourists. Giou-ji, our next stop, isn’t too known for people outside of Japan. One of the nuns of Giou-ji (where it gets its name), Giou, is the central figure in The Tale of Heike. The story goes that Giou was a court dancer for the powerful Taira no Kiyomori; however, Kiyomori banished Giou and replaced her with a younger woman, Hotoke Gozen. Later, Kiyomori further embarassed Giou by commanding her to dance for Hotoke. Giou instead joined a nunnery with her sister and mother. Feeling incredible guilt, Hotoke abandoned Kiyomori and asked forgiveness from Giou. Hotoke, after receiving forgiveness, lived out her life with Giou as a nun. The central moss garden of Giou-ji was simply beautiful.
Bamboo Grove
We rounded out our journey through Arashiyama with a stop at the bamboo grove. The Arashiyama bamboo grove is a small bamboo forest in Arashiyama that has become a notable tourist attraction. The day we went was absolutely swamped with tourists. I am glad we went, as it is really quite the sight, but I wish there were fewer people. It is hard to really enjoy a place like this when you can barely hear yourself think.