Arashiyama's monkeys and views = well worth the trip out there

So as you can probably guess from the title, yesterday (Saturday) we went to Arashiyama, the eastern part of town. We took a cute trolley train out there that took about 15-20 min. There isn't much to see on the ride but as you get closer to the mountains the anticipation builds. I loooove the mountains here. They're not too big but big enough that you can see them from any part of town (Kyoto is in a valley). You can also see to the top of them too and they are just covered in forest, like a Bob Ross painting of "happy trees".
It rained a bit of sleet in the morning so we were kind of slow to leave in the morning, what's the point of going out in that? But the sun came out in a bit and all was well.
So yes, the train. We got to Arashiyama's little train station and were welcomed by a busy little street of vendors and shops obviously geared towards tourists. I LOVE the little shops. They are pretty pricey, but all of the cat things they have here is enough to make me a little crazy and the silk stuff... there are just so many CUTE things! However, shopping was not on the agenda for the day so on we went to Togetsu-kyo bridge. There is a rite of passage on this bridge every April where 13 year olds have to cross it and not look back at their parents or it's bad luck for life. We giggled that it was a pretty rough punishment for looking back, but hey, Finland and the US have some pretty stupid traditions too if you think for a while.

So on we went over the bridge and I dared to look back, after all I'm not a Japanese 13 year old. There was a sakura tree just over the bridge.

The we crossed another little bridge with lovely views, or well we got a good picture or two...

Then we saw the monkey sign. So we knew the monkey park was where the arrow pointed.

The park starts with a shrine complete with torii gates. Then you pay your entrance (at a vending machine, they really love them here) and the lady gives you a map and you head up the mountain. The climb was awful, lots of stairs but it was woodsy and pretty. Then bam! There they were! MONKEYS! There are caution things everywhere to not look them in the eye, pet them..or pick them up. (Lol because we were really gonna try the latter two). But as I was taking a picture, I kind of looked one  in the eye and it got up and walked towards me, kind of intimidating!! I turned my back though and looked at the sky and he let me pass. So up we went and saw more lovely monkeys and just out of the blue, it starts snowing! And really coming down too! But just like it started it stopped and for a few minutes, it snowed while the sun was shining. The weather here is really crazy!! Made for some interesting pictures though! :D

THE LONG WALK UP

THE FIRST MONKEYS WE SAW, I THINK THE ONE I PISSED OFF WAS ON THE LEFT...

SUDDENLY SNOWING

FAMILY CUDDLING IN THE TREE

...TRY NOT TO BE TOO EXCITED...

We made it up to the viewing point and where you can buy food to feed the monkeys. The view was spectacular but so was the atmosphere. Lots of Japanese people taking pictures of the monkeys with SUPER NICE cameras. Well, maybe their cameras were of equal standing as ours, but their lenses! They were all like professional photographers or something. Hahaha. And they were all taking pictures of the monkeys running around. There is a little building with no windows, just fence and you go in there and buy food and feed the monkeys through the fence (it's safer). I liked that the people were in the cage, not the monkeys. We fed them dried fruit, banana and peanuts. They took it very nicely from your hand but all were there waiting with their hand poking in, hoping for someone to see. Very funny. And they got into little tiffs with each other about whose area it was. The big monkeys just ate where they were but if you fed a baby (YES, they had BABY MONKEYS AAAAH!!!) it snatched it and ran so no one could steal it from them! It was a really cool experience, one of my highlights of the trip for sure. Kevin loved it too!

I LOVE THIS ONE, IT'S LIKE HE'S LOST IN THOUGHT ENJOYING THE VIEWS

(I'M SURE ABOUT 5 OTHER PEOPLE HAVE ABOUT THE SAME PICTURE AS THIS)

GIMME GIMME GIMME

AWW THANKS

THE HAND THAT PATIENTLY WAITS

THEY'RE FED 3 TIMES A DAY (OTHER THAN THE HAND ME OUT TREATS AT THE "CAGE" AND THEY FIND THEIR OWN FOOD AS WELL ON THE MOUNTAIN. BUT THEY ALL GANGED UP AND FOLLOWED THE LADY WITH THE FOOD BUCKET WHEN SHE WAS PASSING OUT LUNCH ;D

We met a couple of swedes that were about our age up at the view point. We had a nice chat with them about our experiences in Japan. They had had a rail pass and traveled through more places but because of the disaster a few weeks ago, they had to change some plans and cut their Tokyo stay short. They loved it here too and it was nice to speak in English, Kevin enjoyed it especially. (Nej, jag inte talade svenska med dem. And that is why, terrible svenska skills lol).

After the monkey park, we went to eat and stopped at a place that had silk food in the window. They are super cute and we've wanted to buy them in the little shops but really, what are we gonna do with mini silk sushi? The view was great, the food was too and it was the first place that didn't have an english menu. We just pointed at the picture of what we wanted and hoped for the best. Kevin got a tofu dish where the tofu comes boiling in a bowl and then you have additional little plates with soy and spring onions as well as ginger. You mix them to your liking into the soy and then you take a piece of tofu and stick it in the soy and eat it. Sounds complicated but it's really not. I had a tempura dish of vegetables and meats on top of a salad.

With our bellies full and warmed by the green tea, we went in search of the bamboo forest. We walked through Kameyama park and eventually ran into it. Kind of by accident. Lol! The bamboo forest was amazingly beautiful. Another recommended must-see. Lots of tourists though.

After the forest, we decided to leave Arashiyama as we weren' really interested all that much in the temples there. Templed out a bit, you see. So we took the train back and went to Nishiki Market to eat. We found a place that had an English menu and the service was great, the young folk in there spoke really really good English. Kevin ordered pork with soba noodles, I got Chinese fried noodles. DELICIOUS! We had beer and plum liquor (delish too) and as an appetizer edamame. We asked them if they knew any good manga shops on the near by shopping strip Teramachi and they recommended a few. So on we went to find a good poster. However, the stores only sold manga in book form and had a few risque sections. I'll just leave it at that. And, I was pretty much the only girl in a lot of the places. Lol.

CUTESTS COOKIE EVER, PICKED IT UP ON THE WAY BACK TO KYOTO

We came back to the hotel after that an ooh-ed and aww-ed at our monkey pictures. I really loved that place. Once in a lifetime experience!

Thanks for reading!

-Anneli (and Kevin)