Arashiyama Bamboo Grove and Autumn Hues

                                 One of the reasons I chose to go to Japan last November was the autumn season. I wanted to experience it . I wanted to be in a Japanese garden or park surrounded with trees taking on the autumn hues of yellow,red and orange.Living in the Philippines all my life, I thought it would be a welcome change from the lush green surroundings i'm used to all year round.

                                   When I was planning the trip I made a mistake of booking a ticket a week ahead of the" peak " of the autumn leaves.A website mentioned that the leaves would display the brightest autumn colors during mid November in Japan so I decided to leave on the second week.The site failed to mention though that it could actually vary by location.In higher altitudes leaves actually turn to autumn colors earlier.In Kansai region where I was going the peak unfortunately is in the third week of November. buwiset! I didn't want to rebook because the fee would cost me almost half the price of the round trip tickets I purchased. I kept on searching for places that might peak earlier than Osaka and Kyoto but they were far. I was anxiously reading forecasts everyday leading to my trip(yes,it's like the weather there are forecasts online and I think even on TV)hoping there would be changes as it happened in the past where leaves would turn to bright colors earlier depending on how hot the summer was in Japan that year. I found out later that there is a place in the outskirts of Kyoto that might peak earlier than in the Central area. The place is called Arashiyama. I spent half a day exploring the beautiful rural town.Though I loved the place I just don't have the time now to write  much about it so I posted here pictures taken from Arashiyama.

Another mistake, I visited Arashiyama during a weekend

The tough cart-pulling men of Kyoto

Doing it rain or shine

At the entrance of one of the many temples in Arashiyama.Temples are found in every corner just like the rest of Kyoto

Statues in front of another temple. Take note of their different expressions

I'm afraid to put a caption on these...although I have lots in mind

Tenryuji temple, a world heritage site

Another thing that Arashiyama is famous for is the bamboo grove and as I was searching for it I came across this cemetery

Crouching Tiger hidden....?Finally I found the Bamboo grove

I stopped a monk cleaning in the bamboo grove area to take a picture of his dustpan

I'll be back Arashiyama. See you during spring.