A spectacularly golden Golden Week: Part 1

Japan’s calendar features a number of holidays but one of the most prominent is Golden Week. For those unaware, Golden Week is a series of holidays that fall consecutively during the beginning of May, resulting in, if not a whole week, then several days off, hence the name Golden week. During this appropriately named holiday period many people travel or explore new places and this year I found myself included in this group of Golden Week travellers, travelling with a friend to two well-known beauties of Japan... Kyoto and Nara. 

Just some of the bamboo trees

My first visit of the week was to Kyoto, of which I will discuss in this post (I'll reveal my experience at Nara in a separate post otherwise this would be a verrry long post!). Previous knowledge told me Kyoto was traditional, the old capital and beautiful, but it ended up being so much more than that. Prior to our trip my friend and I decided on a few possible places to visit but ultimately wanted to play it by ear, allowing our explorer instincts to take hold. Once arriving in Kyoto we headed towards a place called Arashiyama, whose name literally means Storm- arashi Mountain- yama! After some train discrepancies we finally arrived and quickly joined the swarming pack of tourists all heading to the same destination... the bamboo forest.

Upon entering the bamboo forest I was in awe, the bamboo trees towered for miles above and I experienced an overwhelming feeling similar to the one I’d felt in Osaka. The trees were so tall and in such a mass that it created a mirage of greenery that makes you feel a connection with Mother Nature, something pictures cannot truly replicate.

Torii 

Ema with hanging wishes

In the depths of the bamboo kingdom was the Nonomiya-jinja. The first Shinto shrine of many I would encounter, Nonomiya-jinja was extremely beautiful, with the Torii amongst a backdrop of woodland and the Ema filled with endless wishes of other passers-by.Whilst there we of course got fortunes and superstitious as I am I was dreading receiving a bad fortune,ready to tie it up to avert it coming true.However we both received great fortunes, somewhat encapsulating the wonderful atmosphere of the day.

Peaceful lake we discovered 

Following our exploration of the bamboo empire we rented some bikes (extremely cheaply might I add, ¥100 equivalent of 50p, for the day) and let the winding roads lead us to new places. We caught sight of women dressed in stunning kimonos, traditional transportation of human powered rickshaws, pretty floral meadows, some more shrines and a still, tranquil lake.

A yummy tempura dinner!

As the day drew to a close we decided to head towards the city. Searching for more tradition amongst the hustle and bustle of a busy modern city was hard. But we succesfully discovered a traditional Japanese restaurant, complete with zashiki style seating and ordered delicious Shrimp Tempura Donburi with Asahi beer, the perfect end to the perfect day!