Archive for the ‘渡月橋’ tag
[KYOTO] Arashiyama 嵐山
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After visiting Kinkakuji and Ryoanji, we boarded the Keifuku trains for Arashiyama, a touristy but very pleasant district in the Western outskirts of Kyoto. The area has numerous temples, shops, cafes, and restaurants, all centering around the Togetsukyo Bridge and Keifuku Arashiyama Station. Come here for a relaxing afternoon away from the city!
Arashiyama street scene
Right outside the Keifuku train station is a roll cake (i.e. Swiss roll) specialty shop called Arinco. We tried a thick slice of their delicious matcha roll cake, which can also be purchased by the roll (¥950/roll) or as a “roll sand”, which is a roll cake sandwich. See their website here.
Arinco roll cake specialty store
Matcha roll cake
After the sweet fix, we headed for Tenryu-ji, which is ranked number one among the “Top Five Zen Temples in Kyoto”. For more pictures of the majestically beautiful Tenryu-ji, see this post.
Tenryu-ji
Tenryu-ji
As we wandered along the streets of Arashiyama, we came by this little store that sells traditional Japanese snacks. Seeing that even the kimono-clad girls were lining up for it, we decided to give it a try.
General rule of thumb: when there’s a line, join it.
Street snacks
I don’t exactly know how to translate 古都芋, but it’s something like roasted yam wrapped inside a thin and crispy coating. Let’s just call them yam cakes. We also tried a roll of みたらし団子, basically glutinous rice balls drizzled with a sweet and salty sauce. Both were delicious and something very fitting to eat when in a historical city like Kyoto.
