Scenic Route: Kibune and Arashiyama

There is so much to see in Kyoto, but a lot of it seems to be temples.... so, in an attempt to insert some variety in our autumn leaves viewing experience, we decided to take in the maple leaves by train, especially after we read about a "maple tree tunnel" on the way to the little village of Kibune which was illuminated at night.  

So we decided to take the train there by day, visit the famous Kibune shrine, and take the train back by night.  Maple tunnel by day AND by night, sounds good right?  Unfortunately, things didn't quite turn out that way.  The train journey was easy enough (check here for the e-guide by the rail company)

But very sadly, our day time journey revealed that many of the autumn leaves had fallen already, so there was not much to see.  And the train zipped by so fast, we could not take many photos.  The night journey back? Well, suffice to say that there was a moment of suspense and excitement when the lights on the train went out, for us to better view the illuminations.  But there was also a collective sigh of disappointment when the leafless (but illuminated) trees appeared.  So much for that!

Up to the shrine

Fortunately, we did have a good visit to Kibune.  Confusingly, the village is called "Kibune" and the shrine sometimes called "Kibune" or "Kifune".  The shrine itself marks the ending point of a journey; a goddess in a yellow boat travelled up the river and stopped here.

River flowing over rocks and leaves

It is quite popular during this period, with many people lining up to pay their respects to the deity, and to pen down their prayers, wet them in the shrine's spring waters (it is dedicated to the water god), and tie them to the nearby stand.  At night, the lanterns lining the stairs leading to the shrine are lit, adding to its mystique.

The rest of the village is tiny - apparently there are expensive restaurants and ryokans here, serving busy city dwellers who want to come away for a lazy and quiet weekend.  In summer, the restaurants serve meals on platforms over the river flowing past the village as it goes down the hill.  At this time of year, there are no more platforms but the river continues to be lit up by charming little lanterns.  We hoped to see autumn leaves but we were just slightly past the peak so most of the leaves had fallen - but they still looked pretty floating in the river, trapped by the rocks!

We had a more successful train ride the next day, on the Sagano Romantic Train from Arashiyama to Kameoka.  The train itself is an old fashioned steam train, with old wooden carriages etc.  The ride took us on the banks of the Hozugawa river gorge, and the autumn colours were beautifully displayed along this scenic route.  Whilst it was perhaps slightly past the peak season, it was still quite a sight to see - when the train first emerged out of the hill side to a view of the river gorge there was another of those collective sighs - but of wonder and excitement this time, not disappointment, as the train hurtled through a gorgeous patchwork hillside, and by a rushing river in the gorge below.  Check out my video:

In theory, we were supposed to take a boat ride back to Arashiyama.  It would be a two-hour ride, back along the same river gorge, in an open boat.  Exposed to the elements.  On a sunny day that would have been fine.  But it was raining, a miserable, incessant and cold drizzle.  We decided that two hours in the rain was not for us.  So we went for lunch at Kameoka (more of this in a subsequent post) and took the normal JR train back to Arashiyama.

The last time I was here in Arashiyama was in spring time, looking at the cherry blossoms, and it was indeed quite a different experience seeing the autumn colours.  And the low lying clouds created a totally different atmosphere, compared to the crisp clear skies of spring.  Autumn is "a season of mists", after all.

The river at Arashiyama

Having been to the sights in Arashiyama the last time (bamboo forest, garden, two Temples) it was quite liberating to decide that we had enough rain for the day and find a nice place for tea.  

And so that's the way our train journeys went.  Neither really turned out as the "perfect" day out from Kyoto, but they each had their own pleasant and memorable moments, and that's all you can really ask from a holiday.

See more photos on Flickr!