On the last leg of this trip, I had just a few hours in the morning to explore the west side of Kyoto. There are numerous popular sights, including Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) and Adashino Nenbutsu-ji Temple, but I still saw a few other known areas in Arashiyama, the first being Tenruji Temple.

I had finally managed to figure out which local train to take. It was a separate station, located just behind Kyoto Station. If only I had realized this the day before. Anyway, I finally made it to the correct station and then fast-walked over to the temple.

Tenruji Temple

Built in 1339 and registered as a World Heritage Site, it is ranked as the number one Zen temple of the city’s five great Zen temples. While Tenruji’s buildings were repeatedly destroyed over the centuries due to fires and wars (being reconstructed between 1868 and 1912), its garden withstood it all.

To be honest, the site wasn’t as opulent as I had hoped, as the interior was quite empty and the surrounding area wasn’t as saturated in colors as I wished. However, I still managed to walk around the grounds, including up a trail that goes behind the pond, and capture the pretty scenery.

As it turns out, the rear edge of Tenruji Temple sits at the edge of the small Bamboo Forest, another site on the trail of sites in this area.

It was then time to stroll through the bamboo trees just behind the temple while on the way toward the final site, Jojakkoji Temple.

Jojakkoji Temple

Jojakkoji Temple was founded in 1596. It’s surrounded by lovely maple trees and moss, as well as some bamboo-forested areas. Before I officially entered the grounds, I felt good about ending my trip at this site after seeing the colors and the surrounding forest area, which gave it a more secluded and quiet feel. When you walk up the crisscrossing paths, you can also get a view of Kyoto.

After strolling along the pathway toward the temple, I finally reached the entrance.

While I was thrilled to see this site as the last place on my itinerary, I was not thrilled about the time when I had finished. I needed to get back to Kyoto Station to get back on the Shinkansen (bullet train) back to Tokyo. I had already paid for a round-trip ticket, so I wasn’t in the mood to have to pay for a new return ticket.

While trudging back toward where I thought I started from, I kept feeling more and more pressured to hurry up. I tried fast-walking toward where I thought I could get a taxi, but no luck. I started to become sweaty and anxious, realizing that the clock was ticking. By the time I made it to a busy tourist area near the Togetsukyo Bridge (or “Moon Crossing Bridge”), I thought I had found the correct train back to the station. To my dismay, I realized I was wrong, so I quickly ran back outside onto the crowded sidewalk and flagged down a taxi.

The whole trip back I was becoming more tense as I wondered if I was going to make it. This was the first time I felt a bit panicked and stressed about making my way back from a trip here. Just before I arrived back at my hotel to collect my luggage, I admitted defeat and realized that I would, in fact, have to pay for another return ticket. The Shinkansen is convenient but also expensive. I didn’t realize that I could have just bought a return ticket from the machine when I was ready. I was worried that there wouldn’t be any tickets left. A new lesson was learned.

At the time of writing this, it will soon be sakura (cherry blossom) season, and in fact, the ume (plum) blossoms have already started to bloom in some areas. This will be my next project.

Until then…