Japan Day 30 - The Bamboo Forests And Other Gardens

The debate between reading books on Kindles and such other electronic reading devices over reading books on paper is a little quieter now that the vast library of public digital publications are more available, cheaper, and simpler to distribute. For cyclists on the road, it's a no brainer; buy a Kindle.

And even though Sis and I put forth a well enough thinking brain between the two of us, paper books are the only editions we bought, brought, and read.

You see, sister has been carrying around a Lonely Planet edition of Japan. Books are not usually welcomed on tours because books are heavy, and they take up space that could be used for more pressing items, like a first aid kit. As it happens (knock on wood), we never used our first aid kit. Conversely, we used her travel book quite a lot.

It is, as you can imagine, no small book. Japan is just one if those countries that has way too many monuments to see, restaurants to try, culture to absorb. And out of all the possible things to see and do, climb over, cycle along, bathe in, and take photos of, only one picture can make the book cover photo; just one scene that sums up a piercing, unequivocal image of what it means to live or travel in Japan. That image is the Kyoto bamboo forests. 

The book cover of our personal paper guide information center.

I feel that it's ok to start a day without breakfast. However, those days that involve lots of cycling or sightseeing is noticeably the exception. Wouldn't have enjoyed this great day, in retrospect, without a proper breakfast. So we loaded up, and set out.

It took about a half hour cycle through traffic to arrive at the North-West end of town where all forest await us. As you can see, the forests are thick with the quick sprouted bamboo.

In company of a society that produces so little waste, it is no surprise that special guard rails were not ordered or custum fabricated in a warehouse far off to be installed along the forest to direct pedestrian traffic. Nope. Simple dead branches line the path. Shows as proof that you don't always have to spend money to popularize a tourist scene; let the heritage site speak for itself.

The dead branch guard rail is low enough for me to peer over with my camera and snap a photo. However, the contrasts over dead and alive, short and tall, light and dark bring an identifying emotion to the scene as you walk through.

Sister and I estimate that these, like most, bamboo shoots are around 35-40 ft tall. They literally blot out the sun. Now that's privacy! 

Although you walk down prescribed paths and inlets, you never feel that you are being led and often come to forks and bridges that allow you to choose your own adventure.

Be the shoot that bends and not breaks, "for the times they are a changing."

More beautiful dark shadows against the lavish green of untouched forest. The greens are definitely greener in Japan.

Because the rain had not yet set into the day, we rode to the forest on our bikes. But a train station conveniently brings travelers through the last town and into the forest with ease for all those who cannot make the 10km trek from the middle of Kyoto.

One tip that Lonely Planet did not warn us of was the sheer number of shops and stalls aimed at tourists just outside the forest. Tons of people walk up and down the main stretch of street (albeit we did arrive on a weekend) and bike parking was a little difficult. One great benefit to the number of vendors is that they are all in competition with each other for our yen. That is, prices were driven down based on the assumption that when you have two or more choices for food and souvenirs, you will rationally choose the cheapest. Hence, snack time!  

Check this out! No photoshop or editing, no tricks. This soy ice cream is in reality so dense and thick that you can turn it upside down and the cold cone will play it's role and stay in it's place.

Finally making it through the bamboos, and then the forest of souvenirs and good stalls, we found ourselves staring into the face of our last day in Kyoto. As if suddenly comprehending the impact of this realization, as if passing into the depths of the bamboo forest was not a grand enough way to spend the day, sister and I agreed to take advantage of the fading sun in order to extend our flora kick of the day. So after the bamboo forest, we sped over to the Kyoto botanical gardens.

Sorry I was not able to capture the names of all these flora. We moved at a hurried pace because of the weather and because the park was closing so soon after we arrived.

  

Among my finest memories of traveling Japan will always be the time when I uncovered a new floral species relative to the iconic sunflower. Not surprisingly, they are similarly delicious.

Soon after entering the colorful Gardens of the Kyoto botanical, we came to an interesting exhibit I was not expecting. How did this stereotypical image of Japan, along side sushi and sumos, skip my list of things to see in Japan? I am speaking, in keeping with the gardens, of the bonsai style trees. How lucky to have the forgotten the bonsai along the way to be so surprised by its image today.  

Yes, there are many small tress to look at for hours. Easily could have spent hours looking in more detail at each one, and several hours more researching each's profile on the Internet encyclopedia. But, time is knocking.

We the Botanical gardens that my mother would have loved so much in high spirits. Yes, it might be our last day in Kyoto; yes, we will miss it. Considering though that we had never even really planned on being here a couple of weeks ago, it's hard to not just sit back on the Tatimi floor mat, sip some warm green tea, and laugh with the good times had. 

Unfortunately, we rushed home from the gardens because it began to rain. Not since first arriving in Japan have I felt so cold. The start of the day looked sunny and indeed it was, but now my thin button down short sleeved plaid shirt and synthetic shorts are starting to coldly feel like an icy mistake. Slightly shivering, we called it a day.

At home, I slipped into my -15°C sleeping bag that I carried needlessly (stupidly) for over a year in equatorial Indonesia, Malaysia, andThailand. Tonight, this fluffy goose down full size sleeping bag and I are friends again. In a cacoon of warmth, I am sleepy again and no longer shivering and I don't even have socks on.  I feel so lucky that we have a nice place to rest tonight in a prime location with warm hearted housemates. 

Goodnight!

-A