I've seen it various times while researching places to go. It says if you wander off into a bad area of a town, be alert as you go through, watch your surroundings, but . . . 'don't look the dodgy looking people standing along the streets in the eye'. (Probably gang members or drug dealers). Normally when you don't look someone in the eye, they think you are shifty, trying to hide something, but in this case, I think it is the right thing to do.

The local train takes me to Arashiyama early today . I'm glad, while in Kyoto, I am staying not far from the train depot. I seem to use one of the train systems almost everyday. I know the same can be said for thousands of locals as well. But, using the trains are natural to them. It takes work for me to find the right one and get off at the right stop. So, having a hotel close to the station at least saves me figuring out transportation to the station everyday.

ARASHIYAMA
Arashiyama is located in the southern outskirts of Kyoto, but requires a 30 minute train ride to get to. It's a pleasant ride. I enjoy using the train system here.

IT'S NOT RIPLEYS, BUT IT'S ODD
The first thing I see as I leave the station in Arashiyama is a 19th century museum. This one is a little more odd than most, though. Outside the museum there is a large train engine on display. Also, the museum front has piano keys displayed. The museum is the odd combination of steam locomotives and pianos.

You can take a scenic train ride from the museum for a few dollars into the nearby mountains . You can also get there by walking through town or renting a bicycle. I want to take photos as I see the town, so I opt for walking.
 
THE BRIDGE
After wandering through the narrow streets, I came to the Hozu River. It has a picturesque bridge, The Togetsukyo Bridge, spanning it. It makes a nice photo with the forested mountains in the background. There is a park along the river filled with cherry trees. Cherry Blossom season is very popular here at the bridge.

It's still early morning and I see a path leading along the river into the mountains. I spend the next hour or so hiking the path and enjoying the river along the way. It's quiet here, away from the many small shops around the bridge, and I don't see anyone during the hour-long hike. The river is beautiful and so peaceful to hike along.

WALKING AMONG WILD MONKEYS
On my hike back into town, along the river, I find a trail leading through the trees to a monkey park on top of a mountain . There are wild macaque monkeys living on top of the mountain. It is a demanding hike, but if you are up to it, it is a great way to spend the morning. 

Once I reach the top of the mountain, there is a small building with a caged-in area. Inside you can buy peanuts to feed the monkeys. You are only allowed to feed the monkeys from inside the wire cage. This is one time you are in the cage and the monkeys are roaming free outside, looking in at you. What a switch!

The monkeys see you inside the cage and come running, climbing the cage wire. They are  looking for a peanut to be passed through the wire to them. The wire is big enough the monkeys can also reach through and let you put the peanut in their hand.

You are only allowed to feed the monkeys the peanuts, sold here, and you must do it from inside the cage. This way the monkeys have learned they will only get food from someone in the cage . The idea is, when you are walking around outside on the mountain with the loose monkeys, they will not come to you or jump on you wanting food. 

Once I leave the cage I walk within inches of the monkeys. Some are carrying around their baby. Others are grooming another monkey. Some are just sitting, but none approach me. They don't run away but they don't come to me wanting food, either. I guess the system works. Wild monkeys can be aggressive and cause a lot of harm to someone by biting and scratching. So, not feeding them in the open space is a good protection for the visitors.

Another thing you are warned about is "don't look him in the eyes". I saw signs of this all the way up the switchbacks on the trail today. I guess it's something the monkeys and drug dealers have in common! I didn't look them in the eyes and they didn't offer me drugs or bring their gang to rob me. 

THE RICKSHAW RIDE
The rickshaw was waiting along the bridge as I passed this morning, on the way to my hike and the monkey mountain . I stopped for a few minutes to chat with the driver (called puller). He posed for a photo and I told him I might ride with him when I came back from the mountain. I'm sure he thought I was just feeding him a line to get a photo of him and his rig and then get away.

He was still waiting at the same spot when I got back a few hours later, so I hired him to take me to the bamboo forest. (You can hire them to take you anywhere in town you want to go.)

It was a nice ride to the other side of town, and along the way he would stop and give me some history about some landmark or something else of interest. It was a chance for him to take a short break too, I am sure. The history and information was interesting, though, and he pointed out a few things I wanted to return later in the day to see.

I had been wanting to ride in a rickshaw since I was in Asia last year. There were a lot of them in Vietnam, but I never rode in one . Where better to ride one than in Japan where it is believed to have been invented around 1869.

I think of earlier days when royalty or the wealthy would have lower status people carry or pull them around on various platforms or carts. The rickshaw at one time in Asia was a very popular, cheap way to travel. Peasants went to the big cities to become rickshaw runners. But, it was considered a very dangerous occupation and very degrading.

The rickshaws arrived in Singapore in 1880. The poorest individuals in Singapore became the pullers. They were the poverty-sticken people of Chinese ancestry, and were called "coolies". It was hard work but was a job opportunity they needed. Richshaws were the popular way for people to get to work and other places in those days.

Today, of course, it is more of a touristy thing. I felt mixed emotions riding in it, though. As I watch from my seated position and see the puller sweating, and straining sometimes uphill, my instinct is to get out and help him pull the thing up . I always feel the need to give a hand when work is going on (wish I didn't).

It feels a little strange, having a person pull me around like this. I know I rode in a cyclo while in Vietnam, but that was a person giving me a ride powered by a bicycle. Tuk Tuks are motor driven, as well as motodops. This is a person just pulling me along with his own legs.

I know most people would enjoy feeling a little like royalty while being pulled around town, and this rickshaw puller is very eager for my business. Still, I feel a little awkward seeing him work so hard while I just sit here, blanket over my lap. Okay, I am just odd, I know. It's a fun thing to do and no one is being forced to do the work. Fun stuff.

THE BAMBOO FOREST
When we arrive at the bamboo park, I say goodbye to my rickshaw puller and head into the nearby shrine leading to the bamboo forest. It's the Nonomiya Shrine. This is where many women have trained to be shrine maidens at Japan's holiest shrine .

You walk through the shrine and it's pretty little garden, then continue on behind it where there is a small path leading to the bamboo forest. There is a road cut through the bamboos. I think riding a bicycle through here would be a fun way to see all the bamboo. There is no place near to rent a bike, though, so I walk. 

The bamboo, for as far as you can see, goes on a long ways. The narrow road winding through the forest is paved, only wide enough for one vehicle. Eventually, I came to a lake. The bamboo path continued around it. And, there was a train station. It turned out to be the scenic train I could have ridden to this point. I consider taking the ride back into town on it, but there are things I want to see on my way back and I could not do that if I rode the train back.

THE JAPANESE GARDEN
I stumbled upon a Japanese garden and spent a while walking through it. The little ponds and landscaping made for a nice and relaxing tour . Afterwards I bought a can of ice coffee out of the vending machine and sat on the wooden seat, here in Arashimaya, Japan.

I finished the day walking around this little section of Kyoto. It seems like a quaint little town, all it's own. I guess at one point it was, before being taken in by the larger Kyoto.

This was a good choice for a day trip and it has been very interesting. Now, back to find my train home.