Day 24: Disappointment in Arashiyama
I feel that I have been extraordinarily lucky in my adventures here in Japan so far. Everything I have seen and done has exceeded my expectations. I have managed to find so many quiet joys in unexpected places.
Today was not one of those days.
To say that I had been looking forward to visiting the bamboo forest in Arashiyama for some time now would be accurate, and I think that this anticipation may well have left me unprepared.
The entirety of Arashiyama is a very popular destination for sightseeing, and as such the place is inundated with people, and the tourist industry has built up around them.
Every sidewalk is packed with people and shops, loudly selling all manners of things to them. Temples are filled with photo snapping tourists posing for the camera. Nothing felt quite right.
I stopped in at Tenryu-ji Temple and wandered the grounds, but felt it hard to enjoy having to dodge strollers and selfie sticks every few meters. Even the Goshuin I received felt less valuable than usual as the office of so busy that they do not hand calligraphy the writing, but stamp it in as well.
Weaving back down the path I left the temple and headed to the main attraction; the bamboo grove. It was apparent that this would not be the calm and relaxing walk through a bamboo grove that I had hoped.
The path through the grove was so choked with people that it became extremely difficult at times to even look at the bamboo without bumping into someone trying to get a shot for their Instagram.
I am normally quite good at managing my expectations. I have spent the bulk of my adult life with very low expectations about most things to avoid disappointment or becoming fixated on the wrong things and missing the great stuff I wasn't expecting. So I feel that my disappointment and frustration is largely my own fault in this case.
After reaching the end of the pathway the thick crowds broke and I carried forward into the neighborhood north of the grove, wandering the quiet streets until ending up here, in the back of a small restaurant.
Around me a few locals chat and enjoy a lunch, and I too am treated to a wonderful Gyu Don.
Now, as I sip the last of my tea and write to you, I am relearning a lesson that came so easily to me here that I did not even understand it the first time; find my own path.
Big attractions are nice in theory, but what I have enjoyed the most are the small moments and quiet places. The parts of Japan that do not exist to wow, but simply for those who live their lives here. The people I have met along the way.
So with that I will slowly make my way back home to Hanakanzashi, and see what a few of those people are up to today.
Today was not one of those days.
To say that I had been looking forward to visiting the bamboo forest in Arashiyama for some time now would be accurate, and I think that this anticipation may well have left me unprepared.
The entirety of Arashiyama is a very popular destination for sightseeing, and as such the place is inundated with people, and the tourist industry has built up around them.
Every sidewalk is packed with people and shops, loudly selling all manners of things to them. Temples are filled with photo snapping tourists posing for the camera. Nothing felt quite right.
I stopped in at Tenryu-ji Temple and wandered the grounds, but felt it hard to enjoy having to dodge strollers and selfie sticks every few meters. Even the Goshuin I received felt less valuable than usual as the office of so busy that they do not hand calligraphy the writing, but stamp it in as well.
Weaving back down the path I left the temple and headed to the main attraction; the bamboo grove. It was apparent that this would not be the calm and relaxing walk through a bamboo grove that I had hoped.
The fantasy (not my photo)
The reality (also not my photo)
The path through the grove was so choked with people that it became extremely difficult at times to even look at the bamboo without bumping into someone trying to get a shot for their Instagram.
I am normally quite good at managing my expectations. I have spent the bulk of my adult life with very low expectations about most things to avoid disappointment or becoming fixated on the wrong things and missing the great stuff I wasn't expecting. So I feel that my disappointment and frustration is largely my own fault in this case.
After reaching the end of the pathway the thick crowds broke and I carried forward into the neighborhood north of the grove, wandering the quiet streets until ending up here, in the back of a small restaurant.
Around me a few locals chat and enjoy a lunch, and I too am treated to a wonderful Gyu Don.
Now, as I sip the last of my tea and write to you, I am relearning a lesson that came so easily to me here that I did not even understand it the first time; find my own path.
Big attractions are nice in theory, but what I have enjoyed the most are the small moments and quiet places. The parts of Japan that do not exist to wow, but simply for those who live their lives here. The people I have met along the way.
So with that I will slowly make my way back home to Hanakanzashi, and see what a few of those people are up to today.
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