Hanatoro in Kyoto

I am really lucky to live in the area of Japan that I do. While I am not in a city, I am near some real ones (thank goodness), with access to Nara, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe and Himeji. However, while these places can be "done" in a day trip from where I live (done it a few times with Kyoto and Nara), all of them really aren't that close when you think about it... especially when you go on a work night. There are exceptions that make it worth it, however, and this week was one of them when I decided to use my Wednesday early-afternoon-off-work to check out Hanatoro, or a lantern festival in an area of Kyoto called Arashiyama.

I have been to Kyoto over a dozen times since I first move here, but hadn't been to the far-western Arashiyama-area since Jess and I stormed the place on our week-long trip to Kyoto back in summer 2004 (inside joke there: Arashiyama means "Storm Mt"). The original plan was to go to see the 2,500 lanterns lining the traditional paths of the mountainous area with friends from Kobe on Saturday, but after realizing my agenda is getting busy (vacation is coming up) and that the weekend would produce large tourist crowds, I decided a weeknight would be best. Arashiyama is also famous for its fall colors, so it was also gratifying to see the lit-up hillside, spotlights producing an artificial view of the trees, still aflame with the yellow and red hues that the Japanese are so proud of (really did enoy it, but if one more person tells me how special it is that Japan has four seasons I might just burst).

I took a different route this time, using the Sanyo line's rapid train to meet a friend near Osaka and then switch to another private line to Arashiyama. I've always based myself at the massive Kyoto Station when traveling in that area (usually traveling JR), but the private lines turned out to be much faster than I expected... and cheaper, too. While Sanyo is more expensive in our area, it's sister-lines (Hankyu and Hanshin) kick JRs butt... guess that rocks for the Hyogo peeps living on the other side of Kobe (where the lines change).

When we arrived in Arashiyama, it was getting late and there weren't any little cafes immediately around the station so we hit up the konbini (convenience store) and took a seat on a bench surrounded by lanterns. It was actually a really refreshing break from restaraunts (which can start to seem the same after a while and can get expensive here) and reminded me a lot of my last trip to the area (I think Jess and I ate at the konbini for quite a few meals)... not to mention a romantic little spot for a picnic. The weather is getting colder, but it was crisp and cool rather than cold. It was also raining (the weather reports got it wrong...grr), but it made for a nice amiance (as long as you were under the umbrellas I guess...). The same thing happened last year when I met Andrea and Andres in Kyoto for the Kiyomizudera Fall Light Up (same idea, other side of Kyoto), so I should have known...

We walked around town for a while, over the famous admiring the different lanterns, some paper, most ceramic. It was almost like a long string of Christmas lights or something, actually, with one pattern or color of lanterns trailing on for a while, and then another style starting. We thought we could just follow the lanterns along the entire path, but encountered several deadends and it was slightly disappointing to discover that the major temples were closed off for the evening/event (especially Tenryuji Temple, the one with the stepping-stone pond you see Lost in Translation). My favorite parts were strolling through the small Bamboo forest at the foot of the mountains (lit up in glowing, blue Eiffel-esque light show glory) and visiting the small red shrine in the middle of the forest with it's moss and rock garden. I think it was an Inarijinha (fox shrine), but don't quote me on that... or ask me what it was called.

I would recommend the event to others, but don't think I would travel all the way to Kyoto to do it again. It made a little more sense given I was hanging out with someone that lives an hour and a half away (so one of us had to travel anyways)... but yeah, difficult for a school night. Considering there are posters for the event plastered all over Kansai (with an abundance on the trains and at stations), I was surprised to discover that Wikipedia offered zilch for background info. You can pick up a little flyer with a map at most stations in teh Kyoto area (and at tourist centers, the main one for Kyoto is in Kyoto station), but be aware that the event takes a bit of walking and that it really is useful to check a map and plan your route out in advance (it doesn't go in one strip, but stops and starts so it's easy to miss big peices). I have also heard of a train called the "Twilight Express" (they use the English name in Japan) that will take you around the sites and to see the foilage, so that and the numerous rickshaws are other options!