Arashiyama & Kinkakuji

Made a day trip to Arashiyama, which is only 15 min from Kyoto by subway. It is a popular tourist district amongst Kyotoites.

There are mountains and streams...

...temples and shrines...

...bamboo groves (ala Hidden Tiger Crouching Dragon fighting scene)...

...many shops, cafes and restaurants (local speciality is tofu...there is tofu ice-cream, tofu donuts, tofu croquette, etc...everything, except the tofu ice-cream which I didn't try, was yummy!)...

...and even an adult man walking around in a Doraemon costume!

We took the Sagano romantic train ride (seriously, that's the name of the train ride), which takes you along the mountains by the river

Don't know why the train station had so many beaver figurines

Stopped by Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) on the way back. Kinkakuji is a Zen temple and is covered in gold. It houses sacred relics of Buddha.

Madam White Snake's tomb