Arashiyama, Guilo Guilo, Pontocho. I'm a famous Youtuber!

Trip Diary Day 11 - 8 April 2019

Our last full day in Kyoto, Arashiyama bamboo forest and Guilo Guilo

Check out Episode 8 of our Epic Family Road Trip Across Japan.

Sadly this was to be our last full day in Kyoto. Arashiyama was the main plan for today and if we had time maybe Kinkaku-ji. We had Giro Giro (Guilo Guilo), a modern kaiseki restaurant, booked for dinner at 5.30. Our friend in Tokyo, Ippei, recommended and booked for us. Everybody needs a friend in Tokyo. In fact Ippei and Janine have a very helpful and informative web site about travelling in Japan with a lot of detail on the smaller islands. Check it out here.

Catching a bus to Arashiyama

Georgia was feeling a little better but we were still out a little later than expected at 11. But we’re always late. Should I even bother mentioning it? We had noticed that there was a boulangerie at the end of our street - Boulangerie Pin de Bleu. Now was as good a time to try the many beautiful pastries and breads on display. We bought donuts, sandwiches and assorted pastries then walked down the street about a kilometre to catch the bus to Arashiyama. Arashiyama is only 10 kilometres from Kyoto but for us it was a 40 minute bus ride, mostly standing. As our bus went down the main street of Arashiyama when we arrived we could see the whole place was packed with tourists. Tourists just like us. No the irony is not lost on me.

Arashiyama

Arashiyama was another place we had visited back in February 2010 (click here to see the posts about Arashiyama on our old blog), eleven months before Georgia was born. We had had a particularly horrible November in 2009 so we thought, stuff this, lets book a holiday to Japan. And that’s how Japan became our happy place. This was going to be the first time to Arashiyama with the kids. Back in 2010 we’d had a great time mucking around with our cameras in the bamboo forest (click here to see old blog). It was also the first time we had the Kyozuan Tofu Ice Cream. See previous post here. Since 2010 postcard perfect has evolved into Instagrammable. With the tourist numbers in Kyoto so far I didn’t expect to be able get any Insta worthy shot but who knows?

We had already stocked up on donuts, pastries and sandwiches but we still hadn’t had our morning coffee. % Arabica conveniently have a branch in Arashiyama. That is the coffee shop we went to in Kyoto the day before. I shouldn’t have been surprised at the queue. But holy crap, there was a queue around the corner for coffee. It was a pleasantly mild 18 degrees but the sun felt hot, so queuing for 20 minutes seem more arduous than it probably really was. I ordered 3 cafe lattes at 430 yen each. One for me, one for Michelle and one to share - Georgia would probably have some too. We had the coffees and sandwiches on the wall next to the river and watched the world go by. The queue for coffee never went away. Delicious sandwiches and coffees done we walked back up the main street looking for the way to the bamboo forest.

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

Arashiyama, Japan

You can follow maps and signs to places like the bamboo forest. Or, you could just follow the crowds. Like Inari the day before the path was chock full of people coming and going. Visiting the bamboo forest means you keep to one fenced off path through the forest. Forest sounds grander than it is. A thicket perhaps? A copse? It may even be a garden? There is not frolicking amongst the bamboo or strolling off the path though. So when you have hundreds of people on one short path it can be quite crowded. The bamboo was beautiful and the dappled light filtered through the leaves in the canopy high above but there would be no Insta worthy photos on this day. Or any day as much as I can figure. Unless you get up bright and early to beat the crowds. An Insta shot these days is more than likely full of people holding up their phones taking photos of other people holding up their phones in the middle of the bamboo forest. It was lovely and cool and dark in the forest though. We wandered to the top of the path and looked at a some sakura in a garden and then turned and went back down to Arashiyama.

There’s a monkey park just across the river but we decided we didn’t need to go. We’d already seen the snow monkeys at Jigokudani a few days earlier. We’d also seen photos of the Arashiyama monkey park and, frankly, I thought it looked a bit shit. It was getting late so we didn’t want to be late for dinner back in Kyoto either. The Keifuku Randen tram line is part of an old tram network that terminates at Arashiyama. Light rail probably describes it better. Part of the route is on a dedicated rail line and part is on the street just like a Melbourne tram. We caught the Randen to Omiya then changed trains to go to Gion and Pontocho. We were going to go for a stroll along Pontocho and check out the sakura by the canals and river. While waiting to cross the street in Omiya a mum standing next to us with her family asked that her son wanted to know if I was a famous Youtuber. Ha, carry a camera with a big fluffy mic and suddenly you’re famous Youtuber. I said not yet. Hi to my 83 subscribers by the way.

Pontocho

Pontocho is a narrow lane way that runs parallel to the river. It mostly little izakaya, bars, restaurants. Anything from cheap yakitori to expensive kaiseki. It is quite moody and beautiful at night when the lanterns are hung out in front of the shops. There many tiny bars with room only for 3 or 4. Every time I see a place with that can fit so few people I wonder how they can survive. They always look inviting though. The food often cooked in front of you while you enjoy a beer or sake. In the evening the street is a feast for the senses. Wonderful cooking smells, laughter and brightly coloured lantern lights. We often hear about how crowded and touristy Kyoto is, I’m guilty of that myself, but there is a charm to old Pontocho that has not gone away. We wandered through Pontocho and then followed the river to check out the Sakura on the river banks again.

Guilo Guilo or Giro Giro

Guilo Guilo, or Giro Giro (pronounced with a hard “G”), is a young, vibrant, funky, modern Kyoto style Kaiseki. We sat at the corner of the main counter so we could watch the food being prepared. Front row seats at the counter are the best. There is no performance art better than watching food being prepared. Chopping, slicing, pouring, mixing, flaming and setting. The counter is a large central island and seats about 15. One entire wall of the room is a large window offering views to the canal outside. It seems that on this night most of the customers were western tourists. I sat next to a young couple from Idaho. Lovely people. He is a sushi chef and she waitresses in another sushi restaurant. Not the same one though. Apparently there are at least two sushi restaurants in Idaho. Who knew? They live near the Grand Tetons, which would have to be on anyone’s bucket list if you’re into natural wonders. We chatted about Japan, sushi, travel, Jiro, Africa, tipping, food, medicare. As I said, nice couple.

Dinner was around 8 courses. Fish, pork, soup, pickles etc. Delicious orange ice cream to finish. Brandy and Georgia had full serves too. Georgia had her appetite back so ate almost everything. Brandy started off strong but faded and ended up sleeping head down on the counter. An excellent meal. Expensive by the standards of our current trip at 17030 yen. We were trying, and failing, to keep to some semblance of a budget. But in context, modern Michelin starred quality for 4 people for 17000 yen is a veritable bargain. You could pay twice as much, or more, at a typical kaiseki restaurant in Kyoto. Giro Giro is very affordable.

It was cold outside. The temp had dropped to 12 degrees. We found a bus close to the restaurant which got us most of the way before a quick change somewhere out in the suburbs of Kyoto for another bus home. 7-Eleven for yoghurt and a cake for Brandy.

I could hear people leaving the little izakayas in our alley. Not noisy enough to be disturbing but enough to know you were staying in a vibrant local neighbourhood. Yeah, I could live here.

Here ends our Kyoto sojourn although we still need to visit Kinkaku-ji tomorrow. Have you really been to Kyoto if you haven’t visited the Golden Temple? I expected that places like Inari and Arashiyama would be as crowded as fuck, but we had a pleasant visit last time so who the hell knows if Kinkaku-ji would be as crowded too? A top of 14 expected for the next day. Perfect temperatures for a road trip.

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Check out Episode 8 of our Epic Family Road Trip Across Japan.

Many of the pictures on this page are by Michelle. Essentially the good ones. Michelle retains full copyright and they can not be reproduced without permission. For licensing and using the photos contact Michelle at Michelle Newnan Photography