I had enquired about the possibility of sending our luggage to the airport straight away so that we didn't have to lug our luggage twice. Unfortunately, for luggage to be sent to the airport, you need to notify of the courier company two days in advance so that was a no-go.
However, the administrative work to send our luggage to the next hotel took about 40 minutes! I was quite upset as I had wanted to get to Arashiyama a little earlier, like 9am, to beat the crazy crowd.
We used a lot of lockers at the train stations for our trip this time.
We were locking up things we were carrying for the night thinking that our luggage would be sent.
It was when we reached the bamboo forest that the hotel called Booking.com who called us to tell us that 'the other hotel refused to receive our luggage'. I was indignant. I was sure the Kyoto hotel staff bungled it up. Wasted my 40 minutes waiting for the luggage to be sent and caused me to be late for my bamboo forest, and now you tell me the luggage couldn't be sent!
Upon clarifications when I returned to the hotel, it turned out that it was the courier company who had the policy of not sending luggage to the hotel on the day of check-out as it would not be sure if it could deliver the luggage before the check-out time, usually at 11am. Oh, that I could understand!
But it was still a wasted 40 minutes and we had to lug our luggage all the way to Nijo Station at the end of the day when we were dog tired and just wanted to go straight to Namba.
We saw a long queue outside the Sagano Romantic Railway Station just next to JR Saga-Arashiyama Station but I thought we would save the Sagano Romantic Train ride till the end of our Arashiyama visit.
Big mistake.
We should have joined the queue and bought the tickets first before starting our day at the bamboo forest!
It turned out that there was a train schedule and there were limited seats on the train. By the time we purchased our tickets, it was 1pm and all tickets departing from Arashiyama Station were sold out! We counted our blessings that there were standing tickets that departed from another station, Kameoka Torokko Station. We just had to take a JR train to JR Umahori Station and walk to Kameoka Torokko Station before taking the Sagano Romantic Train back to Arashiyama.
We had to be mindful of the time the JR train departed though as JR train is not the same as our MRT train that pulls into the station every few minutes. JR trains arrive at an interval of 20 minutes thereabout, so if we had missed the last train at JR Umahori Station, we would not be able to make it for our Sagano Romantic Train ride.
My plan was to finish Arashiyama including the Sagano Romantic Train ride by 2pm and move on to Nishiki Market but it was not meant to be.
It was a cold drizzling morning and we hadn't had breakfast so I stopped to get us some beef sandwiches at a small store by the road
Like most food in Japan, it was great and most importantly, it warmed our cold and empty stomachs.
Saw the Black Cat courier company doing its round on our way to the bamboo forest
Walked past this restaurant and thought we might have a meal here, but as always, there were too many distractions and I forgot all about this place.
How cute!
We were lost for a while and used GoogleMap to help us find the bamboo forest
Ahh! We reached it!
I 'grabbed' a Taiwanese lady who seemed pro at taking pictures for her companion to take the picture for us!
Her subject, an uncle, was trying to do a star jump at the bamboo forest and he wanted to capture that in the picture. The lady said,"你一直跳，我一直拍！(Keep jumping! I'll keep snapping!)"
We all laughed and I asked if she could help us take a picture.
We walked on to the garden after exiting the bamboo forest from the other side, not really knowing where it would lead to. I only had vague impressions about it leading us to an opening which could lead us back to a tram or train station.
Effortlessly beautiful scenery continued
The last time I came, it was all green and lush. The tour guide told me it would be yellow and red in autumn. This was the reason for me to be here again. Of course, my pictures do not do justice to the scenery.
Read that this was a 2h boat ride. No, thanks!
We kept walking and saw this popular cafe with a huge crowd waiting for their coffee
The Togetsukyo Bridge
Even a rubbish bin was placed under a pretty maple leaf tree
We finally reached the streets at Arashiyama and entered a crowded Miffy shop to see what the hype was all about
Really cute, but they are just bread, aren't they?
I remembered taking an electric tram to Kinkakuji for my previous Japan trip but we were just going back to Arashiyama Station
We paid upon alighting
Some hiccups occurred on this brief tram trip. We alighted at the wrong stop and had to get to the other side of the tram stop to board the next returning tram.
There were three types of railway and purple was the colour of the electric tram
Imagine how horrified I was when I saw what was 'available' to us for the Sagano Romantic Train. Well, it beat being told that all tickets were sold out. I was bent on taking this ride.
By the time we finished purchasing the 4.30pm tickets, it was only 2pm. We should have lingered in Arashiyama in hindsight. We tried travelling to Nishiki Market against our better judgment and we ended up wasting our time and money travelling on the trains for nothing as we realised we could end up late for our Sagano train ride.
So we took a train to JR Umahori Station and walked 10 minutes to Kameoka Torokko Station. Along the way, we saw a padi field against a foliage mountain. It was my first time seeing a padi field at such close distance so I was quite intrigued by it.
The entrance of the Sagano Romantic Train ride
When it was almost time, we joined the crowd on the relatively tiny platform. Following the numerical indications on the ground, we stood at the end of the platform where Carriage 5 would come to stop.
It was truly a scenic ride indeed!
Although our tickets were standing tickets, Baby and my mother managed to get a seat as some seats were unoccupied. My guess was that some people had missed the ride and so their seats were empty.
It was a relief to me as I was worried that they would have to stand for the whole 25-minute journey.
I could not help but wonder how much more beautiful this place would be when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. It was a ride that I would highly recommend.
The numbered wooden seats on the train
Only Carriage No. 5 was the only windowless carriage and I was glad that we were allocated this carriage. I would certainly try to request for the carriage if I were to go again.
At certain especially scenic spots, the train would pause so that passengers could take pictures of the scenery. One of such spots was this place where pretty restaurants were dotted with lit windows. Very romantic and beautiful! It makes you wish that you could live here!
It was a memorable ride. Of all our autumn foliage viewing, it was best viewed on this amazing train.
We had a meal near Nijo Station before heading back to the hotel to lug all our luggage to Namba.
It was a ramen restaurant and we tried their specialty which was a clear pork broth. We were not expecting much but were pleasantly surprised that it was delicious so we were satisfied that our day ended with a nice meal.
There were carriages on the JR trains that only female occupants were allowed. If you did not notice the written indication on the platform ground, you would probably find yourself in a carriage with only females who stare at you if you were a male.
We checked into Hotel Monterey Grasmere Osaka which was located just above the JR Namba Station. Very convenient and most posh of all our hotels, but not the most polite staff I thought.
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