The Radar Love's Travelogue: KYOTO: THROUGH THE BAMBOO GROVES AND MONKEY TOWN

08.23.2009 Japanese vending machine product of the day: Suntory Boss Short Break. Japanese canned liquid coffee drink. We've seen Tom Lee Jones lending his face to advertise Boss brand coffee drinks.

Today we headed to the Western Hills of Kyoto, near the Hozu River gorge and Arashiyama Mountains.

Bamboo Grove Forest

Tenryu-Ji Temple. Built in 1339 for shogun, Ashikaga Takauji. The landscape was designed by priest, Muso Kokushi, the designer of the moss garden at Saiho-ji, and regarded as one of Japan's great garden designers.

Grouping of seven stones in the Heian-style pond using "borrowed scenery". Tenryu-ji is one of the first gardens and the oldest in existence that uses "borrowed scenery" (shakkei): incorporating distant landscape elements into the design. Here you see the Arashiyama and Kameyama Mountains appear as part of the garden.

Hozu River Gorge

Fuel stop at a corner noodle restaurant

Iwatayama Monkey Park The park is a hike up to Mt. Arashiyama. It is inhabited with over 170 Japanese wild macaque monkeys. There are no fences. The monkeys are free to come and go. You can them feed apples, yams or peanuts at their feeding station, located in a small wooden cabin. There are also great views of Kyoto from here, but the monkeys steal the show. Johnny had some misgivings about going, but once there, it was a lot of fun. One of the baby monkeys toddled towards me and almost climbed up my leg before her mom ran and grabbed her away.

The monkeys seem very friendly, but they are wild animals and can bite and scratch. There are many warnings about staring at the monkeys in the face, because they see that as a challenge. Walking up the steep and narrow path can be a little scary, there's a chance you could trip or fall on a rock or jump from the scream of a monkey.

This guy thought Johnny had food, as Johnny sat to load his film. He actually came up and tapped his paw on Johnny's arm and gave a look of plea. Sorry buddy.

Hoards of Japanese ran up to this taxi car, screaming and gasping. Shooting with camera phones. We thought we were going to encounter a movie star or something, but....

it's the lucky four leaf clover cab!

Other stops in Arashiyama:

Saga Ningyo No Mise The Iura family shop that makes small clay figures. They've been making these small clay figures besides the rice fields in front of the thatched roof poet's hut, Rakushisha, since the late Edo period. The clay figures are miniatures of the Chinese zodiac sign. We bought a tiger for our baby's year. Each little figure comes with its tiny wooden box with its name and the shop's stamp.

Koto-En A pottery shop known for its ceramic tanukis, but it also has an amazing collection of Shigaraki ceramic ware. This is the only Kyoto branch of the Sotoen kilns in Shigaraki, a famous pottery village since the Middle Ages in Japan. It produces beautiful natural glazed stoneware from the reddish clay from the surrounding hillside.

Dinnertime back in our neighborhood in Eastern Kyoto. We wandered around the back canal streets near Furumonzen-dori and came across this restaurant nestled between two other entrances. It's near the corner of a main street in Gion and Yamatooji-dori. Has an English menu. Opens at 6 pm.