Secret Bamboo Forest in Kyoto, Japan (April 14,
I have to give it to my friend, Michele Moul and her husband Scott. The secret bamboo forest tucked inside one of Japan’s most famous temples (i.e. Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto) was truly spectacular.
Exploring the secret bamboo forest behind Fushimi Inari Taisha
Elena, Violet and I visited Fushimi Inari Taisha back in October (see related post) and it was jaw-droppingly beautiful. The “gates” were so uniquely Japan, that we were excited to take Will into this experience so that he could partake in this incredible journey with us. No one could have predicted how different today was from our previous trip six months ago.
It actually started out quite similar with our family photo:
Family selfie in front of the Fushimi Inari Taisha Temple
But, unfortunately, Violet was suffering from an upset tummy and had to head back to our Airbnb. But not before Elena had sent Will and I off to explore this hidden bamboo forest. We had an incredible time searching out the alternative path and feeling our way into a completely new part of the Fushimi Inari Taisha temple experience. Truly magical (and I already loved the “main” attraction so many tourists come to see here).
Once it was clear that Violet was unable to continue, we circled back to meet up with Elena. However, we were so far off the beaten path that Will and I cut through a second forest to regroup with her. This second forest was more “traditional” in that it wasn’t full of bamboo. Instead, it look a lot more like the Redwood Forest from Northern California. Equally beautiful in its own right.
Switching forests from bamboo to more traditional trees
Once back with Elena, we continued through the orange gates on our way to the summit. That was great for Will to see even if Elena and I had been up here half a year ago. But then we came to a split in the last 20 minutes of the hike. We could go straight to the top or take a 5 minutes departure to visit a waterfall. Elena went to the top while Will and I went searching for this particular waterfall.
Split decision … heading straight to the summit or chasing waterfalls
Shoot. Now I have the song in my head …
Working our way to the top of the summit (after a brief detour)
The thing was, we weren’t sure if THIS was the waterfall or just a small fountain, so we kept going and found another way back to where we had started. So many hidden paths. Each of them with shines, gates and mini temples. It was like the Fushimi Inari Taisha temple was revealing so much more of herself on this visit as we exited the familiar and embraced the unknown. It felt like a metaphor for life.
Introducing Elena to the secret bamboo forest … via more back roads
Overall, a truly fabulous day together as a family. I’ll share a few more pictures (because, of course, we took way too many today). Tomorrow is Elena’s last day with us before she heads back to New York (sniff!)
Our plan is to head over to Nara so that both Will and Violet can experience the bowing deer (and feed them deer biscuits). This was the other highlight from our last trip (see related post). Elena has been with us for so long, it’s going to take some getting used to as we continue our journey in Japan and then head to Seoul, South Korea. We’re going to miss Elena. She’s been a delight to travel the world with.
