Today for some reason we both woke up feeling tired despite an okay nights sleep... We had our breakfast and headed out to Arashiyama to see the bamboo grooves. We got the subway and headed over on the twenty min journey. When we arrived we headed to grab some orange juice ...thinking the tiredness is probably due to severe lack of fruit and veg and carried on. We headed in to the town across the beautiful Togetsukyo Bridge... Also known as the moon crossing bridge, which is one of the towns iconic landmarks. It was originally built during the Heian period (794-1185) and was reconstructed in the thirties. It's sprawls over a the river Oi where boats can be seen floating bye and is framed beautifully by the tree covered mountains in the background. Very Canadian... Apparently every year teenagers who come of age are required to cross the bridge from south to north. They are under strict parental instruction to not look back at the temple once crossing as it is meant to give a life time of bad luck.... a little bit harsh!!

Once we crossed the bridge (did have a little look back) we headed in search of an international ATM, but as it was Sunday most were closed which was pretty annoying. Our walk around the small town lead us to the bamboo groves which line the western side of the town. These bamboo groves have become an iconic image of japan and have famous scenes in such movies as 'Memoirs of a Geisha'. As usual Laura wanted to obtain that perfect shot of the empty path meandering through the bamboo trees. As it was a weekend the were quite a few local tourists which made this task difficult. With a little bit of patience she did manage to get some good shots. The bamboo trees are stunning and the photos do not really do them justice. After this walk it was getting cold and we both decided we would head back to central Kyoto. On arriving back via the train we headed back to the warmth of the hostel. That afternoon and evening we decided to chill out and catch up on blogging and generally just recharge the batteries. We did take an evening stroll around the local markets and acquired some sushi from the local supermarket. The sushi was delicious and really filling and set us up for the evening. We rested and headed to bed knowing our night at the ryokan was beckoning tomorrow. We were both very excited.