For our last full day in Japan, we weren’t monkeying around!
Japan – Day 12: Arashiyama
A Taste of Japan: Arashiyama Bamboo Grove
A visit to Kyoto isn’t complete without a trip through the stunning bamboo grove of Arashiyama. There is nothing more humbling than acres of majestic trees towering above your head, cutting thousands of completely vertical lines 115 feet into the sky.
Bamboo has been revered for its durability for centuries, and it grows incredibly fast, making it a popular renewable resource; the wood is used in thousands of applications. It is particularly important to the Japanese, who view it as a symbol of prosperity and see its simplicity as representing purity. Bamboo is unique in its elegance, which is why stalks frequent many zen-hopeful desks, but they are seldom seen in such magnificence.
