Unique Places in Kyoto-fu

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There are lots of hot spring near Kameoka, my friend - Toyoko brought me to one of the hotspring ,where we had to take a bus to get there. It took almost half hour. Actually it was a restort hotel for Japanese. The hotspring was inside the hotel and the fee is not so expensive , as I remembered only 980yen including lunch! We enjoyed the moment there and it was the first time I had hot spring in a semi-open area ! What a great experience !
Thankyou for my friend Toyoko San.

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It is a wonderful to have a very cool travelling in summer. So I chose to take the boat trip travel in the Hozu River. I found that I was cool down from the hot summer in Japan.

I had travelled to China - Qualin and Wuyi Shan where are famous at the beautiful of the river and valley, I found the feeling was different from China. The mountains there were dried but here in Hozu the mountains were in green and the plants were very moisture. It looked more comfortable to watch the green in colour in Summer.

The whole trip was so excited, since there were few rapids. I got wet a little bit. All in all , it was a great experience.

And when we nearly arrived the Arashiyama, there was a boat selling food which like a floating convenience stall in the river.

Actually you can also get on the boat in Arayashiyama at night. There are different kind of boat near the pier of Arayashiyama. Some of them will give you to watch the bird to catch fish in the rear of the boat at night ! I did not go to watch since I thought it was not so funny at all. And the price of the trip is not cheap. I and my friend prefer to sit by the bank talking and enjoy the sunset and mountain view.

You can take the JR train to go to Kameoka or bus from the Shijo of Kyoto city. It takes not more than 45 mins you will arrive JR Kameoka Station. After arrived the Kameoka station, you can buy the boat trip ticket in the JR station. Then you have to find the pier to get aboard. It takes 10 mins walk to the pier.

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There were many men fishing inside of the Hozu river. They were well equipped. I am afraid they would not go back home for the weekend. I just found it was the style of Japanese family. The husband leave the wife at home and enjoyed himself in holidays. So why they cannot share the moments with his wife ???

There are lots of joy from the mountain around here, there is a station right in the middle of the bridge , I think it will be convenience for people to get down the mountain to the river.

It is the nature where Japanese enjoy in weekend.

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I like it very much. I went there twice in Kyoto. Very nice places to make you relax ! Especially the stall near the river bank , you find there are lots of ice-cream. It's a romantic trip for you , where you can take a boat trip or walk around the bank or go to the resturant.

The Imperial Villa of Shugakuin is my favorite if the imperial villas in Kyoto because of its setting. It is situated at the base of Mt. Hiei and has a commading view of Kyoto. The villa is really a compound of several pavillions situated at different elevations - the lower villa, the middle villa, and the upper villa. The upper villa, of course has the best view. The is a shot of the "pond of the bathing dragon." The best time to visit is during cherry blossom time or during the fall when the leaves begin to turn.

Tours are given in Japanese only and are limited to about 15 people. For non Japanese speakers, the guide gives an 81/2" x 11" fact sheet for you to read.

This Villa is not as visited as the more popular Katsura Villa. To visit both villas, you have to go to the Imperial Household Agency in Kyoto and make an appointment to see the villas. The staff at the IHA will give you a slip of paper noting the time of the appointment. This paper will be collected at the villa. If you loose it, you have to make another appointment.

The office of the IHA is near the Imperial Palace at the Imperial Park. I don't know what are the hours of operation, but I'm sure any guidebook will tell you that information.

The town to see while visiting Kyoto Prefecture is Miyama-cho, about 2 hours northwest of the city. The town is divided into 5 villages, and the village to see is Kitamura, where it has the greatest number of thatched roof homes in all of Japan.

The village park of Ono Dam has momiji, or maple leaves in the Fall, and sakura, or cherry blossoms in the Spring. You can also rent row boats from May to November to go fishing or to just enjoy the beautiful scenery!