The previous post in this series is here..
After the deer park there was another ride to the Arashiyama bamboo forest complex. What made this interesting was the dress up.
Our guide told us that we could rent authentic Japanese clothing and take pictures through the forest. We could pay extra and wear it the rest of the day and return it at another branch in Kyoto.
Due to some communication mixup between the front and back of the bus, the men confirmed that we are doing this.. all six of us. As soon as the bus stopped, we were told that the groups that dress up would wait. The guide will direct the rest of the group and come back and get us. It also meant we would have 40 minutes less to spend. That meant walking faster. Sadly we got authentic Japanese sandals as well. This made the walking challenging, especially for the ladies. They were cursing us for most of the walk. We walked for almost two hours in that costume while taking pictures. The pictures came out great!
When we were still in the bus the locals wearing kimonos were wearing sport shoes. Should have noticed that! You will see it in one of the pics. Given there were almost 500 photos just at this place, this gallery is a highlight in itself.
A few shots in landscape format..
The bamboo forest is breathtaking. The crowds do spoil it. Still we got a lot of pictures without the crowd. Folks are nice and patient and let you take pictures without cutting in. Guess everyone becomes polite in Japan.. that included us.
After the fact everyone agreed it was not a bad idea. We returned the costumes right there after coming back but did not have time to get any proper lunch. So everyone had some ice cream and fruit before getting back on the bus.
Our recommendation is you do rent the costume but keep your shoes. Carry the sandals in a bag if required. Just change at places for an authentic photo. This way the walking is not compromised.
here is a video highlight
There was one more stop before we were going to be dropped at the Kyoto train station..