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Summer Vacation 2014: Takeno Beach, Kyoto's Arashiyama, and Mt. Shosha


Here's some more of the highlights from my summer vacation for 2014!

Takeno Beach

 It takes about 3 hours by -four- trains to get to Takeno from Himeji, and then another 15-20 minute walk to arrive to the beach itself. Takeno Beach is considered among the 100 top most beautiful beaches in Japan; at the very least, it's the most beautiful beach I've ever been to, even two days after a typhoon had passed by. The surf was too strong that day for safe swimming, due to the full moon, but it was still a lovely beach! I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

I'm definitely going to do my best to come back to Takeno before I leave Japan next summer. It'd be worth staying overnight in a hotel, and perhaps visit the nearby Kinosaki Onsen. Spending just a day was not enough time for this amazing beach!












Arashiyama in Kyoto

 Our original plans in Kyoto was to take the scenic train up Arashiyama, and then raft down the Hozu River. However, again due to the typhoon earlier in the week, the water level was too high, fast, and dangerous to allow for safe boating. We didn't realize this until after taking the train all the way up, though! So we decided to find a trail and hike up even further into Arashiyama, since we were already there.

Two grueling hours later, we arrived at "Yuzu Citrus Village," which was beautiful and yet anticlimactic, too. The hike was wonderful, though! Even if we kept wondering if we'd gotten lost somewhere along the way. There were hardly any people around, but there were plenty of mosquitoes keeping us company. After hiking back down, we were too exhausted to explore anything else in that area of Kyoto.


The trail occasionally merged with this winding highway that had no lane-markers. We encountered a few cars and hikers, but otherwise it was empty. 


This was a bridge to nowhere. Not sure why it's there, with no way to move beyond the small area in front of it. 







We encountered a few... obstacles on our hike. Like this washed out segment of the trail/road. 


This bridge was a challenge that we decided to pass on by. Maybe next time! 




Once we got to the top, the views were lovely! 



There were a few shrines to some former Emperors (apparently) at the top. We didn't see them all, but they were pretty small. 



Mt. Shosha

 Since he was visiting Himeji, it was pretty much required for my brother to see Mt. Shosha. Lucky for us, it rained once we reached the first main temple. I didn't take so many photographs this time (I've lost count of how many times now I've visited Mt. Shosha!), but it was a fun hike nonetheless.



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