We needed something to cool off after the sweat session so we went to a random place for some cool treats.

CHAVATY Kyoto Arashiyama

Japan, 〒616-8383 Kyoto, Ukyo Ward, Saganakanoshimacho, 官 有地朝乃家

Chavaty is a very aesthetically pleasing cafe with its wood-paneled ceilings, soft glowing lights. There is a window to do a quick take-out order. We opted to sit inside to enjoy some AC while we enjoyed our treats. In the back, there’s a mezzanine with pillows to sit on the floor.

We were going to try out their soft serve and the Bramley Apple Ginger Ale that’s their fall special. It’s made with apple from Nagano. Unfortunately, if you order the soft serve indoors, you have to have it with the tea latte as they come in a set. In the end, we chose the Premium Kyoho Grapes & Jasmine Tea Soft Serve and the Uji Matcha latte.

You know when you have grape flavored candy? That’s what kyoho grapes taste like! I’ve always thought that grape flavoured candy never actually tastes like the real thing… until now haha!

They bring you a chilled glass for you to have your tea latte if you chose to have it iced rather than hot, which I thought was a nice touch. Overall, cute spot! I wish I got to try more things but I was still full from my ekiben.

Our next stop was to Tenryuji Temple. There you can pay to get tickets to the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. We didn’t realize it was that close together! To check out the temple, you need to take off your shoes. There are cubbies for you to place your shoes while you peruse the temple grounds.

Tenryu-ji

Japan, 〒616-8385 Kyoto, Ukyo Ward, Sagatenryuji Susukinobabacho, ６８

What’s interesting to me about some of the temples in Japan is that it’s right next to such busy areas. There’s a bunch of shops and it’s quite a bustling area. I had half expected that as we headed closer to the temple that things would be quieter. That wasn’t really the case.

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest

Sagaogurayama Tabuchiyamacho, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto, 616-8394, Japan

Honestly, it’s a lot more magical in other people’s pictures compared to the reality. We were there closer to mid-afternoon since we travelled from Tokyo and stopped at the previous stops before getting to the bamboo forest. By then there were a lot of people – there’s no way we were going to get nobody in the picture. But I’m not sure how important it might be for you to get a picture alone!

The walk is quite short. If I were to have started my day early in Kyoto and I wanted to get a relatively empty shot, I’d stop by here first since it’s so quick. Then I’d move onto areas that require more time – that’s if you care to have the place to yourself.

I’d love to spend a little more time in the Arashiyama area the next time I go to Kyoto. We were quite tired though with our backpacks on us so we decided to go check-in to our hotel at this point.