Did you know that twice a year, Kyoto lights up with super gorgeous illuminations? It’s called Hanatouro and it’s spectacular. Hanatouro is held in March at Higashiyama area and in December at Arashiyama. I’m privileged enough to have been to both now (humble brag, mm hmm), so do read up on the Higashiyama Hanatouro if you want.
After our walk along the quieter side of Arashiyama, we began our journey of enlightenment (well, you know, searching for all the illumination spots)… There’s a map on the Hanatouro website to guide you, or you can just walk aimlessly and follow the crowd. I’d recommend a bit of planning and then just letting yourself get lost! :)
Almost every corner of Arashiyama were covered with lanterns along the footpath and lights on the trees. Really, it was illuminating! (Okay, I shall stop the puns.)
Apart from lanterns, one feature of Hanatouro is usually the beautiful ikebana (flower arrangement) pieces that are scattered around various prominent locations.
And we also got to experience Kyoto at night. Everything looked so beautiful with lights shining through, from residential homes to small shophouses…
Many shrines and temples also opened late during the Hanatouro, which was again a great way to view them with a different light (this is only a slight pun, forgive me haha).
Small markets and festival stalls were also set up in various points to ensure that we got enough food and drinks in our tummy for our journey! Many restaurants also open late.
We saw a shop stand selling yuzu (Japanese citrus) which got me excited, since that was the first time I saw the fruit. I really love yuzu drinks and dishes. Should’ve bought the fruit to try it, oh well next time.
Anyways, we then walked into one of the most popular areas of the festival: the Bamboo Groves of Arashiyama. Yup, you’ve seen it in photos and travel books, but maybe not this way. It was dark, however, the pathways were lit up and the whole bamboo forest were illuminated!
It was gorgeous. However, there was an amazing number of crowd trying to get through the Bamboo Grove too. So the experience was dampened a little by the amount of people shoving to get through and stopping suddenly for selfies. I assume there were plenty of tourists in the mix, just like us too.
At one end of the Bamboo Grove, there was another ikebana piece. I think I would appreciate this whole experience better if there were lesser people. It would be quite magical, actually!
We walked past some stalls and had a toilet break somewhere along the way too…
And then we walked along the Katsura River, towards the famous Togetsukyo Bridge. Here, too, was a spectacular display of lights.
Various coloured spotlights were shone onto the hill of trees which projected a very nice purplish reddish blue hue to the whole area. Obviously I don’t know how to describe my colours well, but you get what I mean… I hope.
It was a nice cold walk, but we decided that we needed some real food in our tummies, so we walked towards the station area.
After our dinner (I will be posting about our food adventure in Kyoto soon!), we walked along the side of the Arashiyama Station to check out more lights. Because, why not!
There were lines of tubular lights with unique Japanese washi patterns, creating this traditional yet modern maze of lights just next to the station. Perfect for photos!
We walked around the area and saw a wish bank (I assume that’s what it’s called, lol).
We then walked past a number of souvenir shops and checked out a couple of them, because they were pretty and we were cold.
And we finally walked towards Saga-Arashiyama Station to return to our hotel on the other side of town. Even on that walk back, we saw plenty of beautifully lit up houses and I couldn’t help admiring them.
(I realise how often I use the word “walk” in this post, but really, that’s what we did… We walked a lot. It was fun though!)
All in all, I really do enjoy visiting Kyoto during Hanatouro. I can’t tell you which one is better, so why not just visit both?! When I do visit Kyoto again, I will try to fit in Hanatouro in the itinerary…
Kyoto’s Hanatouro happens twice a year, with Higashiyama Hanatouro during spring and the Arashiyama during winter. Do check their website for dates and information.