"Each step forward has a sacred meaning of its own"   Sri Chinmoy

Arashiyama Forest - Feb 2026 - Kyoto

One of the main attractions in Kyoto apart from the temples and shrines (of which there are around 2000) is the landscape, especially the bamboo forest out on the edge of town at Arashiyama. The day Kokila and I had set aside for this trip was very cold - zero degrees - and with pretty incessant snowfall. A lot of our spiritual family, especially those not used to snow, opted to spend the day meditating but we wanted to see the bamboo groves with snow cover so off we went...

After a 40 minute train ride and a bowl of amazing rice and tofu with a raw egg on top for extra flavour, we found the start of the bamboo walkway. We'd been warned in advance it would be very crowded at first, and so it was, but as expected the crowds thinned out as we made our way further into the forest and past the gates of Tenryu-ji. The climb into the second forest was the most dramatic, as here the sound of the throng had faded and we were treated to the creaking of the bamboo and its "whisper" as it swayed in the breeze. At times there would be a sudden fall of snow from the bamboo, falling across our path. Kokila was inspired to start composing haiku, which she recorded on her phone as we went.

Slowly winding our way back down, still marvelling at the grace and beauty of the forest, we decided to take the route back through the Unesco Heritage site we had seen on the way up - the gardens of the Zen temple at Tenryu-ji. The walkway was exquisite - I'm running out of adequate words to describe the beauty of Japan. The proportion, the harmony, the natural blend of landscape with the divine touch of human creativity - it really has to be seen.

We made our way past the pond garden that dated back to the 14th century, and along walkways and steps at the fringes of the bamboo forest. The cherry trees would be amazing here in Spring, but we had them covered in snow instead of blossom - which I guess doesn't look too dissimilar.

It wasn't possible to capture the scene properly in photos - we tried our best though...

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