Just stepping off the train station, Arashiyama is immediately beautiful. It's a little walk from the train station we got off of (Arashiyama Station) to the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, but you get to cross a bridge on a beautiful river.
There's a lot of people near the entrance of the nearby bamboo groves but it eventually thinned out the further we walked into it and we were able to take photos with no other people.
Jōjakkōji Temple
We saw the nearby Jōjakkōji Temple recommended in a seerasan video. It was JPY500 to enter. It had a smaller bamboo grove but we were the only people there so we were able to take all the photos we wanted.
There were also ema (also JPY500 donation per wooden tablet) we could write our prayers and wishes for the new year on.
We walked into a few other tourists but otherwise the place was very serene. It's recommended to visit in autumn for all the colorful foliage from the maple trees, but it was still really pretty even in winter.
I was able to get postcards from here, too.
Pizzeria LUGARA
Our planned lunch spot was closed so my husband found Pizzeria LUGARA and I think it was a better choice. We had the margherita, our favorite to order in brick oven pizza places, a lasagna, and a tiramisu for dessert.
It was so good that my husband forgot his backpack while we were rubbing our full stomachs out the door. But our server kindly hurried after us and joked about how heavy the bag was when he handed it to us.
Fukuda Art Museum
The Fukuda Art Museum is a small private museum. The featured exhibit when we visited was Edo Paintings A to Z — Kajuchu, Hokusai, Rosetsu and more.
The Klook app was actually helpful in finding museums and other paid attractions in Osaka. I paid PHP1,106 for two tickets with an additional PHP55.3 No Show Refund Fee (just in case).
They had a small gift shop tucked in a corner in front of the cafe, and I got more postcards.
