Arashiyama, Kyoto: Romantic Bamboo Forest, Kyoto, Japan

One of the joys of riding a train is you could witness a dramatic change of landscape as quick within an hour.

We were on the JR Sanin Line from Kyoto Station heading towards the city’s northwest where we traded blocks of grey buildings with lush greening forests.

The train took us through a couple of tunnels as we caught glimpses of Hozugawa River before entering the town of Kameoka. It was our third day in Kyoto and this excursion was wholly dedicated to be a day out with nature.

We alighted the JR train at Umahori and were greeted with empty fields of harvested crops and the looming river gorge at the yonder. The plan was to take the Sagano Romantic Train, an old-fashioned diesel train that runs across the Hozukyo Ravine between the towns of Kameoka and Arashiyama.

The train stop is just a 10-minute walk from the JR station and the train takes about 25 minutes to complete its 7.3 km route along a dedicated line. We missed the 9:29 a.m. train by a whisker but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise for we got first dibs on the coveted “Car No. 5” on the following train, which is an open-air wagon.

The train sped up with its metal wheels loudly clanging against the railway tracks and once it reached its optimum speed, we were well on our way into the gorge. The ride felt more dramatic than romantic as the locomotive navigated alongside cliffs, rushed into tunnels and confidently sauntered across bridges. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).