As I mentioned in my previous post, today's itinerary was flexible, and when a couple of Americans we met on the bus said that they'd really enjoyed Arashiyama earlier in the week, we decided to take a trip there. It was a really cool experience. After a short but steep 20 minute hike up the side of a mountain, we found ourselves literally surrounded by a troop of Japanese macaques. There's a sanctuary up on the mountain where the monkeys can run free - no fences for them of any kind that we could tell - and instead, the people are put in cages (it's where it's allowed to feed the monkeys, probably to keep them from surrounding the tourists a la the Nara deer). After finishing up with them, we strolled around Arashiyama - including over the famous Togetsukyo Bridge (originally built sometime between 800-1200 AD, rebuilt around 1900) and walked down another famous bamboo street; that's a street lined with bamboo, not made of it. All in all, a pleasant closing to a good day.