Arashiyama is becoming one of my favorite places to visit, there is always something to see there and it's not too far away from where I live. Well, this year I found out about Arashiyama Hanatouro, a special light up of a number sights in Arashiyama which lasts for 10 days. The word "Hanatouro" means "Flower Light Road", because there are a number of lit up flower arrangements along the roads. There is over 5.2km of road lit up, plus special night openings and illuminations of various temples and shrines. (see the Arashiyama Hanatouro homepage for more details).
I ended up going on two nights, the first night was a Sunday night and it was very crowded. On the following night there was about 25% less people, but the weather wasn't so good (occasional showers and strong wind). Even going on two nights I still didn't get the chance to see everything. I reckon you'd have to go all 10 nights to see it all! If your wanting to come for 2010, remember it is a pretty cold time of the year to be at Arashiyama, expect the temperatures to be in 4C to 8C range during the light up times (5:00pm to 8:30pm). IMHO they should start it at 4:00pm, because the sky is too dark by 5:00pm to look nice in the photos.

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