Kyoto--Arashiyama and Shopping streets

From the JR Kameoka Station I wasn't sure how to get to the Hozu-gawa Kudari, until I saw this.
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I took a train to neighboring Kameoka to catch the Hozu-gawa Kudari, a boat ride down the Hozu-gawa River.  The ride was relaxing and scenic with a few mild rapids thrown in.  The boatman kept a non-stop narrative and I did my best to catch what few words of Japanese I knew.

The boat ride ended by the Togetsukyo Bridge, the landmark of the Arashiyama region of Kyoto.  The area around the bridge was a tourist trap so I headed north for the temples and shrines.  At this point my luck in good weather failed and the overcast skies started to rain.

The boatman waiting for the start of the workday.
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My first stop was the large Tenryu-ji Temple which was very nice, primarily due to the large amount of sakura.  After a walk through a cool and shady bamboo forest I reached the small (size of a house lot) but lively Nonomiya Shrine.  Heading north again, I visited the mountain-side temples of Jojakko-ji, Gio-ji and Takiguchi-dera.  The dreary conditions took away from the visual effect of these atmospheric temples.  Sad to say, but the highlight here was getting out of the rain and having udon in a nearby restaurant.

The Togetsukyo Bridge.
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I returned to the Shijo/Karasuma intersection where my hotel was.  My hotel for Friday and Sunday, that is.  I was unable to book the Saturday for this hotel (or any other on-line in Kyoto) so I had to reserve a room in Shin-Osaka.  At this location is the already visited Shijo-dori as well as the food market street of Nishiki-koji which runs parallel to Shijo-dori.  The street is narrow with food and produce vendors on both sides and pedestrian traffic jams at the popular vendors.  Despite the crowd, I jostled my way through the length of the street to its begining at a shrine.  At this point it intersected the twin shopping streets of Teramachi and Shinkyogoku where I did my gift shopping.