Vignettes of the World
I had limited time in the day. My reserved table at the Unagiya Hirokawa Restaurant would be up at 2pm, and I spent too much time at the bamboo grove. After some debate, I decided that I would see the Okochi-Sanso Villa, despite initial doubts. …
If you have only limited time in Arashiyama, I highly recommend three sites to visit: the bamboo grove, the Tenryu-ji Temple and the Okochi-Sanso Villa. After walking the bamboo grove, I entered the Tenryu-ji Temple via the North Gate. One dominant theme of the temples …
In my original planning, I envisioned spending one full day in Arashiyama’s most famous sites, including the bamboo grove, the Tenryu-ji Temple, Jojakko-ji Temple, Nison-in Temple and the Okochi-Sanso Villa. Those I have done on the first day indeed (and more).
As it turned out, I visited Arashiyama on the next day again and saw the Otagi Nenbutsu-ji Temple, the Adashino Nenbutsu Temple, Gio-ji Temple and Danrin-ji Temple as well.
In my humble opinion, Arashiyama (and Sagano) is worth two days of visit. As such, perhaps it is wise to stay one night in a hotel close to this area. That way, you might be able to see the bamboo grove very early in the morning, before enormous crowds (both foreigners and locals) flock to the area in the fall’s high season for sightseeing.
In the autumn, the mountains show beautiful, lush crimson foliage. On both days of my visit, I was blessed with generous sunshine, and as such I really enjoyed the scenery there. For nature lovers, I also recommend hiking from Mount Takao to Arashiyama. That was my original plan as well, but I had to scrap it due to work. In fact, I had not even managed to see the famous Togetsu-kyo Bridge.
Those who have not been to Kyoto might question my decision to visit Arashiyama for two days. This itinerary suggests seeing temple after temple. But the temples of Kyoto are unique and I mean it literally. Surely, there are thousands of them in one city alone, but each of them offers different sceneries at this time of the year, let alone the individual history and Buddhist practices in them. For the cultural and heritage tourist, Kyoto has so much to offer that one trip alone would not suffice.
There are a few notable must-do things in Arashiyama. Besides the temples that I did visit above, you can consider doing a hot springs session there (and perhaps book in advance). You can hike from Mount Takao to Arashiyama. For lunch, I made a booking at a unagi (grilled eel) specialist restaurant, Unagiya Hirokawa, about three weeks before my trip. Unagiya Hirokawa is by reservation only and they will turn away all walk-in.
Close to the Togetsu-kyo Bridge you will find the boat pier and a ride on the river cruise will show you the grand beauty of Kyoto’s nature. Similarly, there is the Sagano Scenic Train station close to the JR Saga Arashiyama Station, and it will drop you off quite close to the bamboo groves area.
Photo above: The scenic train will drop you off in the vicinity of the bamboo grove and the Okochi-Sanso Villa.
Finally, within the town area of Arashiyama (technically, Sagano) there is a very famous shop selling tofu and other soy products, a supplier for top tofu cuisine in Kyoto. Just on that business street alone there is an incredible array of light refreshments, coffee shops, proper restaurants, souvenirs and arts and crafts for you to try and see.
For a comprehensive list, please visit this website.
Despite my best intentions, I was not able to arrive at Arashiyama’s bamboo grove before 8am. I had wanted to beat the crowd to the bamboo grove. It is one of the most-photographed sites in Kyoto, and I had wanted to see it without too many tourists. From Kyoto Station I took the JR line and got off at the JR Saga Arashiyama Station after a 20-minute ride.
It was a short walk to the bamboo grove. I arrived at 9am, perhaps good enough for a start. There were certainly tourists there but not too many.
Arashiyama, meaning “Storm Mountain,” is a picturesque, scenic area in the southwestern section of Kyoto. It is famous for both highest seasons for travelling, namely the springtime cherry blossom and the fall time autumn foliage. The Hozu River runs on the east-west direction and separates what is technically Arashiyama in the southern mountains with Sagano in the north.
For navigating in the area, Google Map will do the job. My suggestion is certainly to see the bamboo groves first. As you go through the rather long way of the bamboo-lined path (about half a kilometer), you will pass by the Tenryu-ji Temple and the Okochi-Sanso Villa toward the end.
One reminder to travelers is that the section of the bamboo grove that is the most-photographed actually takes a little while to get to. When you enter the pathway coming from the JR Station, you may think that the bamboo grove has ended, and the first section did not look so pretty.
Something in my heart edged me to go forward, despite the initial disappointment. My instincts were right. The most-photographed section came later, and it was a whole lot more beautiful. Featuring a grayish-green panel of enormously tall bamboo stilts, with thatched lining at the base. The grove was dense, full and vibrant. That is where you can take instgrammable pictures.
As one of the most-photographed sites in Kyoto, the bamboo groves must come with some sort of story. Inside Kyoto gives a very good account of why such a beautiful pathway lined with thousands of bamboo is in this area. The quick answer is, these bamboo groves served mostly aesthetic purposes originally. During the Heian period, Arashiyama was a very popular location for imperial and noble villas. The bamboo groves took up a much larger area then, and they featured prominently in the gardens of these villas. During the Edo period, bamboo was a raw material for Japanese crafts, and bamboo shoots were a common ingredient in Japanese cuisine. This combination of factors has resulted in an extremely large area of bamboo in Arashiyama.
The bamboo grove that we see now is already a much smaller version compared to what it was in the classic era. In 1967, the government took official actions to protect the bamboo groves.
If you did not manage to visit the bamboo grove at a photograph-friendly time because of the overwhelming presence of tourists, there is an alternative. There is a much shorter bamboo alley in the Adashino Nenbutsu Temple too. Significantly less number of tourists visit the Adashino Nenbutsu Temple, and you will be able to enjoy a near-solitude in that bamboo alley.
Photo above: The bamboo path at the Adashino Nenbutsu Temple
Insidekyoto.com, Arashiyama Bamboo Grove Walking Tour.
Japan-guide.com, Arashiyama and Sagano.
From the Kiyomizu-dera Temple I headed toward the direction of the Yasaka-jinja Shrine. I was quite tired, as in this day I have visited the Nijo Castle and have had to bear the cold at the Kiyomizu-dera Temple. I pressed on, however, as I wanted …
The adventurous lunch of the day was at a convenience store. I have long heard that the convenience stores of Japan serve up wonderful egg salad sando’s. And it certainly lived up to its good name. From the 7-Eleven, going on Matsubara-dori, was a gentle …
Along the busy Queen’s Road Central stands a market that has a long history serving the daily needs of Central residents since the beginning of Hong Kong as a British colony. First opened in 1842, the year after the British formally began their colonial administration of Hong Kong, the Central Market has gone through a few constructed buildings as a market place.
In its very inception, the Central Market stood on Queen’s Road Central, then the throughway that ran the east-west direction near the coastline of Hong Kong Island’s northern shore. The natural inference is that this location would be ideal for the sake of logistics.
The Central Market was always part of Victoria City, but certainly the settlement area for the Chinese residents, at the city’s western end. It is believed that the very first Central Market was built to cater to the needs of the influx of Chinese population from Guangdong at that time.
In 1858, the second generation Central Market building was reconstructed to once again answer the demand for marketplaces due to an influx of Chinese population. The market was officially named Central Market then, and its boundary was demarcated with the bordering Jubilee Street and Queen Victoria Street.
Beginning in 1889, the Central Market underwent another reconstruction. The third generation Central Market was a red brick building with granite finish. It also had two stories and two blocks, with a central avenue that separated them.
The modernization of the Central Market continued well into the 20th century. In 1939, the fourth generation Central Market came into being, in the architectural style of the Streamline Moderne that served the functional purposes of the market. The building accommodated 250 market stalls with an open atrium.
The Central Market had witnessed more than a century of changes in this location of Hong Kong’s business district. Having gone through a few phases of reinvention, it finally ceased in its historic role as a wet market in 2003. In 2002, the Hong Kong Government had put the market on the Land Application List for 2004. That meant that the original plan for this space was the demolishment of the market building for new uses. For years, the Central Market lied vacant awaiting the final determination of its fate.
In 2005, a group of stakeholders, including architects, district councils and some important persons in the society, called upon the government to preserve the Central Market. They cited the reason that the Central Market was the only surviving building in Hong Kong that represented the Bauhaus architectural style. There was a bit of controversy then, but in 2009, the government finally included the Central Market into its heritage preservation program, “Conserving Central.”
In 2021, the Hong Kong Government finally finished the revitalization of the Central Market and it reopened for business, although certainly in a format that meets the current standards of higher-end leisure and dining.
Despite it being a marketplace for the early merchants and farmers of Hong Kong, the Central Market stood for a historical significance far beyond being a place of business for the Chinese community living in the “Chinese section” of Victoria City. A number of academic articles about the history of the Central Market note a common observation. The Central Market was a perfect microcosm that reflected the complicated relationships between the colonial government of Hong Kong, the business communities (both Chinese and foreign) that represented the money, and the lives of the common shopkeepers that simply wanted to make a living.
In 1842, the Central Market began its first page in history with the support by then Colonial Secretary Colonel George Malcolm. In its very beginning, the colonial government owned the central market and collected a standard rate of rent from the stalls. A certain man named Hwei Aqui was the superintendent of the market.
However, in 1844, the government wished to turn a profit from the market. The decision was to auction the right to the market to the highest bidder, who would hold the license for a fixed term to run the market. He would be allowed to charge the stalls at whatever rate that he deemed fit. The owner of the market had the obligation to pay the government rent on an annual basis, but he also had the obligation to maintain the physical infrastructure of the market and the roads. As it turned out, Hwei Aqui won the bid. Perhaps not too surprisingly, the rent for the market experienced significant hikes very quickly. Hwei Aqui was soon in debt as he became too ambitious trying to develop the property in the land between Queen’s Road Central and the shoreline.
Before Hwei Aqui’s death in 1846, he entered into a number of complicated shareholder arrangements, debt instruments and partnerships to maintain the business at Central Market and the corresponding property development. In his dealing with fellow Chinese businessmen and the colonial government arose many disputes that exposed the extortionary practices of the colonial government officials and scandals involving foreigners. Lawsuits and media expose about the corruption troubled the Central Market within its first decade of existence.
Until 1847, the Chinese people of Hong Kong monopolized the market business. But eventually the colonial government opened up the licensing mechanism for application by foreign and Chinese merchants alike. The wet market was very much a Chinese way to acquire daily necessities, but both foreigners and Chinese businessmen perceived the profitability of being a market proprietor.
The Central Market now is populated with trendy establishments, be they food, coffee, bar, souvenirs or any kind of shop, featuring local or foreign varieties in what they sell. The venue offers an outdoor seating area, which would have been the open atrium of the 4th generation Central Market. On good days they are the perfect sit-down ambience for coffee.
Needless to say, the dramas of business and government dealings under Hwei Aqui’s early lease of the market are but buried in esoteric history journals. Perhaps what remains of the Central Market now are merely touches of nostalgia. The original staircases are preserved. There are also signages here and there that bear a significance that only a keen eye for historic detail would be able to notice. On the underground floor, a section with exhibits introduces a brief history of the Central Market, for those that are indeed interested in the heritage that it represents. There are stalls set up that purport to convey just a sense of the past, reenacting scenes of the fresh foods that were sold in this market.
Descriptions on site at the Central market
The Wikipedia on the Central Market.
Dafydd Emrys Evans, The Origins of Hong Kong’s Central Market and the Tarrant Affair, 12 J. of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 150 (1972).
The Central Market website.
The day was bright and perfect for al fresco dining. I joined my family in a casual lunch at the Beas River Country Club of the Hong Kong Jockey Club in Sheung Shui. I lived close, so I walked about 40 minutes to arrive at …
When I woke up on my first full day in Japan, I decided to ditch the Osaka Castle and head right on to Kyoto. I took the JR line to Kyoto from the Osaka Station, having to navigate the morning’s rush hour, and arrived in …
A walk amidst the hustle and bustle of Central during a weekday rush hour can be a bewildering experience. As Hong Kong’s business district, Central is the heart of the matter when it concerns business. But visitors to Hong Kong would not miss the historic significance of Central. Innumerable historical structures speak amply to the life of Hong Kong’s early colonial times. From churches to temple and mosque, from civilian governance to military defense, from marketplaces to banking high-rises, from grand residences at the Peak to the humble hawkers of Lan Kwai Fong before it became the bar hub, Central is a place that epitomizes the spirited motions of Hong Kong life. Central weaves together the dynamics of the business world, the commoners’ lives and the world’s ever-evolving relationships. And this is what defines Hong Kong.
In the following few entries under Hong Kong Lesser Known, I will discuss a number of historical sites in Central that, in my view, will present a narrative that is representative of Hong Kong. I will also propose a roadmap for a historic tour in Central, for those who would like to come within these structures and feel their celebrated presence.
Lying on the east of Central’s business district is a set of steps that have acquired historic status. On Queen’s Road Central, go eastward toward the Admiralty direction. Make a right when you see Duddell Street. Keep going about thirty meters and you will come upon a set of granite steps, with classic balustrades lining its two sides. Standing on the four corners of the steps are four gas lamps that came from the colonial times.
The Duddell Street was named after the merchant brothers George and Frederick Duddell, who owned a lot of land, property and a public market in Central during the 19th century. They were also some of the first opium farmers in Hong Kong at the time. The Duddell Street Steps connects Duddell Street to Ice House Street in its south, but at a higher elevation.
Installation for the Duddell Street Steps and Gas Lamps completed circa 1883-1889, still early in the colonial days. Together, the steps and the gas lamps of Duddell Street are the very expression of colonial architecture. According to the Antiquities and Monuments Office, “It is characterised by heavily moulded newels, rails and balusters of Tuscan order.” On the two sides of the steps are lined granite retaining walls that support the steps and the balustrades.
The Duddell Street Gas Lamps were once the standard lighting in Hong Kong Streets. These lamps are two-light Rochester models of the firm William Sugg & Co., and they were added during the early 20th century. In the old days, they were hand-lit, but now they are lit automatically by the supply of gas by Towngas and they are still working. Every day at 6pm the lamps are lit, and then at 6am they are turned off automatically. In 1967, Hong Kong electrified its street lights, and so these four gas lamps remain the only working examples of gas lamps in all of Hong Kong.
The current lamp shades were an addition of 1984, when the Hong Kong Government specifically ordered them from Britain for a cost of more than $100,000. At some point, there were talks about moving these four gas lamps to a museum, but eventually they stayed at this current location as part of the declared monument.
Typhoon Mangkhut of 2018 caused severe damage to the Duddell Street Steps and Gas Lamps. According to the Antiquities and Monuments Office, “the project team was determined to adhere strictly to the conservation principle of using original craftsmanship and materials, supplemented by advanced 3D scanning technology in order to restore the monument faithfully. The restoration was completed on 23 December 2019.”
The Duddell Street Steps and Gas Lamps are a declared monument.
The Antiquities and Monuments Office, Duddell Street Steps and Gas Lamps, Central.
The Wikipedia on Duddell Street.
Gary Chi-hung Luk, Monopoly, Transaction and Extortion: Public Market Franchise and Colonial Relationships in British Hong Kong, 1844-58, 52 J. of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch 139 (2012).
The plane touched down at Kansai Airport and I looked for the train ride to Osaka. The plan, originally, was to stay that evening in a hotel in Osaka, then the next morning I would see Osaka Castle before heading out to Kyoto. I saw …