Posts from — September 2005

There are a number of places where you can get made up and dressed up like a maiko, then stagger around in platform okobo sandals and get your picture taken.

Looking out over the valley. Autumn has swept into Kyoto behind the last typhoon, with increasingly cooler days and evenings, and the flopsweat can be forgotten until next summer comes. The Kyoto Arts Festival is in full swing once again.

Awesome, literally. Robert Brady wrote about splitting camphor wood a few days ago.

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one alley west of Kiyamachi on the south side of the elementary school.

If you take the Kyoto Karasuma subway north to the last station, Kokusaikaikan, there is a large park called Takaragaike Park (koen) which has hills for hiking, a lake with rowboats and paddle boats and the Kyoto police equestrian center (usually open until 4:30) if you like to look at horses.

Kyoto is a valley, and the surrounding mountains are not big ski resort mountains like those of central Honshu, but rather comfortable hiking height. Hiking trails with broad views are plentiful.

Tonight (Sept. 18) was the night of the harvest moon and the japanese moon viewing festival. It was quite clear, and here is a picture taken an hour ago to prove it. Can you spot the bunny?

A telephoto shot from a small northern mountain, looking at the Takano River heading downtown. The greenbelt on the right is the little Shimogamo Shrine forest between the rivers, and at the south end of Shimogamo is where the Takano and Kamo Rivers converge. a bit of the water treatment plant can be seen in the right foreground, the first bridge is Kitaoji St. and on the left (East) end of that bridge the two large buildings are the new department store Qanat and the Holiday Inn.