I was surprised the other day to read in the news a brief story about the Kyoto team in the Girls Professional Baseball League, not only because I didn’t know that Kyoto had a team, but also because I didn’t know there was a league for women (or “Girls,” as they put [...]

2010 Daimonji Fire Festival Video is here.
Tonight there will be a video here of the 2010 Kyoto Daimonji Fire Festival. This video will be my first Video On Demand (VOD) experiment. That is, there will be a fee of $1.50 (Paypal or credit card) to download the full video.
A previous short video is here.
I sincerely [...]

My Nippon, a photo exhibition in Kyoto by Micah Gampel all through August, but only on weekends at Hanagumo Bar on Miyagawacho in Gion Kyoto. All my photos were taken by my ketai (mobile phone) camera as I work and play around Kyoto and Osaka mostly. It’s my Nippon world, but [...]

Enkoji Temple, Kyoto
A few minutes of quietude all alone at Enko-ji Temple, Kyoto. Then, a listen at the suikinkutsu at this temple. A suikinkutsu is a very large ceramic pot buried under a water source of some kind, which allows water to slowly drip down through pebbles and into the water in [...]

In this first clip from the upcoming Peter MacIntosh/Nils Ferry video program Alive in Kyoto, Peter visits Nishiki Ichiba market and, after a snack of kara-age fried chicken, introduces a shop specializing in dashimaki omelettes, where the proprietor Mr. Tanaka shows us how it’s done.

On May 3, 2010, the Kyoto band elements played its final show as elements. After 15 years and seven albums, the death of elements drummer Sanjo Toru in January 2010 marked the end of one part of their musical journey. This show was a celebration of their music and a tribute to their friend.

Trailer and Purchase Information inside

Look at my flickr stream for the latest batch of pics. I’m adding daily as the season progresses.
My Flickr User Name is Kyoto

A little early look at the sakura along Tetsugaku no michi, The Philosopher’s Path, in northeastern Kyoto.

Kyoto Sakura 2010 preview from kyotonils on Vimeo.

I’m going to be offering a Kyoto Sakura DVD for sale this spring for the first time. Music composed, performed and licensed by Kevin Macleod.

Watch Kyoto Sakura preview on Vimeo.

[ January 23, 2010; 6:30 pm; ] Get On the Desk Again Party – Benefit for Zinenzele Foundation, helping AIDS orphans.
RAW elements (max, ryotaro & Yung Tsubotaj)
Donation 2000yen, Student with ID 1000yen
open 18:30, live starts around 20:00
at McLoughlin’s Irish Bar
(075) 212 – 6339 (075) 212 – 6339

[ December 11, 2009 5:00 pm to December 20, 2009 8:30 pm. ] The 2009 Hana Touro illumination event will be held evenings from December 11-20. Arashiyama’s main street, including the Togetsukyo Bridge, will be illuminated with lanterns, along with side streets, bamboo forests and temples (excluding Tenryu-ji).

Buddhist monk Hoshino Endo on Sunday became the 50th monk since 1585 to complete the Sen-nichi kaihougyo 1,000-day devotional mountain-circling ordeal on Mt. Hiei straddling Kyoto and Shiga Prefectures, earning the title of Dai-Ajari. I live at the bottom of Mt. Hiei and am a registered unofficial member of the support group, since I occasionally came out at 3 a.m. to welcome him down off the mountain in the longer stages, along with the stalwart members who did it every night.

[ October 22, 2009; 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm. ]
Here it comes again, the Kurama Himatsuri is held every October 22 in a tiny mountain village in northern Kyoto. Starting at 6 pm with small kids and small torches, progressively larger torches are paraded up and down this one-street town by teams in traditional costume, as a thumping taiko beat stokes the [...]

[ October 22, 2009; 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm. ] The Jidai Matsuri on October 22 is one of the “Three Big Festivals” of Kyoto, and celebrates the history of Kyoto with a parade of reenactors in costume, on horses, atop wagons, and with all manner of attendants and accoutrements. They depart the old Imperial Palace (called Kyoto Gosho) at noon, but it takes more [...]

[ March 13, 2009 6:00 pm to March 22, 2009 9:30 pm. ] This friday the annual Higashiyama Hana-Touro lantern walk event begins, with nighttime illumination every night until March 22, from 18:00-21:30. Temples will be open for nighttime viewing from Shoren-in in the north down to Kiyomizu-dera. It’s a can’t miss.