Day 1 – Sleepless sashay [4th April 2009]
Now on JST! I had not been furnished with headphones for the seat-back display and asking a flight attendant proved fruitless, thankfully the films were either too lengthy or heavy going to be of interest (Australia by Baz Luhrmann, Changeling by Clint Eastwood) or were kid orientated (Bolt, Madagascar 2, The Incredibles) so it wasn’t too much of a loss. Unfortunately sitting in cattle class meant the films weren’t even video-on-demand and were more “tune in half way through” which meant watching more than a couple of films was protracted at best. Read full post »
In Kyoto
Matsumoto castle
Matsumoto Castle
Matsumoto castle
Matsumoto Castle from the grounds
Cherry blossom in Matsumoto Castle grounds
View from the top of Matsumoto Castle
A shot east across Matsumoto
National Heritage school
Kaichi school in Matsumoto
Final Fantasy promotional drink
Break stop on the way to Takayama
Rest stop on the way to Takayama
Tanabe ryokan entrance
Tanabe ryokan entrance
The ryokan in Takayama
Tanabe ryokan corridor
Local sake shop in Takayama
Bowls in Takayama
Wooden bowls in a craft shop in Takayama
One of the many shrines in Takayama
Out and about in Takayama
Before the banquet
Group shot
Group shot
Tanabe ryokan garden
The small garden in the ryokan
From the empty banquet hall
Dolls on display at the Tanabe ryokan
Lattice screens
Tanabe ryokan ceiling
Takayama in bloom (almost)
Miyagawa river
Camera man filming tourists
Hida folk village
Hida no Sato folk village
A loom in one of the houses of Hida no Sato
Hida no Sato folk village house
Hida no Sato house roof
Hida no Sato house wall
Hida Folk village pond
Hida no Sato pond
Hida Folk village summit
View from the back of Hida no Sato
View from Hida no Sato entrance
Out and about in Takayama
Torii gate on the Takayama temple walk
Buddhist cemetery
Takayama temple walk
Takayama shrine
Overlooking the outskirts of Takyama
Unsafe bridge at temple
View across the river
Kanazawa Kenroku-en
Hanami in Kanazawa
Great Blue Heron posing in Kenrokuen Garden
Kanazawa Kenroku-en
The entrance to Kanazawa Castle park
Afternoon hanami in the shadow of the castle
Floating cherry blossoms
Kanazawa sakura
Cherry blossoms in the afternoon
Kanazawa castle courtyard
Cherry blossoms in Kanazawa
Tree roots in Kenrokuen
Kanazawa Kenroku-en fountain
Rainbow fountain
Cherry blossom silhouettes
Flourescent hillside
River by night
Kanazawa by night
Kanazawa by night
Riverside by night
Kanazawa by night
Kanazawa main strip by night
Big Echo Karaoke
Kyoto Tower
Looking out from Kyoto Station
Looking into Kyoto Station
Outside the theatre
Leaving the theatre
Outside the theatre (elevated)
Gion district lantern
Gion district lantern
Shirakara Canal by night
Looking down the Shirakawa Canal
Cherry Blossoms in Gion
The tour of Gion continues
Gion's Cherry Blossom canopy
Shirakara Canal by night
Bridge over Shirakawa Canal
Near Shirakara Canal
Restaurants along the Shirakawa Canal
Small shrine in Gion
Geisha with businessmen
Quite streets of Gion
Miyako Odori sign
Miyako Odori sign
So I’m sitting in an internet cafe in Kyoto and this is perhaps the first chance I’ve had to upload photos or use the internet in a decent form. All the computers so far have been non-existent or so antiquated as to be unusable. But that is an aside! Takayama, Matsumoto and Kanazawa all down and now in Kyoto for the second day, much train sleeping and photo taking has been had. Takayama was a great little town with sake tasting and little handycraft stalls aplenty. Kanazawa was this hugely bustling city with busy traffic and all that nonsense, but did end up under the cherry blossoms at night drinking sake and having a merry old time.
Travelled to Kyoto yesterday and went to the Miyako Odori – the Spring Geisha Dances. Words cannot describe how brilliant they were, such grace and beauty in motion. Was difficult to see them as anything other than art except if you caught a fleeting moment of them doing something pedestrian like turning a page or shifting their seat. Certainly an unforgettable experience, especially as they didn’t allow photos in there – not that they would have done them justice.
Today visited the temple of 1001 kanon which was another brilliant visit, very holy and utterly unique and again, no photos allowed. I was just on the way to the Kyoto International Manga Museum when I spotted this place.
I’m going to forgo uploading my latest set as my camera has just thrown a hissy fit with the card which has me worried so my blurry geisha walk photos will have to wait.