Snow White Pink - Pholosopher's path Kyoto

Kyoto's Pholosopher's Path(Philosopher's Walk)! I know it is not the Sakura(Cherry bloosam) season right now; these are taken in the last spring.  Aren't they utterly gorgeous? Philosopher's path is, as you can guess, named after a Japanese influential philosopher who used to walk this path for his meditation/thinking. This path is located in between Nanzenji to Ginkakuji(Silver temple). This time I started to walk from Silver temple.



This cherry-tree-lined-canel is follows all the way to Nanzenji(or Silver Temple if you start walking the other way around) You can enjoy this heavenly tunnel for 1-2 hours. It's quite long.



We are already having many reservations for this time of the year.



























This is a park near Nanzenji temple.

Japanese Hair Pins Kanzashi - Ikuokaya -

You might have seen pretty hairpins on Maiko girls. This shop has been making Maiko's ornamental hairpins since 1862! Maiko girls' hairpins are mostly seasonal. They wear seasonal flower hairpins etc. They told me the owner can speak English and German! So if you have questions about Japanese hairpins, why not visit them?

Ikuokaya website >> http://www.ikuokaya.com/



They also have normal/affordable hairpins for daily use.










I remember when my friend visited Japan, she bought one pretty hairpin here.






My little collection of hairpins and hair comb.

Festival - Jidai Matsuri

Here comes Jidai-Matsuri Festival.  This is an anual festival which is held Oct 22nd of every year by Heian Shrine. The huge parade starts from Kyoto Imperial palace and march to Heian shrine. You can see so many people dressing as whole variety of Japanese traditional costumes.  Jidai Matsuri means "Festival of Age." The parade is divided by each groups depends on their represented Age/era.

For more info: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3960.html

Ask me if you would like to see this Festival on coming Oct. 22nd 2012. I will be working at Capsule Ryokan.






























Goal!

Haiku - Matsuo Basho 1

夏草や兵どもが夢の跡

Natsukusa-ya Tsuwamono domo ga yume no ato.

(Summer grasses, All that remains, Of warriors' dreams)

This is one of my favorite Haiku from Matsuo Basho. He is a famous Haiku(Japanese-poem) poet in Edo period. When you read Haiku, although the line is very short, it brings you a lot of feeling and imagination.

For example, this haiku is reading about place where once there was a huge battle. But now all we can see is grasses growing all over the place. When we think of warriors who once run through this right place, it leaves a hint of sadness.

For more info for Basho>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsuo_Bash%C5%8D

What is Haiku? >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiku

Rainbow - Nishiki Food Market

Nishiki Food Market is there for over 400 years. This market is called "京都の台所(Kyoto's Kitchen)." In old days, when people had no refrigerator, People had to use cold water to keep their food fresh.  There were cold ground water underneath where the market is right now, and thus the market was developed.

Access: 1, Take subway/tube / metro from Kyoto sta. to Shijo-Karasuma sta. and walk 5-10 mins.

2, Take a bus number 4, 5, or 17 to Shijo-Kawaramachi and walk 5-10 mins.



You will see many interesting food which you won't see in regular supermarkets.



There are many street food in this Market.  My favorite is this mini-Tonyu(Soy milk) doughnut! These doughnuts are deep-fried right in front of you! So They are very fresh and yum! 8D



As you can see, it's still fun to walk through this market even if you do not buy anything.



I love how they display their products.






My second favorite street food is this fish-cake! These are fish-cakes are deep-fried, and have got a lot of flavour here.



Here I've got Potato-buttered flavour.

etc - four-leaf clover taxi

When you are traveling, taxi is always a useful option. In Kyoto, there is a taxi company called YASAKA Taxi, and their company symbol is a clover leaf. But if you are lucky, you might find this four-leaf clover taxi. There are only a few drivers who are allowed to drive four-leaf clover taxi, so if you happened to find one, you'll have a lucky day!

Dark Brown - Nishi Honganji

Nishi-honganji is the closest temple from Capsule Ryokan/Budget Inn/Tour Club. This is one of the world heritage temples in Japan. You will be surprised that this temple doesn't charge you the entrance fee.



You can also see this gorgeous gate built in early 17th century. This is one of Japan's national treasure, "Karamon".



They have a morning ceremony in the every morning (from 6:30am), so if you are interested in Buddhism, it might be a good idea to join the morning chanting sutra ceremony. It is free!



It's completely free to explor inside the temple!







Can you see a fish on the floor? You can find many of these playful things fit on this world heritage temple's floor.  I asked Nishi-honganji people why they are there, and they told me "These were done by carpenters who built this temple. They did these for covering/fixing holes up on the wood floor." Really?*lol*



The floor is gleaming shiny.



When you visit Nishi-honganji in Autum, you will see this beautiful gingkgo tree colored in golden yellow.



You will see a golden sky when you look up,



and a golden carpet beneath.