Second day in Kyoto and I decide to cover an area in the south west of the city. I had already realised that I am going to gather more than enough autumn photos during the course of my stay, and resolved to spend more time enjoying the experience of being in this fine city and less time snapping shots of everything. What followed was a five and a half hour stroll through parks and temples; a very pleasant way to spend a day.
I first made my way by bus and feet to the Yasaka shrine; where I met a bunch of Japan’s finest old ladies, also out for a walk in the cold sunshine. I gesticulated with my camera and they assumed I wanted them to take my photo with it. No, I wanted to take a photo of them! This went down very well and hats were smoothed, smiles arranged and we parted as friends with a lot of bowing all round:
And here are some photos from my walk:
Yasaka shrine
Yasaka shrine
Mini Geisha
Wishes tied to a tree, mix with autumn colours
Chion-in Temple. It’s big.
They call it mellow yellow (quite rightly)
Lone visitor
We three things of orient are
A memorial to the fallen soldiers of world war 2. The nationalities covered by this monument varied, depending upon which poster you read….
Spinner
Anyone for a free taste?
They call it mellow orange (not really)
Happy snappers
Between a rock and a pretty place
Water catchment area
Picture postcard material
This girl’s boyfriend asked if I could take a photo of them using his camera. “Sure, I said, provided I can take a photo of you with my camera afterwards”. He agreed; then I explained that by “you”, I only meant “her”. We parted without bows."
If you walk around dressed like that, you are going to be photographed
Close to completely knackered, I arrived at the southern point of the day’s tour. But there was still some light; so I hopped in a taxi and headed off to the Imperial Palace where I thought I had read that it was briefly open to the public. If it had been, the moment had passed; and only those who had previously applied in writing could gain access. Impressive walls though:
I then rather foolishly decided to walk back to my B&B, which rather finished off my legs; but I did catch a few pleasing sights along the way:
Ate some food, drank a lot of hot sake, slept very well.
Comments 🔗
2013-12-01| Kevin Moore saysSome really beautiful images there Spike and the new 12-40 Oly lens really seems to do the business. Must get a comparison shoot with my Panasonic 12-35 but I feel a purchase coming on. Hopefully the current political situation will move the Thai Baht exchange rate in my favour ( easier to sell the purchase to my good lady ) an added bonus.