I had a mini-bus booked at 1245 to take me to the airport. I knew they were picking up at various locations across the city, so assumed the pick-up time was approximate. It wasn’t, at exactly 1245 the bus appeared outside the door; how do they do it?
Trouble free return flight with JAL (and yes, they did have a vegetarian meal for me) and she who must be obeyed was waiting for me at the airport. And it is my wife I need to thank most of all for this trip. Firstly for suggesting that I should go, and secondly for ensuring I was adequately prepared with items that I considered frivolous but which turned out to be essential (long underwear, an extra wooly jacket and lip balm come to mind).
Secondly, thanks to Ian, Sybilla and Juno at Juno’s B&B for providing a home away from home, with a cosy room, endless supplies of tea and stimulating conversations.
Next up is neighbour Nik for recommending Hitching Rides with Buddha as a travelling companion. It’s an affectionate and frequently hilarious look at Japan, and it passed the time on many a bus ride; although others on the bus must have wondered while I was giggling so much.
Mention must also be made of the City Maps and Walks app for the iPhone. I had my roaming turned off so could not use Google maps; but this application had a downloaded map of Kyoto and I could see where I was at any time. Plus, I could select somewhere I wanted to visit and it would show me the direction and distance; invaluable when you get lost, and I was lost frequently.
Must give respect to my camera gear. The E-M1 was a joy to use; although the intermittent exposure compensation dial was a pain (now fixed). Star of the show was the 12-40mm lens. On my last trip I was constantly changing lenses. This time, the 12-40mm rarely left the camera. I brought the 7-14mm and decided to leave it in my room the first day to see if I missed it. I didn’t, and it spent the week in my suitcase and there were only two occasions that might have used it. The Panasonic 25mm F1.4 came out for some low-light shots and the 75mm was used on occasions; but 90%+ of my shots were taken with the 12-40mm; the ideal travel lens.
Finally, thanks to Kyoto and her people; unfailingly helpful and polite. I probably won’t be back having satiated myself on your sights; but thanks for having me. Sayonara.
For the truly insane. links to all the Kyoto related posts can be found here.
Comments 🔗
2013-12-08| Andrew saysI had a suspicion that the 12-40 was going to be near-welded to the EM1…in my old film days the (semi cheap ) Nikkor 35-70 was on the FE2 at least 90% and only once in a while would I pull out the 24mm or the 200mm…and those were the days when zooms really were crappier than primes..good to hear it’s worth the money…
2013-12-11| Spike saysIt’s wonderful. Just posted a review (warning - contains Japan photos).