Posted on July 21st, 2009 under Japan. Tags: arashiyama, japan pictures, kyoto. Comments: 1

When I visited Kiyomizu Dera for the first time, I hadn’t read anything about the place in a guide book. Therefore, I had sort of a “Duh” moment when after following around the packs of tourists we actually arrived at the kiyomizu that makes up its name. I hadn’t really thought about why it was named as it was or what the significance of the name was until this point. Duh!

Anyway, I bet you can’t tell which of these kiyomizu samplers is my daughter.

Posted on July 2nd, 2009 under Japan. Tags: japan pictures, kyoto, temples. Comments: None

Shopping centers in Japan frequently have a similar look and feel to them. Some are called ginza, some are out of doors, but a common look is the one above–sort of a covered arcade of sorts.

This one is one of the largest, if not the largest, for this variety in Japan. You head down one of these lanes off of Kawaramachi Dori (河原町通) or Shijo Dori (四条通) in Kyoto and when you get to the end you can turn the corner to head down another mega-long street loaded with nothing but more shops and more shoppers.

Posted on June 30th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: japan pictures, kyoto, signs. Comments: 2

As I was digging through some photos I took in Kyoto I came upon this rather lovely one and determined to find out what the lantern meant. かがり火 is simple enough. Kagaribi means bonfire. 祇園 is Gion (the famous Gion known for teahouses and geisha). No surprises there as I took this picture in 円山 (maruyama) park which is either in or right next to Gion. So I figured this must be in reference to some bonfire festival that would shortly be taking place in the park. Right?

Wrong. A quick google search turned up this site, meaning that this decorative lantern is nothing more than an advertisement for a nearby restaurant which specializes in its tofu dishes.

Oh well. It’s more attractive than the billboards plastered along the sides of U.S. highways.

Posted on June 28th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: cherry blossoms, kyoto, sakura, signs. Comments: 2