Udon with beef

I had two nights in Kyoto last summer. I asked my innkeeper for a recommendation of a fun izakaya in the (Nijo Station) neighborhood and she recommended Daruma (908 Koyamacho, Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto). She was correct. Daruma was tons of fun. Both of the Mama Sans and the customers were entertaining. Pictures coming soon.

So the next day I asked her for a similar place and she recommended Saiya. With kanji like 祭家, how could it not be a party? Well, it wasn’t as fun as Daruma, but the family running the place were baseball diehards so we did have fun chatting about baseball while watching games on the TV.

Posted on June 7th, 2014 under Japan. Tags: beer, food, izakaya, kyoto, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600. Comments Off on Saiya (祭家) in Kyoto

Nijo Castle (二条城) Kyoto, Japan

Recently I’ve been reading Romulus Hillsborough’s Samurai Revolution which says that “Tokugawa Iemochi became the first shogun in more than two centuries to set foot in the Imperial Capital, staying at his castle, Nijojo, in the western part of the city.” (p. 226) As I walked through Nijo Castle last summer and saw the figurines depicting the shogun addressing all of the daimyo it never crossed my mind that such an event never, or at least seldom, took place. I pictured the scene to be something like an annual one or at least one that happened for most Shoguns, but I guess that wasn’t so. According to this page, 229 years passed between shogun visits to the shogun’s flatland castle in Kyoto.

Posted on May 27th, 2014 under Japan. Tags: kyoto, nijo castle, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600. Comments Off on Samurai Revolution

Nijo Castle (Kyoto, Japan)

Posted on April 29th, 2014 under Japan. Tags: kyoto, nijo castle, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600, pine. Comments Off on Nijo Castle

Ryoanji is best know for its zen rock garden–perhaps the most famous karesansui (枯山水) in the world. However, there is much more to see at Ryoanji, including a lake, these stairs, and other objects and paths.

Posted on April 19th, 2014 under Japan. Tags: kyoto, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600, Ryoanji 龍安寺. Comments Off on Stairs at Ryoanji (龍安寺)

Temple of the Golden Pavilion – Kinkakuji – Kyoto, Japan

One of the previously mentioned postcards was of Kinkakuji. It didn’t take me until 2013 to finally see this magnificent place, although that is when I took today’s photo. I saw this place in person for the first time in 2007.

Posted on March 5th, 2014 under Japan. Tags: kyoto, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600, 金閣寺. Comments Off on Rokuon-ji (鹿苑寺) AKA Kinkaku-ji (金閣寺 or “Temple of the Golden Pavilion”)