Tradition amidst the chaos. (混乱の中で、伝統。)

Really, the title of this post refers to the content in relation to the rest of my blog, and not the content itself. I know, I know, I apologize--you went in to this with such high hopes, didn't you?

Anyway. Chaos, of course, means my regularly scheduled random wanderings among topics. Tradition, of course, can only mean 花見 (hanami, flower viewing), as of course it is that time again.

And because I'm so very busy lately, honestly I wanted to take a break with a bit of picture spam attempt to make up for my neglect with pictures of Kyoto nature at its finest.

Oh, dear. These are in complete backwards order. Curse you, blogger.

Anyway. This is a lovely bamboo-covered path up near 北山 (Kitayama) on the 鴨川 (Kamo river). I basically walked up the 鴨川 from 今出川 (Imadegawa), just pretend I walked the other way and he pictures will seem, for all intents and purposes, in order.

Or. Well. They're in order except for that first one.

... admittedly, the first one is quite nice. A good lead-in, you might say.

Well played, blogger.

Anyway, this is the true beginning of my journey--just after walking down onto the river pathway at Imadegawa. Ah, the sakura-lined 鴨川. Lovely.

I particularly like these willowy ones.

I was trying to get the 大文字 (daimoji, big character) in the background there, but I guess it didn't turn out so well.

Looking down the river towards  三条 (Sanjou...)

Still down, with the lovely lining effect.

And turtles! You can cross the river every now and again on stone paths, occasionally dotted with adorable turtles. Or boats, even. I like the turtles. These guys are at the crossing just north of Imadegawa.

What, non-sakura flowers? Blasphemy!

Ok, ok, that's better.

Ooo, aaah.

(Again, those white flowers. I thought they were nice, ok?)

Aaah, surrounded by blooms.

And then we get Edo's foray into the world of artsy shots.

This one is technically blurry because of a breeze, but I actually really like it.

I for some reason associate "close-up" with "artsy."

Ah, bad lighting. Also "artsy" in my brain.

Some college kids doing the same thing I was, just with better cameras.

At least I didn't have a backpack, so ha.

The falling blossoms. This one actually turned out better than I expected.

A lone tree on the opposite bank. I guess that guy liked it, though.

Nice stone stairway in the background there.

I particularly liked the reflection of these pink sakura in the river, so I had to get a shot.

Ah, there's that bridge again. Lovely.

A better view of the tunnel. Unfortunately, none of my wide views are very pretty.

And another nice close-up to round things off. Ah, sakura in Kyoto. I'm just too good to you readers.

This is Edo, signing off with cleaning to do and professors to e-mail.

Will the sakura never end? (桜って、いつまで続くのやろう？）

In continuing with both the sakura-season and I-have-nothing-interesting-to-say theme of yesterday, I thought I would share a few more 花見 pictures from my Kyoto adventures.

This time, though, I thought I'd change it up a bit. No traditional 御所　or 哲学の道 for you today! No sir, today, we venture into the less traditional side of Kyoto. Today, we venture into...



木屋町!! Or Kiyamachi, for those of you without intimate Kyoto knowledge. Admittedly, that's nothing as bad as 先斗町... Read THAT one, Japanese students, I dare ya! Extra credit for those who get back to me with the correct ふりがな. No cheating!

Now, as you may or may not know, Kiyamachi has something of a seedy reputation, though mostly during night hours. It's where the host and hostess clubs are, mainly, along with love hotels, shady bars, and foreigner clubs. If you want sketchy in Kyoto, this is your drag.

And yet, during they day, it's lovely. And really, at night, it's only shady in atmosphere, and not truly unsafe; I walked through many a night, and return to you all unmolested. Because, after all, say what you will about Japan, but it is pretty damn safe, a fact for which I am eternally grateful.



See? They're just like the sakura everywhere else in Kyoto. Pretty, pink, and surrounded by tourists.



I also thought the river/creek/stream/whatever added a nice aesthetic touch. What can I say, we desert folk love us some water.

And speaking of tourists...



I do apologize if I captured you or anyone you know in this picture, and assure you that it was not intentional. Rather, during 花見 season in Kyoto... it's something of a miracle if you get through the day without having someone in your pictures you didn't exactly invite into them. I wanted a shot down the stream, gosh darnit, and I was going to get one, obscured by tourists or no.

Well now, there's a thought my pointless picture post (I love unintentional alliteration, don't you?) inspires... 花見 season was certainly a validation for me, especially seeing as how I lived in Kyoto. You see, that time of year, Kyoto's population nearly doubles (I may be employing hyperbole, but still) with sheer tourist inflation. So, for almost the entire month of April, I was actually more "local" than a good percentage of the people giving me funny looks. As Melon would say, put THAT in your pipe and smoke it!

Although at the same time, gaijin tourist also began to come in droves, possibly making actual locals have far more reason to think I was just another English-speaking gomer blundering through some world-travels... Oh well. I suppose you can't have everything.

This is Edo, signing off whilst wondering if anyone really likes tourists....

I miss the sakura... (桜って懐かしい。。。)

Well, 花見 season is just about upon us. And of course, when I say "us," I mean those of us who are lucky enough to be somewhere with sakura. Unfortunately, Southern California does not fall on that list, as far as I've seen. We do have some lovely orchid trees around though, so I guess that counts for something.

Anyway, since I can't amuse you all with stories of this year's 花見, last year's will have to do. And since I was in Kyoto, aka 花見 capital of the known world... I honestly think that last year should be enough to satisfy even the pickiest of readers.



Here, we have some lovely sakura from 御所, or the imperial palace. Say what you will about Doshisha University, but being across the street from 御所 was pretty darn cool, if I do say so myself.



These are some sakura from 哲学の道, or the Philosopher's Path. Quite frankly, I didn't see what was so philosophical about it. What I did notice was that there were a ridiculous number of soft cream/soft serve/whatever you want to call it vendors about... even though I foolishly did not partake in their wares. Alas, the follies of youth.



A close up shot of one of those philosophical sakura, because sometimes, I like to pretend I'm artistic. I could call it... "Contemplations in Purity." Or... "Pretty flower."



And of course, the obligatory 夜桜, or "nighttime sakura," or as we so eloquently condensed it, "yozaks." That's right, we gaijin are in your country, butchering your language for our own amusement. I can't remember if these were taken along the 鴨川 (Kamo river) or at Gojo... Hm.

With that bit of nostalgia for you, this is Edo, signing off and hoping you didn't realize she replaced actual content with pretty pictures this time 'round.