In the end, there’s no substitute for personal experience. We got a break in the weather for a few hours yesterday, so I headed over to the Kyoto Gosho – the Imperial Palace, which is holding one of its two brief public openings this week.   Normally you need to book […] Read more

Sakura season is Kyoto was made for the phrase “you really had to be there”. Unfortunately the weather for cherry blossom season this year is horrendous.  Yesterday was literally the only day during the projected bloom without steady rain forecasted, and rain does more than make viewing the sakura unpleasant […] Read more

And so it begins… The darling buds of March have opened across much of Kansai, and while I’m not going to obsessively photoblog them (honestly, that could occupy all my time if I allowed it to) I will periodically toss up some pics as I snap them.  Here’s a batch […] Read more

So much Kansai, so little time. I don’t want to spend all my time writing photoblog posts, so I’m combining several days worth of bits and pieces into a set meal here.  In order, we have: Toji Temple Market (largest in Japan, 21st of every month). Fushimi Inari (I’ve taken […] Read more

Oh, deer – that was a truly awful pun in the title. Another beautiful spring day in Kansai, so I headed down to Nara on the Kintestu Line.  I’d been to Nara a couple of times before but not for a few years.  Saw a few familiar sights like Todaiji, […] Read more

Travel is a lot like life – there are guidebooks, but they’re no substitute for experience. The start of the Keihan Otsu Line is about 10 minutes away from Kyoto Station by train, but it feels much farther away.  And the relative lack of tourists – especially foreign – certainly […] Read more