1-18-2011

Someone put some leaves in the lanterns lining a temple walkway.  Or at least I think someone put them there; they may have fallen.

12-19-2010

Found this in a garden in Arashiyama in Kyoto. Warm details like these can make you forget how cold you feel at the moment.

11-22-2010

Last night I went to Arashiyama with my host mother to see the illuminated autumn leaves.

While the brilliant orange and red are featured at every one of these, Tenryuji also has bamboo featured at the end.  Sure it's not bright orange, but it looks lovely surrounded by the autumn colors.

7-21-2010

In Kyoto there's an area called Gion.  Before WWII it was a major entertainment center, famous for the best Geisha in Japan.  All of the buildings there are sided with lovely wooden panels.

7-7-2010

Happy Tanabata!  This holiday, also known as the Star Festival, isn't an official Japanese holiday that's taken off work but it's still fun.  It's believed that the Milky Way is a river of stars that separates two lovers, Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair).  Once a year they get to meet if the sky is clear.  If it's cloudy they have to wait until the next year.  So far they've been pretty unlucky while I've been in Japan; of the four times I've celebrated this holiday here it's been clear once.  Officially the holiday is supposed to be on the Japanese lunisolar 7th day of the 7th month, which is usually in August but a lot of people now celebrate it on July 7th, including in Shiga prefecture where I studied as a student.

To celebrate this holiday, if you celebrate it, you write wishes on strips of paper and tie them to bamboo trees.  People often wear yukata (lightweight summer kimono) to all summer celebrations.  I wanted to wear the new one I bought in Kyoto at New Year since I hadn't yet.  Here's the obi I tied for myself.

5-30-2010

Kyoto has some old trees. This one was perched above the entrance to one of Kyoto's bajillion temples.