A Piece of Kyoto

okay taxes are done...phew!
looking back at the trip... yeah, i went to japan to make sure my dad was well taken care of. it is hard enough to take care of an aging parent who lives near by, but harder when he lives 5000 miles away. he needed a little medical attention, but the test result came out negative. a good news! not much vacationing for me, but one sunny day i went on a mellow back "road trip" on bike with my boy. as usual, it was nothing special. just enjoying "tiny happiness" along the way. this is my first time going back in spring. it was beautiful ! cherry blossoms were everywhere almost overwhelming. food was oh so good. i didn't even think about taking a picture of what i ate. who would remember taking a camera out of your bag when you are right in front of yummy food. and they were so reasonable. well, they are in the middle of deflation, so every price has been dropped. but, they keep its quality. it's a japanese thing :-)

a laid back back street day trip began...

visited mibu temple again...looking up the stone jizo tower...

praying for an academic success at the goddess of study again :-)

making a wish for peapod's success again at "mizukake jizo"

pour water over the jizo, and your wish will come true...

a group of stone buddhas...

among them is a stone buddha from oregon...

oh yeah it says so...

i love that there is always a tiny local shopping strip on a back street.
a meat shop name reads "joyous happy house." i love anything with "happy"

a traditional meat shop usually sells freshly fried items like croquette. a perfect snack...order and wait for a few minutes, a hearty finger snack is ready to bite...

good luck charms for merchants' success called "ebisu" on a bamboo branch at the meat shop. visiting a local "ebisu" shrine every february to return the branch and receive a new one for the new year is a traditional event for business owners of the western region of japan. As a daughter of a small business owner, i remember as a kid doing the ritual with my parents...it was always the coldest night of the year :-(

in the cell phone-age, a vintage phone booth surprised us on a quiet back street where only the locals go by...

mini shrines everywhere in the city...this one was between the two houses...

a traditional japanese print...traditional, yet it represents japanese modernism...

available at peapod...quantities limited...

with more young folks in sight, i could tell we were in a rather new touristic town around sanjo street. well, it was just an old town with traditional old houses when i lived there...now it is a mixture of "old" and "new" as an older couple walking by a vw camper cafe...

this restaurant is a perfect example of what i mean. a super traditional house called "machiya" converted into a trendy diner. we just stopped to take a shot. must be a famous spot for tourists. many of them with a guide book. "machiya" houses belonged to the merchants in the old days, but left out as life became modernized. but, they started to attract younger generations as the slow life movement began more than 10 years ago...today, from fancy italian to french to casual sweet shops are everywhere in the "machiya" style as east meets west...

otani honbyou, known as "otani-san" one of the powerful temples i visit every time i go back...

simplicity...

aesthetic...

tranquility...

yasaka shrine at the end of shijo street...

flamboyant...

what's the word for this? i just wanted to show a different kind of cherry blossoms :-)

vast...a buddha statue at ryozan kannon. i never knew this...

powerful...

serenity...

"the kyoto, japan"...

"the balcony" at kiyomizu temple, one of the most famous places in japan known as "kiyomizu no butai"...

kyoto tower zoomed in from "the balcony"...

spring weather was unpredictable...chilly and gray one day...

warm and sunny another day...perfect for a cherry blossom picnic called "hanami" viewing flowers in literal translation...

simply pretty...

pretty kimono prints...available at peapod...quantities limited.