Kurodani Garden

I visited the garden at Kurodani Temple the other day with my friend Koko. Kurodani is very near to my house. I walk through the temple grounds a few mornings a week.

Yaezakura at Ninna-ji

Yesterday, my wife and her sister took my son Kieran to Ninna-ji Temple, in northwest Kyoto, to see the eight-petalled cherries called yaezakura. This variety blooms later than the normal cherry trees. Kieran had a great time.

Perfect Day for Cherry Blossoms

The weather has finally caught up with the cherry blossoms. It was perfectly sunny and warm today and all of Kyoto was out enjoying the blossoms. I cruised around town on my bike checking out the scene.

I shot this along the Kamo-gawa River. This is really what hanami (cherry blossom viewing) is all about:


Here's the Takasegawa Canal along Kiyamachi near Oike-dori:


Here's the classic view of Kyoto from Sanjo-ohashi Bridge:


Here's a nice tree in the Kyoto Gosho:

Snow on the Cherries

We've had some crazy weather here in Kyoto. It snowed yesterday and last night and we woke up this morning to find the city covered in snow. The mountains around the city are all white. I climbed Daimonji-yama to enjoy a last taste of winter. This is the first time I can remember snow falling while the cherries were in bloom.

Here's a picture I took on the way up to Daimonji. If you look closely, you can see the snow on the mountain in the background:


Here's a picture from the trail partway up the Dai. It's a sign warning of the danger of forest fires (probably not much chance of that today):


Here's a picture of snowy Kyoto from the Dai. In the foreground is a "hidoko," which is one of the places where they build the fires to make the giant Chinese character of "dai" (great) in the August fire festival:

Kabuki in Kyoto

Yesterday, I went to kabuki at the Minamiza Theatre in Kyoto. It was great.

A Nice Morning in Gion

Yesterday, I went to kabuki at Minamiza Theatre in Gion. After buying my tickets, I had some time to kill, so I took a walk around Shimbashi in Gion, which is looking great with the cherry blossoms.

Here's the Shirakawa Canal in Shimbashi:


Here's a nice alleyway in Gion:


Here's a crane in the canal:

Kyoto Cherry Blossoms

I took a walk around Shinyodo and Kurodani temples near my house the other day. Some of the trees at these temples are already in full bloom.

Here is a picture of the weeping cherry behind the padoga at Shinyodo:


Here is a shot from the gate at Kurodani: