Village Green

"Wow, Graeme. That looks lovely! Is that in one of Kyoto's many beautiful temples and shrines that the city is so famous for?"

Well no actually. This is one of the THREE parks in Kyoto Eki (the main station in Kyoto). Yes, the station. Kyoto station has 3 parks, 2 markets, a few hotels, a cinema, a theatre, a museum, 2 department stores, maybe a thousand shops and several hundred eateries. It might have more than that in there too, but I have gotten lost in there on 3 separate occasions so I can only confirm what I have witnessed with my own senses.

Oh, you can catch a train in there as well.

Choke

Warm Night

The climate here has become somewhat bearable since my mid September arrival. At first though, it was either too sweaty too move, or a monsoon. On a particularly hot day a few weeks ago I saw this:


I especially enjoyed the fact that everyone was either completely unfazed by it, or were greeting the dog in a non-excited fashion, as if it were a work colleague or casual acquaintance.

"Konnichiwa inu chan."

That is definitely one thing I love about it here. Everyone greets each other in what appears to be a genuinely friendly manner. Every morning, several people will throw an "ohayou" (why, good morning!) in my direction for no particular reason. Be it an old lady, a policeman, or a happy mother with child, it's always welcome as far as I am concerned.