12 March 2014
Night temple
I was surprised to find that some of the temples and surrounding gardens are open at night.
By open I mean, you can walk all around the buildings on your own without anyone distrubing you, as far as I can tell theres no way to shut the non existent gate.
Behind the temple there appears to be an extensive garden, I think when I wake up tomorrow and work out what places to visit in Kyoto proper, this will be it.
In the dark, its really dark, theres streams and things lit by eerie green lights.
At the top theres some Yakuza looking restaurants, with no one around that I could see, but a plenty of Harleys. I wasnt entirely sure if I was on private property or not. I made it back down to the street with all my fingers.
Back in the main part of town, and one street back theres a whole heap of really exclusive expensive restaurants. 2 streets back are hostess bars, I think I was wandering about at opening time as lots of taxi's were arriving with heavily made up girls getting out shielding their faces.
Now to continue going insane reading the pilots rumors forum about the global conspiracy that is the missing Malaysian airlines flight.
This is a lipton cafe. The same lipton that make the worlds cheapest and crapiest teabags. Only this place looks pretty fancy, kind of like that Mcdonalds with table service they trialled some place.
They place a lot of trust in letting people wander around these temples at night, in most cities they would be covered in graffiti, broken glass, blood and urine by morning.
Looking back at Shijo dori from the gate. Long exposure nonsense.
Sake god or similar.
The garden on the hill behind the temple with the green lights. Its nowhere near as bright as that, I left the lense open for 30 seconds.
More temple, I did a few chinups on that gate.
Last one of the temple, I rang the bells on these ropes.
Owls are so last season.
Enjoy your private dining room, it probably costs a few hundred for the honour of having me and lots of people with tripods taking your photo.
These alleys contain numerous restaurants without menus. You get what you are given and you pay what you are told.
I however, preferred to find some place with pictures on the menu, up a flight of stairs, and much to my delight, I was seated at the bar looking at the kitchen.
Excellent Okonomyaki. I got added vegetables. Its an activity meal, you get a lot of things to add, and various implements to dissect it and make bits of it burnt on your own private hot plate.
At one point I melted the corner of the laminated menu.