In preparation of the Shimogamo shrine’s main festival, the Aoi Matsuri that takes place on May 15th, the Busha-Shinji ceremony is held and members of the Ogasawara-ryu School of Archery shoot arrows to a target representing evil and bad spirits, to drive them away.
It rains a lot in Japan. I actually don’t mind the rain so much as it often is a great opportunity to get interesting photos. The light is different, the colors are more saturated, often we can get some beautiful reflection of lights on the paved streets. But most of all, ….
As this year’s Hanami season comes to an end, the last place to visit around Kyoto is often the Ninna-Ji Temple (仁和寺). Located in the North West part of town, this temple is quite famous for its Omuro cherry trees, ancient, dwarf, late-flowering trees.
One of Kyoto most popular hanami spots in April is without doubt The Path of Philosophy (“Tetsugaku-no-michi” in Japanese). It is a pleasant stone path through the northern part of Kyoto’s Higashiyama district, that follows a canal lined up by hundreds of cherry trees.
On 23rd of March, 2016, Kyoto weather forecast station announced the first bloom of cherry, or in other words, the beginning of this year’s Hanami — the Cherry Blossom Season.
This is four days earlier than last year and five days earlier than the average year.
Maiko from Kyoto’s five entertainment areas (Hanamachi) will perform dances dedicated to the gods at the Yasaka shrine. This event takes place outside on the shrine’s stage at the beginning of the Higashiyama Hanatouro (Lantern) Festival.
Hanami – 花見- in Japanese literally means “Flowers Viewing”, but we usually understand it as Cherry Blossom. But the cherry is not the only type of flowers we can enjoy, and the Hanami season doesn’t start in late March or early April…
Patrick’s first experience at a local photo contest — Maiko and Momiji organized by the Photo Partner Kyoto Association, ended up today with the award ceremony. Patrick’s very pleased and very proud to have one of his photos receiving a “Special Mention”.
To try Shojin Ryori (精進料理), Zen Vegetarian Cuisine, this is a good address. It’s located next to Kodaiji Temple and is open from lunch to dinner, non stop. The type of Shojin Ryori provided is called “Fucha Ryori”, and was brought to Japan by Chinese monks during the Edo period.
