Journals from Japan: Kyoto Botanical Garden
This post is going to break tradition a little bit. I only have photographs from the second half of this day, but also want to give a smidgeon of background and do some storytelling rather than just a picture dump. If you just want to see pretty pictures of flowers, feel free to scroll past the backstory. Oh, and if you especially enjoy any of the photographs, try clicking on them to see if I've uploaded a larger version (Hint: check the above photo).
On my second day in Japan, the third day of our journey, my brother and I snagged the first train from Shinagawa station to Tokyo station to get our 3-week rail passes, since we planned to do a lot of traveling from that day onward. We felt really stupid when we figured out that you could pick up your rail passes ahead of time and specify what day they would activate. Oops. Combine that unnecessary busy-ness (and unnecessary waking up at really early) with the truly disgusting breakfast salad my well-intentioned mother picked up for me at the local conbini and you have a pretty depressing morning. Fortunately, the day got better. Lots better.
Sorry, I had to break up this WALLOFTEXT somehow.
Since we had rail passes now, we hopped on a shinkansen to Kyoto, where we were able to eat a delicious lunch (katsu curry! <3) and snag a great spot from which to watch an awesome festival processional. Sadly, I have no photographs of said processional, because I was manning the video camera... and I don't think I'm ever going to see the footage I shot. I'm told it's great, though.
What I can tell you is that the walk from the station to the Kamogawa riverside, where we watched the processional, was very pleasant. I lost count of how many people I saw walking their dogs. Unsurprisingly, most of the dogs were on the small side, as are many things in Japan. In any case, strolling along the river itself was one of the best parts of the day; the weather was just hot enough to be uncomfortable, and the cool breeze from the riverfront felt so refreshing! We saw children splashing in the shallows, teenagers playing badminton, adults watching for the beginnings of the processional... such a timeless moment in that Japanese Sunday afternoon.
The processional itself was pretty awesome too. Mounted officers kept order, and the horses were wearing, like, ankle braces or something? Not really certain, but they were the first sign that this parade was going to be sweet. And it was. All sorts of ancient costumes and weapons and animals, such as a fully-decorated bull or two, marched down the street. Some people tried very hard to be stoic; some (cough the children cough) were clearly uncomfortable in their clothes and makeup and wigs, some just smiled and laughed as they passed friends on the street. It was a wonderful experience, and I'm glad my entire family was there.
By the time we got back to the station, we were feeling pretty tired... but my mother loves botanical gardens, and wanted to take a quick look through the Kyoto botanical garden across the street. I am always in favor of flowers, and my brother is always in favor of things he can take photographs of, and the afternoon sun was at just the right height to give us some great light for shots...
So in we went.
We came out over two hours later.
And this is only a fraction of the photographs I took. Enjoy.
Don't be fooled - this majestic maple is only about 2 feet tall.
