kyoto's higashiyama hanatouro 2009

i know several people who absolutely adore kyoto, but i really dont see what's so great about it. sure, it's pretty and culturally rich, but just because you appreciate a woman's beauty doesnt mean that you're attracted to her.

to me, kyoto is aesthetically pleasing but it has no soul. you can go there and visually admire the sights and the scenery, but your heart isnt engaged and you dont feel anything for the place, nor does the place evoke any particular subjective feelings. i'm not the only person who thinks so, and it's a pity that lonely planet absolutely raves about kyoto and dismisses other parts of kansai - like OSAKA and kobe - to the extent that they seem, according to the Brit, "to have a hard-on for kyoto".

i couldnt agree more, but i still do take advantage of my great location to visit kyoto every now and then to admire the sights, but pretty much limit it to when they have special events, like the higashiyama hanatouro - basically a lantern light-up along the streets and in the attractions of that area.

kyoto certainly looks a lot better when illuminated at night as the lighting is always well done (i'd previously seen kyomizudera and kodai-ji at night during autumn leaves season) and it's more atmospheric:

(the bottom of this is black as i had to balance my camera on one of the poles that was stuck in the ground)

this is shorein-in.

it had beautiful rooms in which to conduct tea ceremonies

i want sliding doors as pretty as these!

there were also people who gave out lanterns that visitors could carry while walking around the temple grounds. not everyone had the privilege to do so though - it seemed like only families and couples were special enough. haha.

then there's chio-in, a temple with huge grounds, but a large part was cordoned off..

on the foot of the steps were quite a few beautiful lanterns designed by this traditional art school/shop:

this part of the temple's grounds reminded me of an oasis:

as we walked along:

it was around here that the peace of the temple grounds was disrupted by this loud american woman. no offense to any readers out there, but some americans can be such a pain at times.. why do they have to talk so loudly??

can you see where the reflection of the trees in the water begins and ends?

super long flight of steps that we couldnt climb:

there was a huge group of people outside the temple crowding around this figure in a rickshaw

the group started moving after a while, and it turned out that there was a procession of some sort..

couldnt take a good shot, but the female figure was wearing a mask of a fox, and i have no idea who she is, the significance of the event or where and what was she heading to..

in maruyama park, we saw a vending machine full of green tea. it must have been a silly enough idea that even japanese people were taking pictures of it:

there was a flower display in the park, which reminded me of the singapore garden festival that was held at suntec city just before i came over last year.

the above looked like some christmas decoration, while the one below was very pretty, only because of the plum tree that happened (or perhaps not?) to be behind it:

i really like this one though:

for a clearer view:

we also saw this crazy car parked in a dark corner:

we crossed a stream, in which there were bamboo poles lit from the inside with candles:

there were artworks by university students on display too, and this one of a sunflower floating in a canister of water with bubbles was the coolest:

pretty hotel and tree:

outside this place, staff were selling a paper cup of hot wine for 500yen. it's only in japan where you'll find people queuing up for such a grossly overpriced item!

here's yasaka shrine:

i like it cos it's one of the few attractions in kyoto that is free. you have to pay to enter temples, and the fee ranges from 400yen to 800yen.

our last stop of the day - entoku-in:

it had some very pretty rooms of which you're apparently not meant to take a picture of. i didnt see any signs and i dont use flash, hence these:

the area outside entoku-in had some shops that were about to close when we emerged:

and one of my favourite shots of the day: