last days of the year

Christmas in Kyoto

molly, my little sister, came to visit for the holidays, so we traveled to kyoto for christmas. we spent christmas day walking around the flea market at Kitano shrine and hiding out in a great noodle shop to escape the cold and the crowds. exploring Murayama park where we saw Chionen temple, which has the largest wooden gate in Japan. eating mochi samples as we walked through Higashiyama, a preserved historic district, up to Kiyomizudera temple. and finally, ending the day with curry and chestnut pudding.

gujo

last sunday a friend and i drove up to gujo, a small mountain town about an hour north of gifu city. i’ve wanted to go ever since i found out that the plastic food samples that are in nearly every restaurant window were invented here. and apparently, it’s still where 80 percent of the samples in japan are made.

so, the first thing we did was go to the food replica shop. there we were able to make tempura (shrimp, pepper and pumpkin) and a lettuce leaf.  it’s incredible how real they look. we spent a few hours walking around, checking out the small side streets and the tea ceremony museum. we drove up to gujo-jo just as the sun was going down.

 

 

alone in kyoto pt. 3

thursday morning i met my new friend and went to a huge flea market. i bought ten vintage matchboxes. that afternoon we walked around arashiyama, an area in western kyoto. i saw my first pomegranate tree and had my first taste of sanshuko dango.

 

 

friday we went to nara, a city south of kyoto. nara was the capital of japan from 710 to 794 and is still home to the worlds largest wooden building, todai-ji temple. inside the temple is a giant bronze buddha with nostrils big enough to crawl through. and surrounding the temple are parks with wild deer, looking for snacks. it is a pretty incredible place.

 

 

 

 

alone in kyoto pt. 2.5

wednesday night i walked around maruyama park and the surrounding area, which is littered with shines and temples. i visited Entokuin and Kodaiji, two temples that were established around 1605. that night both were illuminated, so i was able to walk through the gardens and view the interiors of tearooms and other buildings on the grounds.

alone in kyoto pt. 2

wednesday, i took the train to fushimi inari, a shrine that sits at the base of a mountain in southeast kyoto. the trails that wind up the mountain are lined with thousands of donated torii, which vary in size and age. it was a surreal experience, walking alone through the forest, losing track of time and feeling like i may never find my way out. overall, it was the highlight of my trip.

alone in kyoto pt.1

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arrived in kyoto monday night, using homemade maps and written instructions. walked around for hours and stumbled in on a band at this club, Urban Guild.

tuesday i took the bus to the west side of town and visited kinkaku-ji, rokuon-ji and ninna-ji temples. they were beautiful places despite the busloads of kids. ramen for dinner.

homage to the west

 

go west.

here’s the website I started in Albuquerque. includes much of the work I created while there.

watch out godzilla…

 

tall tales

floating fishermen, crumbling yen, and bagged fruit on trees have been occupying my thoughts as of late. could have something to do with these guys:

 

read Haruki Murakami:

 short story, The Elephant Vanishes

recent article in the New York Times about his newest novel, 1Q84

watch Katsuhito Ishii: