walking on travels

What is your sanity worth? I found out that mine wasn’t worth much as we packed up to leave Kyoto and head back home. As if some of our hapless wanderings were not enough, we had to overcomplicated getting to the airport. Mike had a plan. I would strap Dek onto my back in the [...]

Yes, that’s right folks. You can lick your very own octopus… on a stick. I was tickled pink when we passed these during our wander through the Nishiki-koji street market in Kyoto. I’m not a big fan of octopus generally, but even these tempted me. Sadly, I was too chicken to give them a try. [...]

They were everywhere. Surrounding us. Almost stampeding over us in some cases. We had happened upon school trip week, or at least that’s what I like to think. And they found us very interesting. At every turn teachers were leading another elementary school group through a temple. Groups of junior high students were milling around [...]

Orange, orange everywhere, I hummed to myself. The color was a bit overwhelming, but also mesmerizing. I remember wishing I’d had an orange M&M to compare the color too. Or an orange crayon. It wasn’t neon orange. It wasn’t the color of the sun or a piece of fruit. It could sometimes look like fire. [...]

Following our exploration of the Golden Pavilion and Ryonan-ji Temple in northwestern Kyoto, we headed south. What greeted us at our destination was a sight no guidebook could ever fully describe. Without fear, we launched right in. I think Dek would say this was his favorite experience of the week. That is if he could [...]

It was quiet. Too quiet. Once we left the Silver Pavilion, the crowds thinned out and we were left to stroll a path thousands of people had taken over the years. For this city girl, the quiet is always a little bit creepy. The peace and serenity were a welcome change from the hustle and [...]

Imagine my surprise when we were walking down the Philosopher’s Path in the Nanzenji temple grounds and came across an aqueduct. Weren’t they invented by the Romans? Shouldn’t this be off in Europe somewhere? Built in the late 1800s, the Suirokaku Aqueduct was quite controversial. It did not quite fit with the other buildings that made up [...]