last walk to Minoo Taki and more, and less

tony and i left early this morning for Minoo Taki. we took a break in this little park after buying some pan from Isamu Bakery and Trattoria

i thought he was a statue at first. he reminded me of my Mother`s two Schnauser`s (in Doggie Heaven now) except he did not bark. he seemed very peaceful just watching the world and me walk by. i know the feeling.

saying goodbye to Takechi-san, Danny, Look and Popo.

Minoo Taki. i think this is very similar to the photo in yesterday`s newspaper

today part 2

and where is part 1 and part 3? here are some images from my walk, train and bus rides to from Kyuanji. actually all these photos are from Kyuanji. part 1 and part 3 would be the before and after. it was another warm late november day with a blue blue sky and as you will see beautiful momiji.

1 hour and 8 minutes

68 minutes is how long it took me to get from Minoo Station to Arashiyama. and that is including transfering at Ishibashi, Juso and Katsura. here are a few images before bedtime. i just finished watching a good Columbo episode unfortunately it was one i had just watched before leaving for Japan. i say unfortunately because i have been waiting for Columbo (not that i don`t enjoy all the Japanese programs but this is a favorite show and it is in English) since i saw it on last thursday. there was a problem with the channel that it was on . . . for some reason it would cut off between 9pm and 930pm. but, that channel would still be on the tv downstairs. fushigi na (mysterious). the mystery was solved last night. more about that another time. anyways, it was a good episode.

a little rain on the outside and almost a little storm on the inside

last night`s weather forecast said today would be cold and rainy and that the temperature would be that of late december. pinpon! cold and rainy! here are a few images from the front garden (front yard doesn`t quite sound right) after seeing Noriko`s Father off to his senior day care.

another beautiful day, another temple, another shrine, more colors, more everything

took the train(s) to Nagaoka-tenjin and then made a brief stop by Nagaoka Tenmangu (shrine) on the way to Komyo-ji (temple). i am not going to tell you i went to the wrong one (don`t you just hate it when you get your temple names mixed up)(of course, in Japanese the kanji-Japanese characters- were very different) and was a wee bit disappointed and then by chance, i took a path (that might have had a sign that said "do not walk thru this bamboo forest") thru a bamboo forest and ended up at the right Komyo-ji. big difference. it was my first time there but probably won`t be my last as the momiji path will be more beautiful within a week. i took some nice photos today but the best is yet to come. they also had a photo exhibit and a kiku (chrysanthemum) show. i also found a field of cosmos on my way to the wrong Komyo-ji and then a farmer started burning the field next to it...you will have to see the photos to understand what he was doing. more later. time for dinner.

still rainy but now cooler - more autumn colors on the way

leftover rain from yesterday and cooler temperatures for the start of this saturday. and cooler temps mean more color on the hillsides. hopefully the sun will make an appearance later today and again tomorrow as i am going to Arashiyama for the Momiji Matsuri (Maple Festival). Arashiyama is one of my favorite places in Japan and it will be very crowded tomorrow as it is a favorite of many tourists (Japanese as well as foreigners) especially during autumn.

not sure what i will be doing today as Noriko has gone to run a few errands. her Mother wants to visit a couple of her doctors so Noriko`s Father and i will be the men of the house.

still having problems accessing my mac.com mail so please write to kevfoto@aol.com

today`s highlight: tofu nabe.