KYOTO - MARCH 2024 - #1
Last March I made another trip to Kyoto. Much delayed, rescheduled and shortened due to illness, in the end I was only there for two days, but I still managed to find a wealth of things I hadn’t seen before. Kyoto never disappoints.
The trip didn’t start very well : the evening I arrived I thought it might be nice to see some cherry blossoms around Heian Shrine, so I took the subway as far as I could, then set out walking. For some reason I thought the place was open at all hours, but when I got there it was locked up. Darkness descended, and I compounded my error by stubbornly continuing north to another temple I was interested in, although this was clearly pointless as I knew that it too would be closed. Then it started snowing heavily, and began to feel pretty sick. It was quite a struggle to get back to the hotel in the end.
Peach Blossom in the Imperial Palace grounds
Next day was freezing - down to -2C, but it started out sunny, so I headed out in the morning with my sole destination the Imperial Palace. Now I have been aware of this very large enclosed park within the city for a long time, but I’d never bothered with it since previously the only way to see it was to get a ticket in advance and be a part of some kind of guided tour. By chance I checked on the web to see if this was still the only way to get in, and to my great surprise (and delight), discovered that it is now opened up fully to the public, and free to enter, no less. Yay!
Walking around the vast grounds with their well-tended trees and monumental architecture gave plenty of photographic opportunity, despite the occasional snow flurries that appeared despite largely blue skies.
Here are some shots from this day, taken with the trusty old Nikon D7200 and processed with Affinity Photo 2, software I am still in the process of learning.
The quintessentials of the Imperial Palace - long walls, gravel walkways and well-manicured trees.
Typical ornate gateway to the inner Palace with thatched roof.
Cermic tiles on traditional rooves always makes for good photography, if you are obsessed with lines and patterns, as I am…
Now we have moved into the Inner Palace grounds….
The brilliant ornage colour often seen in traditional Japanese buildings (most noteably in shrines), symbolising purity and sacredness.
A longer shot of the same building pictured above.
Next time I’ll be showing some shots from a traditional theatrical performance I chanced upon at the Palace….