This past Sunday was a big day for us, as we had the fourth and final interview at the preschool we were interested in, which is highly regarded for many reasons, and only about 10% of applicants actually get in. (We found out yesterday that Anthony was accepted!)

After the interview, Anthony and I took a little bike ride to see some fall foliage. It's pretty anemic this year, but we were still able to find some nice areas close by. We first went to a secluded area in the south part of the old imperial palace grounds (御所) where the President was last week. Last Thursday, when riding around with Fumie, we discovered a small lake (Kyuujou-ike — 九条池) which we'd never noticed before despite many trips to the area.

On the map at right, the lake looks as if it's right next to a major street, and indeed it is, but it's so well hidden by trees that encircle it almost completely that you can see it only from the entrance near the north side of the bridge which bisects the lake. When you're on the street, or on the wide paths inside the park, you have no idea it's there. Thus, it was a wonderful discovery.

The flip side of it being so hidden is that when you're there, you can't tell that you're in the middle of a big city. (It's much like Murin-an in this regard.) It was mostly cloudy with only intermittent sun, but anyway, here are pictures from the bridge, looking toward either side:

East

West

Here are a few more shots of the area:

Anthony on the bridge

South side of the bridge

Row of benches in the wide path to the north-east of the lake

From just north of the bridge, looking up the wide avenue to the entrance to the Old Imperial Palace (600 meters to the north)

There are more nice pictures from this little trip, including various scenes of the canal (which really needed more sun to come out better, which is why they're not featured here).

A bit of playtime

On the way home, we stopped by a weekend event at the Kyoto Chamber of Commerce. The event had something to do with Kyoto daycare centers, but as far as we were concerned it was just a fun place to play.

He was shy at first (he's gotten quite shy lately) but once he started to play, he chose the play kitchen area. (That he didn't make a bee line to the trains is a testament to the effort Fumie and I have made to encourage more balance in his play.)

Eventually, of course, he did get to the trains

Heading Home

Finally, here's a (slightly idealized) view over the canal, from the bridge a minute from home:

It's had just a bit of work done on it with Photoshop, as the original shows (mouseover the link to view the original superimposed above).