Still looking to cool off, so this time I'm going back to the fall when the leaves had just started to turn color, to when Anthony and I went on a hike up to the top of Mt. Daimonji (大文字山) one of the short mountains overlooking eastern Kyoto, Japan. We did it with his school friend Kana, her two brothers, and her dad.

I'd done the same hike the previous year, but without a four year old, much less two.

Kana and Anthony have a wonderful chemistry, as has been seen on my blog before (as they get caught getting out of line, find a way to stay in line, and ride a train together). I was looking forward to see what antics they'd be up to this time....

I had my camera with me, of course, but the results were mostly pathetic from a technical standpoint (poor focus, blurry, etc.). Still, I like the content and the story they tell....

We walked from our place through Nanzenji, north along the Philosopher's Walk, until we cut east up toward the mountain.

After 45 minutes and 67 meters of vertical climb, we were at the outskirts of the city about ready to dive into the mountain.

Soon after that, we entered the mountains at the trail head, and started hiking up. It was mostly fairly easy, although there were difficult portions from time to time. Anthony got tired quickly so I carried him on my back much of the way.

Two hours and 392 vertical meters into the hike, we reached the top. We paused at the benches there to enjoy the view, and eat lunch.

The shot above is poorly exposed, but you can actually see our place (from which we started the hike) 2.85 kilometers (1.75 miles) away.

Continued here...