Two weeks ago I posted about stopping by the grounds of Kyoto's old imperial palace to check out its fall foliage, which at the time was still pretty minimal. While there, I noticed something interesting about the little entrance gate that I happened to have used (perhaps the smallest of the nine that dot the perimeter of the park)....

It's a tiny, insignificant gate that one doesn't even really notice, but I happened to have parked my scooter next to it, and while getting ready to depart, I noticed what appears to be a repair in one of the large [...]

Zak invited us to join him and his family for some fun at the BørneLund here in Kyoto. It's a combination kids play area and toy store that we'd been to a few times, but until today, only for its store. (It's where Anthony picked out his birthday present when he turned four.)

It was much more fun than I would have expected.

BørneLund is a Japanese company whose primary business is the import of expensive toys, mostly from Europe. Their name looks like a Swedish name that apparently means "nickel and dime you to death". Their shop has a [...]

Today is the middle of a three-day weekend, one that happens to fall just as the fall colors are really getting going, so Kyoto was absolutely packed to the gills with tourists. Fumie and I both felt much better from our colds today, so we decided to take the opportunity to get out of town.

We went for a drive in the same general direction as we did with Fumie's folks three weeks ago, into the mountains to the northwest of Kyoto. This time we had a specific destination, the Hiyoshi Dam (which, in case you've never heard of it, [...]

Continuing with more from my Visit to Kibune two weeks ago with Thomas Hertel, after we had dango at the restaurant with the old wooden gear, we were walking along the road and were beckoned by the tranquil sight of a tranquil site...

The photo above almost makes it look like some kind of miniature site, but the gate at left is plenty tall enough to walk under, and the bridge itself is about ten feet long.

Thomas posed for a picture, strictly as a size comparison...

If Thomas were to turn to the camera's left, he'd be looking up [...]

Well, I seem to have come down with a cold, and so I spent almost all day sleeping. Up now at midnight with just enough energy to stare blankly at the screen, so I'll just post a few pictures from yesterday to brighten my day (er, my night) before heading back to bed.

The entrance way to the small restaurant next to our place has a tree that we can see the top of from our livingroom window, and each year at about this time, it turns all kinds of fiery reds and oranges.

We just see the top, but [...]