This evening we had perhaps the most stunning sunset I have ever seen.

Sadly, I saw it from the photographically-unappealing vantage of the fifth-floor walkway in my condo, but at least I got to see it. When I first caught a glimpse, I literally sprinted for the elevator, and the photo above is the first I snapped when I got up there.

(By the way, that's Kyoto Tower in the lower left, seen previously on my blog here, here, here, and here)

Some sunsets have a mesmerizing mix of reds, oranges, yellows, and a deep blue from the sky. Not [...]

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Today was another day of overcast and occasional rain, like yesterday but much colder (10°C vs. 21°C). With my friend Thomas Hertel visiting from Germany, we headed into the mountains of northern Kyoto, to Kibune, where nature is always quite pretty. I've been there enough over the years that I have a Kibune category of posts on my blog.

Kibune has been a popular destination for over a thousand years (some of its story being told in my Kibune Shrine (sort of) post). It's famous these days mostly for the coolness it offers in Kyoto's oppressively hot summers, and for [...]

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An old friend from my days working at Omron in the early 90s visited Kyoto today. He's German and lives in Germany, and I hadn't seen him since he attended my wedding in Kyoto in 1998, where he was the only one to fly in from outside Japan. Along the same lines more than 10 years later, he took the opportunity of a business trip to Korea to pop over to Kyoto for the weekend, just in time for the start of some nice fall colors.

Unfortunately, the weather was dark and gloomy for much of the afternoon, with intermittent [...]

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Fumie's dad is stationed in Malaysia for work, but since he's in town for his 60th birthday, he thought it'd be nice to try to see some fall colors. (They apparently don't have seasons in Malaysia.)

I've posted a few fall-color previews (Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3) with photos from previous years because it's still way too early in the season this year, but as I mentioned the other day, there are a few hints of color starting to appear, so we all headed out for a drive in the mountains today.

After about three hours (half [...]

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