I took lots of photos, enjoyed the brilliant autumn scenery, ate great food, and wrapped up the trip happily, but when I got home and was checking the photos on my computer, I lost roughly half of the data on my SD card. This is the first time in my life I’ve lost photos, and it really hurts. There were so many beautiful scenes I wanted to show you, and now I have to patch this post together with whatever shots I have left…
Hiruzen Highlands
Taken at a highway rest area on the morning we set off. Hiruzen is a highland plateau in Okayama, one of the best known in Japan’s Chugoku region. Snow had already fallen. It’s a lovely view, but it must be a pain to drive in.
A shot from a quick stop at the rest area
I’d been cooped up at home, but once I got out it was autumn everywhere in the country.
When we reached Osaka, the traffic was backed up all the way to Kyoto. I had no idea expressways could get jammed in Japan, where tolls are insanely expensive. It took a whole hour to cover about 30 km. And then once we arrived, getting through the last few kilometers into the city took over an hour too. If you’re going to Kyoto by car you have to set off early in the morning, and I totally underestimated it. Who knew I’d waste a chunk of a precious day off like this…
The first place I rushed to on arrival was Daitokuji, in the north of Kyoto. I’d heard there was a famous restaurant with 500 years of history right in front of it, but since it was my first time there, I got lost for ages. It probably would have been faster to just park anywhere and walk around. (That’s what I’ll do next time.)
After eating, I took a walk around Daitokuji. There were several spots worth seeing, but each charges its own admission of about 400 yen -_-;; So I went into Kotoin, which looked like the best of them. From the entrance to the garden it was as beautiful as a painting, and I lost every single photo of it. After that I went to Imamiya Shrine, queued for 20 minutes to eat aburi mochi at Kazariya, and got back in the car to head to Maruyama Park, where the next famous restaurant, Imobo Hiranoya Honke, is. But after an hour of driving, the car just couldn’t move forward because of the traffic -_-; So I decided to park somewhere and walk, but even after 30 minutes of searching I couldn’t find a single parking lot with a space. By the time I finally parked in front of Ginkaku-ji and walked to Imobo, three and a half hours had passed. -_-;; It would have been faster to walk from the start. One setback after another. I came all the way to Kyoto, and how many hours did I spend in the car…
Anyway, I arrived feeling defeated, but the imobo set meal was surprisingly delicious and I quickly got my energy back. The beautiful lady who seemed to be the proprietress recommended two spots for autumn leaves worth visiting at night. Somehow I have a feeling this place will become a regular haunt of mine.
Time was tight, but I made it to both. They were Kodai-ji and Shoren-in. Kodai-ji is said to be the temple that Nene, the wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, built in memory of her husband.
The bamboo grove at Kodai-ji
Maple leaves that haven’t turned yet
Foxes
Shoren-in was just so-so. It wasn’t bad, but after going around so many similar places, it made less of an impression. Plus they seemed more focused on the illuminations than on the autumn leaves.
Autumn leaves at Eikando, shot in passing
Gorgeous, but not quite as good as last year…
A photo from Conan Town in Tottori
There really wasn’t much there. Still, maybe because it was the weekend, there were a fair number of people who’d brought their kids.
A huge wind farm in Tottori
We passed it on the way back. It was such a great view that I stopped the car and took a shot.
And that was the end of the trip. Kyoto always feels new no matter when you go. If I get the chance to go again, I want to make sure I have plenty of time and prepare thoroughly before I go.