Saturday at a shrine


17th April 2011





I've learned enough about Heian Jingu to expect crowds there in sakura season. The maiko performance in the shrine courtyard was a surprise though.


















Another unexpected star.







The main attraction.

















The wind steals from the trees...





...and leaves the loot in the ponds.





A shot I can never resist taking. This time though, there were bits of pink in the water's sky.












For this period, special sakura omikuji. The trees where people had tied their pink fortune slips looked like cherry blossom trees from a distance.

South of the shrine was a little park filled with kids running about, making mud balls and throwing stuff around. There was also this.

Wheels are turning...


15th April 2011





...in this city of cyclists.

















How to load an umbrella on a bike.

Whatever you can find


11th April 2011


I knew the light wouldn't be good - it was too late and cloudy - but I went down to Kiyamachi-dori anyway.



When I got there, a man wearing a jacket with the word "impulse" cut in front of me.





A little canal called Takasegawa runs along Kiyamachi-dori. In the days before trains, goods would be ferried along the canal as far as Osaka.




With the sakura in bloom, interesting buildings turn glamorous.




Cherry blossoms and adult beverages: an ancient combination.






The light was a little better at the Kamogawa, which runs parallel to the Takasegawa.




Though it was a weekday, there were people having flower-viewing parties. (Shoes aren't usually left on the mat but it was a windy day.)




Flower-viewing party for one. Easier to organise.




Spot the sparrow!




Wild geese - the stone kind - flying over the river.




The light faded fast and when it was gone, I went to Nijo castle.




For the light-up.

Whatever you do, don't cancel hanami


9th April 2011


Please support these people by drinking. Just don't drive afterwards.

By the waters of Kamo we sat down and talked


8th April 2011

























The early bloomers by the Kamo river.




Not many cherry blossoms out at Hirano shrine when we visited last Friday but the stalls were there.



What the crowds turn up for.
















A little ragged but carrying on despite everything.