Hello again. University work has ramped up so it’s been hard to write. But now it’s the Christmas holidays I finally have a big chunk of time I can use to finish up documenting my adventures in Japan. Last time I did a crazy taxi tour with some random hibike euphonium fans I met while exploring Uji. This post will cover some notable locations in the main Kyoto area!
Kyoto Station
This is where Kitauji do their fun jazzy performance in their bright blue tops in episode 7 of season 2. This is probably one of the most impressive and unique station buildings I’ve ever seen.
Just a quick snap looking down the escalators.
Heading down and back up to the other side of the station, you really get a good sense of the scale of the place.
There was a grand piano set up over here, and a girl was playing studio ghibli music. Her playing was beautiful and had drawn a small crowd.
Fushimi Inari shrine (interlude)
After that, I met up with an old friend from a student exchange I did a while ago, and he took us round the famouse Fushimi Inari shrine. We trekked all the way to the top. An absolutely beautiful place.
After that we payed a quick visit to a bic camera (a massive electronics department store) and they had a background of the lovely british countryside in the biking area. It’s like we never left.
Kyoto Tower
There was a promotion event between Kyoto Tower and Kyoani happening at the time.
Seeing all the promotional eupho material plastered on all the ad screens and billboards, I had to go. I dragged my friend along with me and we had a look.
This was my ticket!
They were displaying promotional videos on some of the information screens:
And there were signed autographs on the walls!
A picture of one of the eupho trains!
And while I was up there, I had to take the oppertunity to take some shots of the great view.
This shot is looking over south towards Uji.
Just by the exit, there were cardboard cutouts of all the characters. I kinda squealed inside when I saw these not gonna lie.
I HAD to take a picture next to my favourite character.
That evening, for some reason I was craving pizza. I managed to track down an actually authentic-looking place, and it turned out to be incredible (good pizza in Japan is allegedly a rarity).
Kyoto Concert Hall
This is where Kitauji compete for their spot in the regionals at the end of season 1. It’s located a little further north to Kyoto Station, and you pass by the location for Tamako Market (another great kyoani show) to get there. Worth a watch btw, nothing but wholesomeness.
Michael Vito has a great blog post documenting his visit to the place. Check it out here.
Anyway, I took a quick shortcut from the station to the concert hall.
It was pretty quiet, but that gave me lots of time and space to take my photos.
Outdoor Art Gallery (another interlude)
On the way back to the train station, I took the route along the road. I passed by a very interesting looking outdoor art gallery, and since it was only a couple hundred yen to enter, I let my curiousity get the better of me.
There were paintings on the walls in various places, but the architecture of the place interested me far more.
And that pretty much sums things up. Kyoto was super cool. Lots of street food to eat in the markets, lots of shrines to see, and lots of shops to visit. I skipped out on a lot of the non-anime stuff we did, so here’s some photos to summarise:
Cycling and more shrines!
Kath and I figured out the local bike hire system and cycled over to the Kiyomizudera Stage and Shrine. In Yuru Yuri, the characters go on a school trip here. I had to resist the urge to make it a proper pilgrimage.
Markets and Cafes!
The market area near the centre is filled with stuff to do. We ate lots of street food, bought merch (and a spare suitcase to fill with stuff to take home), and visited an interesting black-and-white cafe.
There’s an atmosphere here that is very distinct from any other city in Japan, or the world for that matter. On the way out I snapped this last shot of Kyoto station, before heading to Osaka.
Next post, Kath and I become touristy tourists in Osaka. No anime pilgrimage stuff there, but still lots to write about. Stay tuned!
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