Category: Japan
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Hikone, Omi-Hachiman
I arrive in Hikone late in the morning to visit the castle, one of the 12 with a donjon still intact. It is also one of the 5 castles listed as National Treasures of Japan (the others being: Himeji, Matsue, Inuyama, and Matsumoto). It is located on Mount Konki and overlooks the city. Everyone walks…
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Bunagatake
+1250m / -1250m / 16km The sun is still behind the hills as I arrive at Hira Station to climb mount Bunagatake. It has been on my list for a while, and the weather forecast finally convinced me, even though it snowed last night. I got snow crampons yesterday, hoping not to need more (gaiters…
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Loose pictures: December 2023
Views which did not ended in a post of their own.
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Mount Atago
+1050m / -1100m / 19km I leave at night to take a bus 15 minutes from my place. I’m going east of Kyoto. I change buses and find myself at daybreak in Kiyotaki. I follow a small road that goes into a valley, then I turn left to get down to business. I hesitate for…
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Daigo-ji
I’m not working today. I’m off to Daigo-ji temple to take some pictures. Momiji season is almost over, and since it’s Monday, there’s hardly anyone around! It must also be said that this temple does not attract as much as the classics. Once there, the weather becomes cloudy quite quickly. I’ll deal with it!
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Back to the Live House Gattaca
I met Take-san at a meetup once month ago. He is one of the guitarist from Ninefall, a rock band based in Kyoto. And they are playing tonight at the Live House Gattaca! I get there just a few minutes before the show. I meet with Take-san and we have a drink. The first of…
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Mount Horai
+1180m / -1180m / 13km Get up at dawn to climb Mount Horai. This mountain overlooks Lake Biwa, and a gondola lift has been built close to the summit. A few ski slopes and a panoramic restaurant are to be found there. I join with a friend at 7am at Kyoto station and we leave…
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Loose pictures: November 2023
Views which did not ended in a post of their own.
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A day with WHO
I meet at 10:45 am at Mikumo Station in Shiga Prefecture, to walk with the WHO (Wonderful Hiking Organization) Meetup group. We wait a few minutes and then set off. There are 24 of us! We take a quick break in a kombini and leave quietly. We pass by the ruins of a castle and…
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Kurama – Kibune
I take advantage of waking up early to go to Kurama. It has been a month since I want to return there, and I haven’t seen the momijis around Kyoto yet. There are some in the city of course, but they are a bit dull. From what I heard, it has been too hot here…
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Loose pictures: October 2023
Views which did not ended in a post of their own.
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Kamikochi
Intro Leaving at 10:50pm from Kyoto station by a night bus. The night is short since it takes about 6h30 to get to the Kamikouchi bus terminal: arriving at 5:20am in a freezing cold. With the darkness and the fog, nothing exists beyond 50m. At 6am I have breakfast in the cafeteria that has just…
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The countryside within reach of Kyoto
+1070m / -940m / 19km The hike of the day is a stage of the Kyoto Trail, at the North-East of Kyoto (in blue on the map). It is feasible from station to station by slightly adapting the route. I take the subway at Sanjo towards the North until Demachiyanagi, and I change for a…
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TOTALFAT live
Ahh.. TOTALFAT. The only Japanese band that I have been listening to on a regular basis for several years now. I found them because one of their title served as one of the endings of an anime I was watching (Place to Try, in Naruto Shippuden). This band offers the sweet balance between the punchy…
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Loose pictures: september 2023
Views which did not ended in a post of their own.
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Going with the flow
This Sunday I go to a meetup at the Kyoto Laundry Cafe. It’s a bit crowded, there are one or two Frenchmen and a few French-speaking Japanese who seem happy to practice. Other expats as well. People of all ages. I talk to a Japanese guy who I met yesterday in another meetup… Yesterday again,…
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Mount Hiei
+730m / -760m / 14km I meet two colleagues on the Kamo around 8am and we go to the hike starting point by bike, around 6km North-East. We drop the bikes on what looks like the parking lot of the nearby hostpital (Japan Baptist Hospital), not knowing whether we are allowed to do so, and…
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Around Gion
A bit of rest this Sunday afternoon, for the first time since I got here. I just need to get some stuff from Yodobashi (again) and from Nitori, the Japanese Ikea. Both stores are near the Kyoto station. The weather is rather nice, this must be a good time to go there following the Kamo,…