i began by going to the imperial palace, i knew i couldnt actually get in to the palace since i couldnt be assed making a reservation, but the grounds were gorgeous. as you can see in the photos, and i relenquished the quite time that early in the morning.
then, i was walking to nijo jo, the castle here in kyoto, but got distracted by a supermarker and bought some groceries, which meant i spent all my money, and couldnt get in to the temple, and had to go back to the hostel and get more money and drop off my groceries...sigh...i got there eventually. my tofu and soba related distraction payed off tonight however since my belly is full for very cheap!
ahah and on the way i saw this sign, one of many ive seen but the only one i didnt feel rude for taking a picture of!
so i went to the castle, which was really nice! a couple of residences inside the first mote and then a castle in the very centre. the residences were super impressive and contained some of my favourite screen paintings, which the originals of which were being displayed in a nearby gallery. a very pleasant surprise! though i tried to find some postcards of them or something and couldnt, only more tacky charms....zanen!
after that i planned to hit up another culturally packed area, including the art gallery, a couple of temples and a nice walk through the forest, but it was like 430 by the time i got there and everything was closing. so i just went to the art gallery and then checked out a temple quick before heading back to the hostel to fill my belly with soba and kirin.
the gallery was nice, i couldnt get any photos of course buti bought postcards. i was expecting screens and woodblock prints but it was all quite modern, which was interesting. the japanese modern art on display was very interesting. at first, i was annoyed at its attempt to adopt the western style, since i always saw the japanese style of fine art as something beautiful and powerful in itself. but, as we in the west found inspiration in styles found by turning over a new leaf in japanese art, i guess the japanese too found a new style in the western modern artists. it seems, over time however, they really developed their style that mixed the two, with soft flat tones, heavy underpainting and blocky subtle colours. all of my favourite things! there were some beautiful portraits that mixed a western media and composition style with japanese use of patterns and blocks. gorgeous!
im going to get up super early tommorrow and follow an american couple down to toji temple for the service at 6am, then the flea markets which are supposidly a gem for buying cheap second hand kimonos and geeta - wooden block sandals...sweet! ill get up at 5am for that! then im off to the sticks to get a taste of the countryside and my sanity again.
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