Over the rooftops of a town on the train from Tokyo to Kyoto
In a shopping arcade in Kyoto
A lantern-adorned temple in the middle of the arcade
A traditional New Years meal ... and tourist trap menu-item...
...albeit one we ate in a restaurant without westerners in a tatami room
Don't forget-- cigarettes are carried at the height of childrens' eyes.
A very old cracker shop near the river in Kyoto
... and from the outside
We went uphill to Chion-in
Monks filed out near midnight...
...to a plaza up the hill...
...where they rang an enormous bell...
...using an enormous log with ropes.
They rang it once for every human frailty.
Further down the hill, people were lighting ropes in lanterns.
As soon as midnight hit, everyone made their First Temple Visit.
We thought of Holly when we stopped here for a cuppa.
The cups were, strangely, the exact same generic brand you'd find in an American gas station.
Ali liked the sequential art on the walls
Should've been the "Surreal Cafe."
Put "All Milk Fat" in your coffee.
The front door of Crossroads Ryokan
The winter was still warm enough for plants outside
A Kyoto bus
The fork in the river is a prominent feature on a map of Kyoto.
... and is a nice place for walking
Temples were everywhere in Kyoto.