July 6 - Recently I enjoyed a lovely walk in Arashiyama in Western Kyoto. With the breezes and green canopy overhead, Arashiyama's paths felt noticeably cooler than Kyoto's streets. I enjoyed seeing many temples and shrines as well as strolling in the delightful suburban neighborhoods.

Tenryuji had an especially delightful Japanese garden - one of the oldest in Kyoto. The temple was not at all crowded, and I enjoyed wandering along the shady paths, admiring the pond and beautiful hydrangea flowers. The bamboo forest behind Tenryuji was a cool and refreshing place to walk on a hot day. The birds' voices drowned out the human voices there.

I asked one handsome young couple to take my photo, but as it turned out, they did not speak Japanese! They were tourists from Korea enjoying the beautiful scenery too. Once we established English as our common language, we took each other's photos. I saw them several more times that day and each time we smiled as we passed each other.

The Gioji temple was my favorite place to stop. I was attracted to the round window of this simple structure. I sat down on a bench and enjoyed my rest in its moss garden.

Walking back to town, I passed a thatched-roof home. Who knew that one could find rice paddies so near a large city like Kyoto? It is memories like that walk in Arashiyama that make living in Japan so special.

Until next time,

Jim