All the world will be your enemy

[rkold]

So let's see, good things: I got the package from stardustasylum, OMG thank you so much, I will email you!!, went biking this week end, and actually managed to write a fan-fic in a week. For all you actual writers out there this is not a huge accomplishment, but for me it so is. ^_^;; I really can't believe I've gotten two Geass fics written in under a month! We also finally found our Class-Action lawsuit concerning foreign credit card transactions between 1996-2006. I have 10 more days to apply and I need to find one more old credit card # >>;

On the bad side, I have been incredibly slow with sales, I have piles of doujinshi to list for sale and piles of doll and anime items. I need to decide which Hiroshi is staying and need to get Neon repainted cause he has no eyebrows o_O;; (Maybe he is Gaara!) I also have not started on my sketches for anyone yet, sorry! I will work on them, I just suck.


Friday was my last day in Kyoto and rather than actually spending it in Kyoto proper I took a train to Uji in hopes of tracking down some wisteria pictures! :D







Hmmmmm, no wisteria yet...




Wisteria ho!


My new Uniqlo shirt lol








I think I picked wisteria for the color of my wedding invitations lol








Byoudou-in, again only this time the sky is gray because it was gray! Not weird photographic refractions! :D


Despite the on again and off again rain, Uji was packed vs in October when it was perfectly sunny (I think it's the wisteria XD; )




I can't resist speckled azaleas






See the crowds


For some reason I wanted a picture of the citrus lol
















I want one of these for my yard!

This time I was going to be smart and NOT take the Keihan line back to Kyoto despite wanting to go to Demachiyanagi, but decided to walk around the rest of Uji to see what there was to see.








I forget the name of this Buddhist temple in Uji. It was quite small though and didn't charge admission










the cemetery was closed to outsiders






Hopefully the sign doesn't say no pictures XD;;


I want to say this is Uji jinja




This was another small temple without admission charges

I then left Uji and transferred at Tofukuji to the Keihan line so I could try Proverbs 15:17 Ever since I had seen the promo for it in replacing Cafe Peace, I'd wanted to go. My only regret is that I didn't ask for no mayo/veganaise on my sandwich. (well and I should have tried either the power bowl or the ramen, but next time!) The prices were good, the food was good and yeah for veggie things!) Post lunch, I went down to Inari to take a fast tour of Fushimi Inari. I was supposed to meet Emily for a train to Tokyo (and the next day was SCC) so I couldn't do the whole shrine or my dream of hiking to Tofukuji. Next time!!!






Look, he wants to play fetch! /bad joke >>;




The most famous part of Fushimi Inari




Map of the shrine grounds




Look mom, no flash! :D


Various business who have "donated" gates






Lots of kitsune statues


I liked this pair in particular




A shinkansen is coming to Kyoto eki, but it's headed towards Shin Osaka, so not my train :D

Finally we caught our train, then schlepped in the rain to our hotel in Odaiba. I went to bed not long after since tomorrow was SCC!

Comments

[akari-sama.livejournal.com]

(Maybe he is Gaara!)

For some reason this made me laugh. A lot. XD

Ya know, from your pics one might think the entirety of Japan was covered in gorgeous flowers with a temple on every corner. XD (Not that I'm complaining at alllll.) I love all the wisteria. *_*

[rkold.livejournal.com]

I'm just less interested in taking city pictures generally XD;; I'm trying to think if the Tokyo ones are city like even lol

In late April/May there are a lot of flowers though even in Tokyo. In Nihombashi all the medians along the sidewalk had poppies blooming and there are huge hedges of azalea in Ikebukuro and lots of other places. It was raining when I was there but in the past I've seen some gorgeous wisteria near Big Sight. It's almost surprising.

Kansai is the area for temple pictures and some of them actually can look like they're in the middle of nowhere with the right angles lol

Neon has barely there eyebrows and that is the only reason I can come up with for it lol And I had wanted mine to maybe be Asuran XD;;

I had no idea you liked fuji >P

The wisteria is just magical!

[ginarolo.livejournal.com]

It must have smelled so nice there!

Re: The wisteria is just magical!

[rkold.livejournal.com]

It was quite lovely other than the crowds lol When a flower is in bloom (or the leaves turn) the Japanese of course all travel to get their own pictures.

The wisteria wasn't very strongly scented, but it was very peaceful watching it wave in the breezes.

[doll-paparazzi.livejournal.com]

Nice shots! Really beautiful flowers. Thanks for sharing these.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

I like taking pictures of flowers, no working posing them and something you can share with more people. lol

I'm glad you enjoyed them.

[spiderlace.livejournal.com]

So many beautiful sights -- it makes me envious! I love the wisteria photos and the teeny little fox spirit statues ^^

[rkold.livejournal.com]

So glad you enjoyed! :D Japan in Spring is truly lovely, in summer is a completely different story XD;

[triplepunch.livejournal.com]

Pretty pics! Yay for Uniqlo, your new shirt is really nice and matches the wisteria too. :D

Uji looks like such a pretty place with all the lovely flowers and statues wanting to play fetch with various items. :P (the sign said something along the lines of "no open flames" so you're safe....unless you were carrying a giant torch we didn't see in the pics).

[rkold.livejournal.com]

You should totally make the trip there. It's only about 15-20 minutes from Kyoto station and I don't think the trainfare is so high!

I am such a Uniqlo addict, I wanted more shirts but sadly the Nagoya Airport Uniqlo was sort of tiny and had a bad selection, but I got my mug and they even wrapped and omg the Nagoya airport lounge is nicer than KIX!

I was carrying the Olympic torch so I guess I'm lucky they didn't catch me. XD; /joke

I so want to visit again, email me your mailing addy!!! I realized I don't have it. I totally would be happy to use Nag Airport again, though I think my next time visiting you I want to either go to the amusement park or Ise XD;

[stardustasylum.livejournal.com]

So glad you got the package! I'm wicked behind on e-mailing and LJ because of work and my sister's graduation. I promise I'll write, lol. Thanks for the gorgeous pictures! Those hanging purple flowers are beautiful!

[rkold.livejournal.com]

I'm super behind on things too, about the only positive I can say is I'm feeding the hungry plot bunnies and managed to actually write a fic in a week. The only problem is now I have others I want to write, it's like I'm finally doing all the ficcing I've wanted to do but put off to RP for the last few years lol

*hugs*

BTW the hanging purple flowers are the wisteria :D Nara and Uji are supposedly famous for their wisteria.

[angelbase.livejournal.com]

Beautiful pictures! I'm so glad you were able to see the wisteria and visit those beautiful shrines! I feel more at peace just looking at your photos. :)

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Uji is one of the more peaceful places in Japan to me. I also found Todai-ji in Nara oddly restful despite the crowds lol

I wish I could be in Japan to see the hydrangea in full bloom but I doubt I will ever be going back in the summer. ;;_;;

OK unless I win a spot at the Sato event, then I am so there lol

[angelbase.livejournal.com]

I thought summer was a more affordable time to visit (because no-one liked the humidity?) And I think you're right - crowds in Japan aren't like crowds in other places. I went a whole trainride with some poor woman practically in my armpit and she just went to her happy place and zoned out (as I was trying to do in my own way. *^^* ) Their psyche's don't leak the way Westerner's typically do. :D

[rkold.livejournal.com]

No, July and August are peak traveling times. Part of it is the fact that is when foreigners come usually, it's also when Japanese who are abroad tend to go home, and it's the Obon holiday. I think at the end of July students also get 6-8 weeks off.

Because Pipthephish was talking on DoA about the cruise, I happened to look at hotel prices and a lot of places were a good 2000-3000 yen more then when I booked for GW in Tokyo.

The humidity is AWFUL. I can not put into words how awful it is. I was only in Japan 2x in the summer (once in late June and once in mid to late August) and both times it was worse than anywhere else I have ever been which includes: NYC w/no aircon, Houston, TX, and Orlando, FL.

Personally, if there is anyway they can miss some school the best time year of go to hands down is mid October-mid November or Golden Week. I got lucky in February this past year but I know from friends February can be dicey. March and April can be lovely, but the crowds from the sakura can be scary. I love the momiji of Fall and while they're popular to photograph, since they last longer it's less of a rush.

The crowds at Todai-ji when I was there were still restful, but it was also not "in season" so to speak, so it wasn't as crowded as it could be. I could easily still move around lol It just meant it was a pain if you were trying to get pictures without tons of random people in them. Gosh awful crowds I would not wish on anyone were: Meiji jingu on New Years, Harajuku on Sunday during GW, Comiket, and the Fall Sato event. It just makes you want to cry or break things.

But of course if the kids go in August they could try to go to something like Comiket or time a trip for the Osaka Dolpa XD; I love sightseeing, but I always try to time for something else as well. :D