Kyoto Solo Walk - 5 / Japan Culinary Adventure (26): Yayoiken

Pine Boughs - Kyoto  2016

Yuriya - Kyoto  2016

More sightems. "Yuriya" is a cosmetic shop. Can be seen using Google's Street View.

Below: Yayoiken, a restaurant that I finally came to appreciate, once I had overcome my trepidations concerning the ordering system. First, you insert cash into the slot provided, then select the items that you want using a touch screen. (Odd sequence, I think. In the U.S., the ordering comes first, then the payment.) The food comes to the table extremely hot and tasty!

Yayoiken - Kyoto  2016

Monday Horse Blogging

White Horse - Marin County  2016

White Horse Mane - Marin County  2016

White horse seen on the way to Tuffy's paddock. I took these photos on October 3rd of last year with a Canon G5X.

Ocean Beach

Sunbow (Ocean Beach) - San Francisco  2016

 Ocean Beach - San Francisco  2016

. . . just opposite the San Francisco Zoo. Impressive sunset! Don't know what that fellow was doing. Clamming?

Marin County Sightems

Since Elite Sorrow - Marin County  2016

Repairs Since 97 - Marin County  2016

Top photo taken New Year's Eve. Both are iPhone pix.

Walking Around the Zoo Neighborhood

Ocean Park Motel - San Francisco  2016

Sloat Avenue Buildings - San Francisco  2016

So . . . we got to the zoo early, wanting to see some animals before it got dark, only to find out that it closed at 4:00 PM (reopening at 5:00 for the holiday lights.)

So . . . we got to walk around the area! Ocean Beach and Sloat Avenue in the fading evening light. Nice!

Java Beach - San Francisco  2016

We will have to patronize Java Beach sometime. Put on to-do list.

Zoo Lights

Zoo Lights - San Francisco  2016

Palm Trees with Lights - San Francisco  2016

The SF Zoo puts up holiday lights for a time in December each year. This year we went! We were able to go into the giraffe barn to get a close-up view of the creatures feeding (lighting not the best for photos.) Also got to go on the Little Puffer steam train . . . great fun but certainly a notable wind-chill factor involved.

Stormy Weather

Approaching Storm Clouds - Marin County  2017

Very wet season so far. All the reservoirs in Marin County are 100% full! Quite a contrast from the past few years.

Two Views of Mount Tamalpais

Mt. Tamalpais, Storm Clouds - Marin County  2017

Mt. Tamalpais, Ocean Beach - San Francisco  2016

Top: Mt. Tam with storm clouds swirling around it as seen from the San Rafael Target parking lot.

Bottom: Mt. Tam from San Francisco's Ocean Beach (just opposite the zoo).

Monday Cow Blogging

Cow - Marin County  2016

Three Cows - Marin County  2016

Early morning cow sightings. I used an Olympus 75-300mm zoom lens for these photos.

Kids and Kimonos

Kids - Kyoto  2016

Kimonos - Kyoto  2016

Also, please see "Kids, Japan 1966." As I said, there were a lot of kimonos in evidence that day.

Kyoto Solo Walk - 4

Showa Koji - Kyoto  2016

Red Buckets - Kyoto  2016

More of the semi-random compositions that I saw. Interesting stuff.

Kennin-ji

Monk, Kenninji - Kyoto  2016

Buildings, Kenninji - Kyoto  2016

While I was wandering around Kyoto, I came across this temple. "Kennin-ji was founded in 1202 CE and claims to be the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto. The monk Eisai, credited with introducing Zen to Japan, served as Kennin-ji's founding abbot and is buried on the temple grounds."

I titled the top photo "Monk, Kennin-ji," but that might be completely off the mark. I suspect that there are all kinds of positions within Zen temples.

Bonus: the public restroom just outside.

Public Restroom - Kyoto  2016

Kyoto Solo Walk - 3

Narrow Street - Kyoto  2016

Country House - Kyoto  2016

Leaving Kiyomizu I struck off randomly, zigzagging down through a series of narrow streets having an eclectic combination of residences and storefronts.

Alas, the Country House wasn't open, so I'm not really clear what it was selling. Google is no help.

Kiyomizu - 2

Kiyomizu Rock - Kyoto  2016

Kiyomizu Tree - Kyoto  2016

I should have continued on up! But I didn't, remaining content to putter around the lower section.

Monday Horse Blogging

Hali and Tuffy - Marin County  2006

Taken up near the "Triangle" on a nice July morning during a hike 'n ride, Mike hiking, Hali riding.

Kiyomizu - 1

Trees (Kiyomizu) - Kyoto  2016

Steps (Kiyomizu) - Kyoto  2016

Kiyomizu is a large temple complex in eastern Kyoto. I wandered around a bit, but given the lengthy walk to get there, I didn't venture all the way up to the main hall.

Waiting to Cross the Street

Ice Cream, Red Shoes, Kimono - Kyoto  2016

Couple - Kyoto  2016

It was a good day for kimono-viewing, for some reason.

Kyoto Solo Walk - 2

Teddy Bear, Self-Portrait - Kyoto  2016

Noren Art - Kyoto  2016

As I climbed the hill towards Kiyomizu the storefronts became more artsy.

Kyoto Solo Walk - 1

Blue Netting - Kyoto  2016

Iron Door, Wood Siding - Kyoto  2016

While Hali and Dan were off taking a cooking class (fun for them!) I walked from our residence up the street to Kiyomizu (temple) with my Olympus E-M10 and a 14-150mm zoom lens. It's interesting that there were many semi-random compositions to be found, not necessarily purposefully arranged.

Kyoto Machiya - 2

Hali, iPad - Kyoto  2016

Machiya View, Self-Portrait - Kyoto  2016

The machiya had a nice coffee table and some chairs downstairs; the other room was sparsely furnished with a view of a courtyard with a spindly maple tree.

I don't think I can recommend the place, mainly because of the sleeping quarters, which had a pronounced musty smell (old tatamis?) plus an indecipherable air conditioning system. But we had a good location!

Kyoto Machiya - 1

Machiya Path - Kyoto  2016

Machiya Entry - Kyoto  2016

We stayed at a "machiya" in Kyoto. To be honest, it wasn't our first choice: for some reason all the hotels that we wanted had been booked far in advance. Don't know why. Anyway, an article in the New York Times made the idea of staying in a machiya sound interesting.

Per Wikipedia: Machiya (町屋/町家) are traditional wooden townhouses found throughout Japan and typified in the historical capital of Kyoto.

Sleeping quarters were upstairs on tatami mats. The stairs were pretty steep and slippery, requiring an abundance of caution.

Monday Pelican Blogging

Ocean, Pelicans - Point Reyes  2016

Bay Bridge, Container Ship, Pelicans - San Francisco  2016

Top photo taken with an Olympus E-M10 with a 14-150mm zoom at Abbots Lagoon in Point Reyes.

Bottom one taken with a Canon GX5 from the Larkspur ferry.

Bay Bridge

Birds, Bay Bridge - Marin County  2016

. . . the new eastern section, as seen from Larkspur Landing at sunrise.

Fairfax Sightems

Tennis Ball ( Fairfax) - Marin County  2016

Green Boots (Fairfax) - Marin County  2016

Tennis ball seen during a very cold morning walk. Boots seen during a quick excursion into downtown Fairfax.

Richmond Bridge

Richmond Bridge, Clouds - Marin County  2016

Richmond Bridge, Traffic on 580, Fog - Marin County  2016

When highway 580 was extended through Contra Costa County to intersect with 101 in Marin County no provision was made for a southbound onramp . . . just a northbound one. I guess it was thought that most of the traffic coming over would be going north. Or that any southbound traffic could be handled by a link using Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.

Anyway . . . there's plenty of southbound traffic now, resulting in a level of service (LOS) that's really quite bad. Oh well. I hardly ever have to use it during peak traffic.