Off To Kyoto Soon

RattyMouse · Nov 19, 2014

Looking for favorite shooting locations in Kyoto so please do share if you have some. Am specifically interested in areas with reflection pools or something like that. I'm well aware of the Golden Pavilion area so something less common is desired.

Also, is biking around the city a good idea? I'm going to have a fair amount of gear, 3 medium format cameras (Fuji GF670, GF670W, and GA645). I'd have to get a backpack I think if I wanted to bike around. I'm thinking that a lot of time could be saved if biking is a feasible idea.

Thanks!

Hatchetman · Nov 19, 2014

Seems like there is some kind of garden everywhere you turn in Kyoto. Depending how long you are there I would look to take some day excursions out of town - up into the mountainous terrain. I spent 3-4 days there and only touched the surface - just the highlights you'd find in a Michelin guide or similar. The buses/trains seemed pretty efficient. I think I'd go that route unless you really love biking.

Japan is such a pleasure to travel in: clean, efficient, polite, amazing. Just don't run out of money!

dreamingartemis · Nov 19, 2014

Like some will say, Kyoto is a garden city - every location in the city feels like it was designed to be photographically beautiful! I have been to Kyoto twice and I have learned many important things keep your weight down to one camera and just 2 lenses while carry lots of film.
Spend more time enjoying the sight with less weight and your time there will be well spent.

Hope that helps.

mooseontheloose · Nov 20, 2014

Kyoto is pretty flat, so it's ideal for biking -- a lot of people do it, tourists and locals alike. When I came here as a tourist I did it, but now that I live here I use the very efficient public transportation network here. It's quite cool here though, so make sure you have some warm gloves with you to keep your fingers warm if you are biking.

As for reflection pools...I guess it depends on what you are looking for. Many temple and shrine complexes have some kind of water (pond, river, etc.) on the grounds, but are not famous for it as such. I haven't been to as many places as I probably should have here in Kyoto so don't have any specific recommendations for places off the beaten track, but a quick look at Google Maps can give you a pretty good idea of which places have water and which don't. That might help you more than any guide would. For example, Ryoan-ji is famous for its rock garden, but there is also a huge pond on the premises, which rarely figures in descriptions (or photos) of the site.

And regardless, if you are coming soon, then you may not be able to avoid the masses. I live and work in some pretty off the beaten places in the city, yet I constantly see people with huge photo backpacks, multiple cameras, and tripods attached to their bodies in different ways. I haven't been to any of the tourist sites yet this season (but will, starting tomorrow), but I can only imagine what its like in those places. Fall foliage in Kyoto is probably the busiest of the high seasons, so be prepared.

RattyMouse · Nov 20, 2014

mooseontheloose said:
Kyoto is pretty flat, so it's ideal for biking -- a lot of people do it, tourists and locals alike. When I came here as a tourist I did it, but now that I live here I use the very efficient public transportation network here. It's quite cool here though, so make sure you have some warm gloves with you to keep your fingers warm if you are biking.

As for reflection pools...I guess it depends on what you are looking for. Many temple and shrine complexes have some kind of water (pond, river, etc.) on the grounds, but are not famous for it as such. I haven't been to as many places as I probably should have here in Kyoto so don't have any specific recommendations for places off the beaten track, but a quick look at Google Maps can give you a pretty good idea of which places have water and which don't. That might help you more than any guide would. For example, Ryoan-ji is famous for its rock garden, but there is also a huge pond on the premises, which rarely figures in descriptions (or photos) of the site.

And regardless, if you are coming soon, then you may not be able to avoid the masses. I live and work in some pretty off the beaten places in the city, yet I constantly see people with huge photo backpacks, multiple cameras, and tripods attached to their bodies in different ways. I haven't been to any of the tourist sites yet this season (but will, starting tomorrow), but I can only imagine what its like in those places. Fall foliage in Kyoto is probably the busiest of the high seasons, so be prepared.

I'm arriving in Kyoto the night of Dec. 5th, which I'm told is after the fall season. I was in Kamakura this time last year and found the trees quite beautiful still, so I'm hopeful that Kyoto is as good if not a bit better (because it is further south).

Crowds won't bother me. I live in China, filled with the teaming masses. Japan, with its ultra polite population, is an absolute cake walk.

RattyMouse · Nov 20, 2014

Hatchetman said:
Seems like there is some kind of garden everywhere you turn in Kyoto. Depending how long you are there I would look to take some day excursions out of town - up into the mountainous terrain. I spent 3-4 days there and only touched the surface - just the highlights you'd find in a Michelin guide or similar. The buses/trains seemed pretty efficient. I think I'd go that route unless you really love biking.

Japan is such a pleasure to travel in: clean, efficient, polite, amazing. Just don't run out of money!

Absolutely agree. This is my 4th trip to Japan and I never tire of the place. AND it's not as expensive as it used to be. The yen is falling like a stone. Down over 15% since my last trip here. It's almost cheap to go to Japan now! My first time there the yen was 70 to the dollar. Today it's 116!

gone · Nov 20, 2014

There's a very good reason why prices are dropping and Japan is entering a recession. The media has done a masterful job of covering up the facts that are available. You have to wonder what isn't available.

http://fukushimaupdate.com/

mooseontheloose · Nov 20, 2014

RattyMouse said:
I'm arriving in Kyoto the night of Dec. 5th, which I'm told is after the fall season. I was in Kamakura this time last year and found the trees quite beautiful still, so I'm hopeful that Kyoto is as good if not a bit better (because it is further south).

Crowds won't bother me. I live in China, filled with the teaming masses. Japan, with its ultra polite population, is an absolute cake walk.

Yeah, I guess compared to China it would be! I have to admit there are times when I would like to go there, but it always seems to be during Chinese holidays, and the thought of dealing with even bigger crowds than normal puts me off (until I think about it again the next year).

In theory there should still be leaves on the trees, but I think this year the leaves started turning earlier than normal. It's hard to say though, as this is my first year in the city -- so it's new to me too. Being further south doesn't always work here. Tokyo often gets cherry blossoms before Kyoto does, and when it snows here it may not in the Tokyo area (further north, yes). However, the fact that Tokyo is a huge city and Kyoto is a much smaller one nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains may have something to do with it. (I'm just guessing though).

mooseontheloose · Nov 20, 2014

RattyMouse said:
Absolutely agree. This is my 4th trip to Japan and I never tire of the place. AND it's not as expensive as it used to be. The yen is falling like a stone. Down over 15% since my last trip here. It's almost cheap to go to Japan now! My first time there the yen was 70 to the dollar. Today it's 116!

That's great for people coming here. Not so great for those of us living here and needing to send money abroad (or to travel abroad). My salary has dropped by about $20,000 because of the fluctuations in the exchange rate. So I'll be holding off buying a new tripod or the Mamiya 6 that I would like for some time. The good thing is I have a lot of film and paper in the fridge so I don't need to worry about those consumables.

RattyMouse · Nov 20, 2014

mooseontheloose said:
That's great for people coming here. Not so great for those of us living here and needing to send money abroad (or to travel abroad). My salary has dropped by about $20,000 because of the fluctuations in the exchange rate. So I'll be holding off buying a new tripod or the Mamiya 6 that I would like for some time. The good thing is I have a lot of film and paper in the fridge so I don't need to worry about those consumables.

I can understand. I'm in the same situation in China as the dollar falls compared to the yuan. It's not as bad as the yen, which is seemingly in free fall this past year. That's got to really be tough to watch your take home pay drop by such a substantial amount. Japan seems to be in really bad shape these days. It's hard not to feel sorry for the people there.

RattyMouse · Nov 20, 2014

mooseontheloose said:
Yeah, I guess compared to China it would be! I have to admit there are times when I would like to go there, but it always seems to be during Chinese holidays, and the thought of dealing with even bigger crowds than normal puts me off (until I think about it again the next year).

In theory there should still be leaves on the trees, but I think this year the leaves started turning earlier than normal. It's hard to say though, as this is my first year in the city -- so it's new to me too. Being further south doesn't always work here. Tokyo often gets cherry blossoms before Kyoto does, and when it snows here it may not in the Tokyo area (further north, yes). However, the fact that Tokyo is a huge city and Kyoto is a much smaller one nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains may have something to do with it. (I'm just guessing though).

Well, I'll still have a great time walking around Kyoto, regardless of the leaves. Anything nice will be bonus.

It's hard to recommend a good time to come to China. Holiday times are really bad but it's not like other times are off peak. There's just millions of people where ever you go. And all the politeness you come to expect living in Japan will be completely missing. China continues to find new ways to disappoint me. These trips to Japan that I take are like ice cold glasses of water given to a man in the desert!

dreamingartemis · Nov 21, 2014

RattyMouse said:
Well, I'll still have a great time walking around Kyoto, regardless of the leaves. Anything nice will be bonus.

It's hard to recommend a good time to come to China. Holiday times are really bad but it's not like other times are off peak. There's just millions of people where ever you go. And all the politeness you come to expect living in Japan will be completely missing. China continues to find new ways to disappoint me. These trips to Japan that I take are like ice cold glasses of water given to a man in the desert!

Where is the like button? I NEED to like that statement above!

mooseontheloose · Nov 21, 2014

Well, I just got back from a little photography-roaming around Kyoto. I thought I would hit about 5 temples in Western Kyoto today, it ended up only being two (to be fair I had a late start). The leaves are all over the place in terms of colour. At Ryoanji, I'd say the majority of the maples are still green or just starting to turn. There are a few that are in full colour. In contrast, the majority of Kinkakuji's maples are at their peak right now, some are even dropping dead leaves. And walking around other parts of town it seems to be about 50/50 in terms of green/turning colours for maples and ginkos, which I think have the best colours in the fall.

I hope to hit a few more places over the next week or two, I'll let you know if anything stands out.

Helinophoto · Nov 21, 2014

The only place I regret not being able to visit during my trip to Kyoto, was the golden temple
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3908.html Other than that, there are several royal palaces and things to see (pretty large areas to walk around in though!).

In general, you can just walk randomly, there are afaik 1400 temples and shrines in Kyoto, in addition to many parks of various styles.

Also, make sure you hang around the Geisha-district, right around sunset, and you might see a real Geisha/Maiko, they may appear after dark though (I used my *d* a lot during the evenings and was able to capture one at around 1600 ISO at f2.8 and around 1/80s).

The central station in Kyoto is pretty awesome architectural piece, if you get tired of all the traditional things.

The marked is pretty cool to stroll trough as well, hundreds of small smalls shops, who sell food, spices etc.

I also had time to go off the beaten track and to Nara, which was one of the first capitals of Japan, here you will find the largest wooden building in the world ( http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4100.html ), as well as several pagodas and a very old forest, and also tame Sika-deer ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sika_deer ), which you can feed and photograph. It's just an hour or so by train from Kyoto and as you probably know, trains in Japan are awesome.

Nara is very small, so if you arrive in the morning, you'll be able to walk trough the whole place in a day, especially now that it isn't super-hot and humid. ^^

TimFox · Nov 21, 2014

A good day-trip from Kyoto is Nara. The Kintetsu private rail line gets you closer to the good stuff (including Todai-ji temple) than does the JR; both leave from Kyoto's main station.

RattyMouse · Dec 12, 2014

Well, here's my post Kyoto "damage":

11 rolls of Neopan Acros
3 rolls of Astia 100F (220)
1 roll of Provia 400X
7 rolls of TMAX 400
7 rolls of 400H
4 rolls of Delta 400
2 rolls of Delta 3200

Off To Kyoto Soon

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