Rain Season Has Come!

Hello, friends!

The year 2011 has reached the half point already, and now we are in the month of rain, June.

According to Wikipedia,

The month is named after the Roman goddess Juno, wife of Jupiter and
equivalent to the Greek goddess Hera, whilst the second is that the name
comes from the Latin word iuniores, meaning "younger ones".

Also, Juno is believed to be the guardian of marridge, so the brides that marry in June are called June Bride, wishing to be blessed by the goddess power to preserve the marridge in peace.

We also believe in this tradition, and lots of women like to have the ceremony in June.

BUT, June in Japan is not necessarily a good season to have the wedding because we will be in Rain Season.

Funnily enough, in olden Japanese name, June was called 水無月(pronunced Mi-Na-Zuki), and each kanji represents different meanings.

水 means Water and 無　means None while 月means Month. June was called the month with no water.

And it is pararell to the rain season, for the rain brings lots of water!

There are many interepretaton and studies have been made, but the one I trust the most is this;

"The seasonal rain dried the water in heaven"

How Romantic is that!

Kyoto, not to mention, is also in rain season at the moment.. But there's also some virtue in staying home and read hearing the rain drops.

And the rain in Kyoto will start to look not as bad.

teshi

Kawadoko

Hello friends!

The spring has passed, and now the heat of summer is slowly settling in in Kyoto.

It's one way to stay in cozy air-conditioned places, but how about a lovely dinner by the

beloved River, "Kamogawa"?

Some cafes and restaurants which are facing the riverbed are allowed to build a huge veranda outside exclusively in the summer, so the customers can enjoy themselves outside watching the night of Kyoto as well as the lovely dinner with your special someone.

This is called "KAWADOKO".

Isn't this cool if you can get over the dog days like this?

Teshi

It's hot just like in summer.

Hello!! How are you doing??

Did you have lots of funs in Golden Week??

Here kyoto is having very hot days in this 2 weeks, up to 28 degrees. It's killing us and just like we have already got summer we don't want to have right now. The problem of this does not just come from the hotness but also horrible mosquito emaergence that we all hate. That is we all hate. Actually, I got bitten by the monster yesterday. I got shocked and couldn't believe the fact because now it is May. Nomally, or people expect, the monsters come in summer around July. I want to say to them, ' It not time yet you come, come back latter!!'

Anyway, it's very hot, though, you will be able to enjoy hanging around outside all day with T-shirt. Along Kamo-river, sitting down and drinking would be so much funs:)

Best,

Masaomi

Aoi-Matsuri

Hello!! How are you doing??

Here Kyoto, finally beautiful cherry blossom season is over. Did you see and enjoy with it?? It was just amazing.....already really missing it...

Today, we would like you to know a festival called, Aoi-Matsuri(Festival) that is taken place on 15th May in kyoto. It is well-known that the festival is one of the three biggest annual festivals here. The two Kamo shrines, Shimogamo-Shrine and Kamigamo-Shrine, are the host of it. The feature is a gorgeous parade in the style of the ancient Heian Court, and everything in the parade is decorated with hollyhock leaf crest, Japanese name 'Aoi'. The parade leaves the Kyoto Imperial Palace at 10:30 in the morning. The 700-meter-long parade passes Simogamo-Shrine and heads for Kamigamo-Shrine.
It is worth to go and see it for sure. Please check this link. Very kind explanation with some photos!!http://www.kyotoguide.com/ver2/thismonth/aoimatsuri10.html

See you later!!
Masaomi

Golden Week

Dear friends,

Today I would like to introduce a special holiday season in May.

It is called Golden Week.

We all look forward to this holiday because we will have many tourists visiting Kyoto.

I will tell you a brief history of this holiday, and how it is made.

GW (Golden Week) often refers to a particular week that starts from Apr 29.

GW contains four national holidays: Apr 29, Showa Day

: May 3, Constitutional Memorial Day

: May 4, Greenery Day

: May 5, Children's Day

When the national holiday lands on Sunday, thet next day substitutes the holiday. So if we

had Children's Day on Sunday, we will have the coming Monday off.

Let's take a look at this year's calender.

If you take a few paid holiday, you will have maximum 10 days off!

That is why we have many visitors in GW.

We will have many interesting events coming soon, so stay tuned!

Yours,

Teshi

More Arashiyama Updates

Earlier I have posted some pictures of the long-beloved Arashiyama.

Now that the cherry blossom is full in bloom, I roamed around the area once again
in search of beautiful sceneries to share.

This time Iwent to Togetsu Bridge, and a temple called "GION-JI".

GION-JI is located in a remote part of Arashiyama. It takes about 20 min. from JR Saga-Arashiyama Station.

The temple is beautifully accompanied by the moss-covered garden , and in the
midst of the green there stand graceful trees. My poor vocabulary cannot explain the beauty.

Utterly Indescribable!

Also I visited the bamboo pathway. It was dribbling at the time but was still nice.

I just wanted to share the memory ;)

yours ,

Teshi

sakura✿

Hello!! How are you doing??

Here Kyoto, the cherry blossoms are in full bloom finally!! It is absolutely beautiful. There are thousands of people walking down streets, taking pictures, having a lunch or drinking, doing what they like to do, in the fantastic scenery. We hope you are one of them:)