Today was a wonderful day, despite shaky, self-inflicted ill beginnings.

8:48 and I'm huddled in a luggage rack in the smoking carriage of the Wakayama - Kyoto express trying not to vomit on Jeff's legs and being wholly unable to disentangle the wires on my earphones. Even in this kind of state I was pleasantly surprised to find myself warmed by the colours of the low summer sun gilding over the ubiquitous cedared hills of rural Kansai, the trees meeting it's glow with a show of muted greens and browns. The scene was almost too self-conciously Autumnal and I might have thought further about this had the low-rise greyness and powerlines of Osaka not suddenly appeared in my view. That's what you get whilst trying to enjoy scenery at 130MPH I guess.



Eventually Kyoto, and after a brief connecting journey on the tube, Ginkakuji. Ginkakuji is a temple almost as famous as Kinkakujin although having visited both I think I prefer Ginkakuji. This may or may not be because I visited Ginkakuji in Autumn, a beautiful season in Kyoto (as is Spring, I'm told) and Kinkakujin in Summer. Ah, enough chatter, pictures tell better stories than I do. This is Ginkakuji:



It's easy to stare in wonder at the Maple trees and their gradual undressing, whilst neglecting to spare a moments thought for the guy whose gonna have to rake all these up:



This imaginary raking guy probably thinks I'm crazy. That's not a photo opportunity, that's more work for me godammit!:



I guess I should really include a shot of those leaves before their metamorphisis into mulch. And raking:



The serenity of this scene almost made up for my disappointment that no ninja leapt out:



It's true, I'm a sucker for 'sunlight through branches' type shots:



All in I took 93 photographs whilst also finding time to just stand and feel and look and enjoy. I won't post all of them of course, that would be ridiculous (and also some of them are shit). I will add just one more though, if only to show the contrast between how we spent our day and how we spent our evening in Osaka (just how many trains did we catch?).



After I took this I got told not to take any more shots - not very rock 'n' roll is it? Ah yes, Guitar Wolf. Without doubt the loudest gig I have ever been to. Ever. I can't hear properly at all, even now. I also have a slight black-eye. Cool.