Kyoto

'For once you have tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards; for there you have been, and there, you will long to return.'

Featuring: AC in Kyoto

'The things you are passionate about are not random. They are your calling!'

I have dreamt of going to Kansai for many years now. Everyone travels for various reasons; it has always been the daily lives of the people as well as the culture that appealed to me.  I was very fortunate in that I timed my travels just as the Sakura season was at its peak! They blended harmoniously with the landscape, painting gradients of whites and pinks as they flourished.

After leaving my exhaustion behind in the hostel, I took a leisurely stroll along the Shirakawa river. What greeted me was a promenade framed with white Sakura blossoms, waving to me in the wind. As I admired the beauty of the falling petals, an antique plaque caught my attention. It was written by the poet, Isamu Yoshii (吉井勇):

Shirakawa (白川), Gion, Central Kyoto (洛中). A stone with a Waka (Japanese poem with song-like qualities) engraved on it

かにかくに(Kanikakuni – Here and there)

祇園はこひし (Gion-wa-kohishi – is my love for Gion)

寝(ぬ)るときも (Nuru-toki-mo – Even when I sleep)

枕のしたを水のながるる (Makura-no-shita-o-mizu-no-nagaruru – the trickling of the river flows underneath my pillow)