Here is my list of top eight places to visit in Kyoto. There are all special places that I’m feeling a connection to. From sipping matcha tea to exploring temples and finding hidden waterfalls; Please enjoy this guide.
Ever heard of drones? A few weeks ago I met a few friends living in Tokushima in Shikoku. They are very interested in drones and even have a business called Awa Drone!
We spend a whole day touring Kyoto, starting with the ritual throwing of a coin at the first shrine visit of the year(Hatsumoude). We spend the rest of the day exploring Arashiyama and especially the area around Katsuragawa. There I gathered goshuin and we took amazing aerial footage for a video project called “Edge of Kyoto”. The video showing the slow river boat turned out better than expected and the video is a MUST see!
一日中に京都を観光し、初詣のために、神社でコインを投げました。その残りの間は御朱印巡りをして、嵐山の辺に行って、特に桂川の方に探りました。そこで、”Edge of Kyoto”というビデオプロジェクトをドローンで空からの撮影しました。そのビデオは桂川と屋形船を現して、思ってたよりいい感じで撮りました。是非ご覧ください!
On the 1st December 2015 I was briefly featured on a popular Japanese TV-show called “Tokorosan no Nippon no Deban (Rediscover Japan)”
It all started when my friends and I were going to an international karaoke bar called Barcode. While singing some karaoke, there was a TV-crew that randomly appeared. It was obvious to me that they were somehow amazed by our poor singing. They asked us if it was OK to film us while trying some Japanese food and singing karaoke, and we agreed.
I was quite surprised to see that just adding hot water to some dried food was eatable after only a few seconds. The cardboard box taste is another discussion. And honestly, it didn’t make me feel like singing karaoke!
Koto(箏or琴) is the national instrument of Japan, compared with the Swedish Nyckelharpa. The Koto is a stringed musical instrument that is usually about 180 centimeters in length and made from kiri wood. It has 13 strings and the thumb, index finger and the middle finger is used to pluck the strings. The ancestor of the Koto was the Chinese Zheng.
I was taught by the incredibly skilled and gentle Harumi-san who runs the studio in a house called Soushunan. She is offering lessons at her family’s old town house in central Kyoto.
The Japanese harp is one of a series of instruments that give Japanese music and culture is distinctive sound.
One of the most famous pieces of music is “Sakura sakura” and is often heard being played in a variety of circumstances. Sakura means cherry blossom in Japanese, maybe you should try listening to it the next hanami!
I found this event at the great website called Lifull Travering, which is a company that arranges a ton of events for travelers in Japan. What I like about it is that you meet local professionals in Japan who can both speak English and excels at their craft.
Did you know that Kyoto was built after the Chinese imperial capital Xian 1200 years ago? The city is laid out in a checker board fashion that makes the city it easy to navigate. It is also very flat which make it wonderful bicycle friendly city.
Comparing it with Sweden, I’ve noticed that Japanese people doesn’t care about following the rules as much as we do in Stockholm. For example, in Kyoto it’s very common for taxis and cars to block the few existing bicycle lanes.
For more information, take a look at my Gaijinpot article: