I was delighted (and somewhat stunned) lately to learn that our book, Deep Kyoto: Walks, is being used as the basis of a university course here in Kyoto. The course at Kyoto Prefectural University is taught by Dr. Eleanor Yamaguchi and is called "欧米から見た京都", or "Kyoto viewed from the West". Eleanor, who has used supplemental materials on the course, such as our Deep Kyoto: Walks … [Read more...]
Rounding Off: The Kyoto Trail – An Excerpt from Deep Kyoto: Walks by Perrin Lindelauf
Here's a new excerpt from our book, Deep Kyoto: Walks. In this piece Perrin Lindelauf does a complete circuit of the Kyoto Trail, a hiking route through the mountains and forests that surround Kyoto. Along the way, pacing the ancient city's perimeter and seeing it with fresh eyes, he finds his love for Kyoto rekindled... Rounding Off by Perrin Lindelauf "This book has … [Read more...]
Deep Kyoto: Walks Paperback Edition Now Available
This is a delightful collection of essays written by a diverse group of writers who share an obvious and contagious affection for Kyoto. – Matthew Stavros (Author: “Kyoto: An Urban History of Japan’s Premodern Capital ”) I am delighted to annouce the release of Deep Kyoto: Walks as a paperback edition. This is a print on demand (POD) edition and has been independently … [Read more...]
Kyoto Botanical Gardens by Izumi Texidor Hirai
In this post we have a special excerpt from Deep Kyoto: Walks written by Izumi Texidor Hirai. In her walk through the Botanical Gardens, Izumi weaves personal recollection with finely observed details of life in the gardens as they pass through the four seasons. Let today's excerpt from Izumi's walk serve as a happy reminder of all the special seasonal joys that the year ahead … [Read more...]
Kōtō-in – An Excerpt from “Deep Kyoto: Walks” by Joel Stewart
This month's extract from Deep Kyoto: Walks is taken from a very fine ramble by the artist Joel Stewart, titled "In Praise of Uro Uro". Uro uro is a Japanese expression for aimless wandering. Kōtō-in by Joel Stewart I really don't think much needs be said here about Kōtō-in, other than it's a real escape from the city, right in the city. And beside all the interesting … [Read more...]
Up & Down the Ki’ – Two Extracts from Deep Kyoto: Walks by Michael Lambe
This month we have two extracts from Deep Kyoto: Walks. Both are from my own piece on a musical tour of Kiyamachi bars conducted by my good friends Mark (Max) Dodds and Ryotaro Sudo in late November last year. On Saturday November 29th 2014 Max and Ryotaro will again perform this tour for the tenth and final time, so a couple of short excerpts from my account seemed timely. In … [Read more...]
Not Sure Which Way to Go – An Excerpt from Deep Kyoto Walks by Robert Yellin
In this extract from Deep Kyoto: Walks, Robert Yellin encourages us to seek chance and adventure along the Path of Philosophy… Not Sure Which Way to Go Let’s Get Lost on the Philosopher’s Path! ROBERT YELLIN One autumn twilight moment I was standing on a small bridge overlooking the Philosopher’s Path’s canal and saw a young couple staring at a map, eyes flittering … [Read more...]
Time Travelling on Gojō – An Extract from Deep Kyoto Walks by Jennifer Louise Teeter
Gojō Pottery Fair, in which pottery stalls line Gojō street all the way between Kawabata and Higashioji, begins August 7th and continues to August 10th. Simultaneously, in nearby Rokudo-san temple, is Kyoto's very own festival of the dead, the Rokudo Mairi spirit welcoming festival. Jen Teeter explores both of these events and more in her DKW essay "Time Travelling on Gojō", so … [Read more...]
Hiking Mount Atago – An Extract from Deep Kyoto Walks by Sanborn Brown
Today's post is an extract from Hiking Mount Atago by Sanborn Brown in which he details his participation in the annual Sennichi Tsuyasai pilgrimage to the top of Mount Atago which takes place each year on July 31st. In this excerpt from our book Deep Kyoto: Walks, Sanborn describes his ascent with an eccentric tea ceremony master, and other pilgrims, to the top of Mount Atago, … [Read more...]
Into the Tumult – An Extract from Deep Kyoto Walks by Pico Iyer on BBC Travel!
This weeks extract from Deep Kyoto: Walks is brought to you by the BBC! We are all very pleased that BBC Travel have used a version of Pico Iyer's article "Into the Tumult", to launch their new Words & Wanderlust site. The version published on the BBC site differs mainly in the second half, though there are numerous small changes throughout. To read the original, buy our … [Read more...]
Gods, Monks, Secrets, Fish – An Extract from Deep Kyoto Walks by John Ashburne
Today John Ashburne takes us on a mouth-watering tour of Nishikikōji market and along the way adds a sprinkling of zen spice from the Buddhist teacher Dōgen Zenji... Maintain an attitude that tries to build great temples from ordinary greens, that expounds the buddhadharma through the most trivial activity, handle even a single leaf of a green in such a way that it … [Read more...]
Kamogawa Musing – An Excerpt from Deep Kyoto Walks by John Dougill
In this extract from Deep Kyoto: Walks, John Dougill walking by the Kamo River, the nature reserve that cuts through the heart of Kyoto, muses on history and literature… “The flow of the river is ceaseless and its water is never the same. The bubbles that float in the pools, now vanishing, now forming, are not of long duration. So in the world are man and his dwellings.” … [Read more...]
The 2nd Kyoto Bloggers Meeting @ Kyoto’s Impact HUB
Impact Hub Kyoto strives to be a place where people with a strong desire to change society and the world can gather, learn from each other and find new solutions. We believe, however, that in order for sustainable change to come about, we must first embrace change in ourselves... -Impact HUB Kyoto Last Wednesday (June 18th) we held our second Kyoto Bloggers Meeting at a new … [Read more...]
Old School Gaijin Kyoto – An Excerpt from Deep Kyoto Walks by Chris Rowthorn
In Old School Gaijin Kyoto, Chris Rowthorn takes us on a hilarious tour of the bars and eateries of Kiyamachi as he revisits the haunts of his reckless youth with the ironic eye of experience. From "Old School Gaijin Kyoto" by Chris Rowthorn I first arrived in Japan in January 1992. I was a kid of 26. Green as a sapling. I had graduated from college a few years … [Read more...]
