Ten years ago this morning I rolled into Kyoto in a removal van after an all night drive from Tokyo. The cherry blossom was blooming then too. Many thanks to my JET sempai, Duncan Flett, who helped me to find a new place to live and who handed me the key to my new apartment on my arrival in the early hours of the morning. He also handed me a banana – rather kindly thinking I might be hungry after my trip. I will never forget that banana! Many thanks also to Mario Leto who did the driving that night! I have never regretted moving to this wonderful city.
To celebrate, here are two of my favorite Kyoto views, photographed today.
The view from Gojo bridge this morning – a short walk from where I live now.
And the view from the Imadegawa bridge at Demachiyanagi this evening. When I first moved to Kyoto I passed this view every day on my way to and from Japanese language school. After living and working in Shinjuku, this view of mountains, rivers and sky was really special. I think this is still my favorite area in Kyoto.