Canon Japan Tour (Day 13) Kyoto
Hello, travelers. This is Kumi. I guided Canon Australia's Japan tour for two weeks. Let me show you how we enjoyed the tour. This is about Day 13.
Though it wasn't as early as the previous day, we woke up early and arrived at Fushimi-inari Shrine by 6:45am.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3915.html
People say "The early bird gets the worm" and it is true.
We got to see this popular spot without anyone!!!
Look at these excited early birds. :P
This is at the other end. People are coming out from the left one and going into the right one.
Hi guys! How's it going?
This is lovely!! It looks like the gates go on forever.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrM8ekoHXPZ/
Here is the short video of the members.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9_MquK-XjU
Once they finished taking the photos of the trii gates, they started taking some creative shots.
Wow! This is very special!!!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrXMueeAXKA/
The trii gates are donated by people. According to the official website, the lowest price is 175,000 JPY (1,580 USD). The price depends on the size and the location.
It's a wooden gate and it last 4-5 years. Then, it will be cut down and the next one will be installed.
Hmm... this one looks expensive. :P
By 7:30am, people started walking around this area, so they tried long exposure to "erase" people.
The trii area was getting busy, but the garden was so peaceful!
Hello, fox! He is the messenger of the rice god so he carries rice stalk. There are thousands of shrines which enshrine the rice god and Fushimi-inari Shrine in Kyoto is the most important one.
It is said that the shrine was founded in the 8th century. The current main building was rebuilt in 1494 and the gate was rebuilt in 1589.
This is a view from the gate. It's 7:45am.
As the sun came out, I changed the camera setting and captured the morning light.
After this morning photo session, we went back to our hotel for breakfast. Then we gathered again in the lobby at 10:15 for the next photo session at Kiyomizudera Temple.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3901.html
By the way, "tera" means "temple" and when we have some other words before that, the /t/ sound changes to voiced /d/ and pronounced "dera." So calling it Kiyomizudera Temple is actually a bit weird. It's like saying "Kiyomizu-temple Temple." Well, we often see this type of expression in Japan. Anyway, let me call this "Kiyomizu Temple."
It was founded in 780 on the site of the Otowa Waterfall. "Kiyomizu" means "pure water."
The wooden stage has been making this temple very famous. However, the main hall is covered from February 2017 to March 2020 for the renovation.
For your reference, this is a photo from July 2008.
In Japan, there is the expression "Jump off the stage of the Kiyomizu temple." If it takes a great deal of resolution to do something, you'd say "Oh, it was like jumping off the stage of the stage of the Kiyomizu temple" or simply say "Oh, that was Kiyomizu."
Anyway, the view is lovely from here! It's better to take photos than jumping off. :P
Just like other temples, you'll see people offering incense.
And you'll see a lot of wooden tablets called "ema" with people's wishes.
Hi guys. Did you take good ones?
Yeah? Good!
The streets to Kiyomizu Temple were full of people.
I took the video of the members walking (just for our memory).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2ZjG5sXfzk
After Kiyomizu Temple, we stopped by Chishaku-in Temple.
http://www.chisan.or.jp/english/
Somehow, not many people know about this place, but they have beautiful gardens. These are photos from November 2017.
We had lunch here at Ikkyu-an in the precinct.
We had free time after lunch. Some enjoyed the garden, some enjoyed Sanju-sangen-do.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3900.html
We gathered again at 6pm and went to a restaurant where we can enjoy the Maiko show.
First, we enjoyed her dance.
Then, we enjoyed the photo session.
Also, she let us ask a lot of questions and we got to know her lifestyle etc. One of the most surprising things was she needs to keep her hairstyle for a week once it's done, so she cannot casually go out for an English language class etc.
By the way, you might say "Isn't she a geisha?" The answer is no. She is a maiko. In general, they are categorized as follows:
Geisha: an experienced female entertainer who doesn't work in Kyoto
Geiko: an experienced female entertainer who works in Kyoto
Maiko: an apprentice entertainer who works in Kyoto
Hangyoku: an apprentice entertainer who doesn't work in Kyoto
Girls become maiko after gradurating from jr high, then after 5-6 years of training, some of the talented maiko can finally become geiko.
Please check out the following website for more information about traditional female entertainers.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2102.html
We played a traditional game with maiko. As I didn't take the video, I searched for a video on YouTube to show you what it was like. You can see the game from 0:54.
https://youtu.be/oXGwkHSuRHM?t=54
That was quite difficult.
Look at his face!!! LOL
After the game, we asked her to be a model and learned portrait photography.
We learned how to use lights efficiently.
Hmm... What a cute smile!
At dinner, the tour leader surprised me with an announcement. It was about Canon G5 X I borrowed from Canon Australia. He said...
"It's yours."
Whaaaat!?!? At first, I didn't get what he was talking about. He told me that all the tour members put in money to give this camera to me as a gift. I totally lost my words...
I really enjoyed the tour with all these enthusiastic photographers so the tour itself was an amazing gift for my life. I had been enjoying photography for many years, but the Canon Collective members and G5 X taught me the true love of photography.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3915.html
People say "The early bird gets the worm" and it is true.
We got to see this popular spot without anyone!!!
Look at these excited early birds. :P
This is at the other end. People are coming out from the left one and going into the right one.
Hi guys! How's it going?
This is lovely!! It looks like the gates go on forever.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrM8ekoHXPZ/
Here is the short video of the members.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9_MquK-XjU
Once they finished taking the photos of the trii gates, they started taking some creative shots.
Wow! This is very special!!!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrXMueeAXKA/
The trii gates are donated by people. According to the official website, the lowest price is 175,000 JPY (1,580 USD). The price depends on the size and the location.
size #5 : 175,000 JPY
size #6 : from 383,000 JPY
size #7 : from 482,000 JPY
size #8 : from 708,000 JPY
size #9 : from 826,000 JPY
size #10 : from 1,302,000 JPY
Hmm... this one looks expensive. :P
By 7:30am, people started walking around this area, so they tried long exposure to "erase" people.
The trii area was getting busy, but the garden was so peaceful!
Hello, fox! He is the messenger of the rice god so he carries rice stalk. There are thousands of shrines which enshrine the rice god and Fushimi-inari Shrine in Kyoto is the most important one.
It is said that the shrine was founded in the 8th century. The current main building was rebuilt in 1494 and the gate was rebuilt in 1589.
This is a view from the gate. It's 7:45am.
As the sun came out, I changed the camera setting and captured the morning light.
After this morning photo session, we went back to our hotel for breakfast. Then we gathered again in the lobby at 10:15 for the next photo session at Kiyomizudera Temple.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3901.html
By the way, "tera" means "temple" and when we have some other words before that, the /t/ sound changes to voiced /d/ and pronounced "dera." So calling it Kiyomizudera Temple is actually a bit weird. It's like saying "Kiyomizu-temple Temple." Well, we often see this type of expression in Japan. Anyway, let me call this "Kiyomizu Temple."
It was founded in 780 on the site of the Otowa Waterfall. "Kiyomizu" means "pure water."
For your reference, this is a photo from July 2008.
In Japan, there is the expression "Jump off the stage of the Kiyomizu temple." If it takes a great deal of resolution to do something, you'd say "Oh, it was like jumping off the stage of the stage of the Kiyomizu temple" or simply say "Oh, that was Kiyomizu."
Anyway, the view is lovely from here! It's better to take photos than jumping off. :P
And you'll see a lot of wooden tablets called "ema" with people's wishes.
Hi guys. Did you take good ones?
Yeah? Good!
We were in Kyoto at the perfect time for the colored leaves.
The streets to Kiyomizu Temple were full of people.
I took the video of the members walking (just for our memory).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2ZjG5sXfzk
After Kiyomizu Temple, we stopped by Chishaku-in Temple.
http://www.chisan.or.jp/english/
Somehow, not many people know about this place, but they have beautiful gardens. These are photos from November 2017.
We had lunch here at Ikkyu-an in the precinct.
We had free time after lunch. Some enjoyed the garden, some enjoyed Sanju-sangen-do.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3900.html
We gathered again at 6pm and went to a restaurant where we can enjoy the Maiko show.
First, we enjoyed her dance.
Also, she let us ask a lot of questions and we got to know her lifestyle etc. One of the most surprising things was she needs to keep her hairstyle for a week once it's done, so she cannot casually go out for an English language class etc.
By the way, you might say "Isn't she a geisha?" The answer is no. She is a maiko. In general, they are categorized as follows:
Geisha: an experienced female entertainer who doesn't work in Kyoto
Geiko: an experienced female entertainer who works in Kyoto
Maiko: an apprentice entertainer who works in Kyoto
Hangyoku: an apprentice entertainer who doesn't work in Kyoto
Girls become maiko after gradurating from jr high, then after 5-6 years of training, some of the talented maiko can finally become geiko.
Please check out the following website for more information about traditional female entertainers.
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2102.html
We played a traditional game with maiko. As I didn't take the video, I searched for a video on YouTube to show you what it was like. You can see the game from 0:54.
https://youtu.be/oXGwkHSuRHM?t=54
That was quite difficult.
Look at his face!!! LOL
After the game, we asked her to be a model and learned portrait photography.
We learned how to use lights efficiently.
Hmm... What a cute smile!
At dinner, the tour leader surprised me with an announcement. It was about Canon G5 X I borrowed from Canon Australia. He said...
"It's yours."
Whaaaat!?!? At first, I didn't get what he was talking about. He told me that all the tour members put in money to give this camera to me as a gift. I totally lost my words...
I really enjoyed the tour with all these enthusiastic photographers so the tour itself was an amazing gift for my life. I had been enjoying photography for many years, but the Canon Collective members and G5 X taught me the true love of photography.
Thank you so much, everyone!!! Please keep motivating me through Instagram. :)
