Love Letter to a Kyoto Spring
SPRING IN KYOTO
Kyoto is magical, no matter how many times I visit over the years, I continue to fall in love with it every time. There’s something otherworldly about this ancient capital, still so steeped in tradition, rich in culture and hidden secrets even though copious amounts of modernity has been seeping through. That being said, it actually took me over a decade to finally visit Kyoto during cherry blossom season. I avoided travelling to Kyoto during this season due to the insane amount of both Japanese and international tourists. In fact the season I explore Kyoto the most, is the dreaded summer, hated by locals & tourists alike, but I love it! Will write more on why I love exploring Kyoto in summer soon - it deserves its own love letter.
So the great question on a lot of people’s mind is, is Kyoto in Spring worth it? My answer, yes and no, yes because its something one should see and experience at least once, to see these fragile blossoms coming to life for that short moment of time in a city full of history, full of cultural significance where there are these moments of absolute quiet serene beauty which evoke the image a lot have of this wondrous city.
However it will be tempered with crowds, impatience, frustration as people jostle trying to get that *particular* shot whether it be for their own personal memories or to be shared to go “viral” over social media. This factor is a huge “no" for me
It also depends on how you like to travel, are you that type of traveller that will wake up at the crack of dawn? to hopefully get to that popular spot with the hope that there will be no one else there so you can get *that* shot of emptiness with nothing but you in it (I did it once whilst in Kyoto and that’s all I will ever do it for ever again for sakura) or do you prefer your beauty sleep?
Honestly I personally am not that dedicated to capturing “perfect” content that much - I prefer to shoot anything I do purely around when I actually would normally be doing things, hence why a lot of my photos (especially internationally) are at that time photographers & content creators hate… high noon hahaha (if you’re shooting a person/yourself as a subject) as the light can be quite harsh.
For me though I love Kyoto and I am glad I finally visited in Spring for the blossoms… will I ever go back? The answer is probably “no” unless work takes me there, and even then I won’t be rushing to certain particular famed spots or supposed “off the beaten path” discoveries, it will be whatever I stumble upon on my usual Kyoto meanderings (and this is my personal favourite way). Otherwise I will probably return in the summer once more.
If I am to travel to “chase” the sakura, I prefer to go further afield, to the countryside (to inaka) to see it wild and blooming in all its natural beauty. One of my favourite areas is Kyushu region down south or if closer to Tokyo, Shizuoka and the gorgeous Minami Izu area (especially since everyone just does Kawazu).
Regardless read on below to see how I enjoyed Sakura season in Kyoto without getting annoyed at the visiting crowds, as there was still magical moments to be found and had which strengthened my love for Kyoto.
LOCAL STREETS
Kyoto like most of Japan, has sakura trees growing in most and just random places, one does not have to visit every single famous sight to appreciate the fleetingness of this national flower.
Walk down many of the river canal streets, you will find that they are bordered by these beauties so just go for a walk, and see what you discover.
KEAGE INCLINE
The only well known place that I decided to visit was Keage Incline & the Philosophers Path (logistically because it made sense), purely because I like abandoned areas overgrown by nature, and the romantic appeal of these disused train tracks framed by sakura was nostalgic. In my research, a lot of blog posts mentioned that one should wake up at sunrise to try and capture the tracks as empty as possible… so I thought ok I will do it once and see how it goes as this was really the only ‘famed’ place I wanted to capture - so I begrudgingly set my alarm and woke up at a gawd-awful hour for me (think like 5.30am) when it’s still dark and Spring in Japan is not warm, its quite cold especially early morning!
Walked to Keage Incline from my hotel (memory serves about 30mins) daylight was finally rising by the time I got there… and what do you think - was I the first/early one there?? My goodness absolutely not!! Blog/content creators probably arrive just after the sun is risen when it’s actually a clear daylight… but photographers… photographers who love it for the art, for that early morning light - they are there when its still dark waiting…there was a whole group of them lined across the tracks who had all been patiently waiting for that moment the sun’s morning light starts to glow across the horizon….
I can imagine how absolutely lovely & magnificent their shots are, so I utterly commend them for their time, patience and dedication… but lol I am not that dedicated in getting that ‘perfect’ shot, (though I definitely appreciate their work), I am fine with a bit of imperfection. So even if you wake up early, probably in Kyoto you still won’t get a popular place all to yourselves - btw this was a weekday - I would never visit such a locale on a weekend or public holiday!
A SHOT I CAPTURED
I wanted a shot with sakura with this particular frock of mine I reconstructed from an antique kimono for my work with TOKYO KALEIDOSCOPE.
In a few mins I captured these shots quickly thanks to my trusty portable tripod, iphone & remote shutter (I despise it when people take too long, know your good angle, know your good pose, know your light - hold that shutter button down, get several shots, one of them will be good enough, move out of the way for others)
What you don’t see is; I’ve positioned myself to block a myriad of people that were in front of me, taking an absolute age to get their shot of the stronger blooming sakura up ahead. It depends how much you want the ultimate sakura shot, but this was good enough for me!
The empty shots below were achieved, because everyone is so busy taking shots UP the Incline (granted there are more blooming sakura at that point in time) - there’s no one pointing their cameras/phones downhill.
WALKING FROM KEAGE INCLINE TO PHILOSOPHER’S PATH
One of my favourite places in Kyoto is the Philosopher’s Path, I hadn’t visited in years but logistically (and if you’re a person who likes to walk to explore) one can walk from the upper end of Keage Incline up, around and through the back following the shallow irrigation channel (bringing water from Lake Biwa) which will take you behind Nanzenji Temple’s iconic brick aqueduct and then onto the “beginning” of the Philosopher’s Path.
Though it’s a path that has been well traversed, I feel that many people (except Japanese and a few adventurous tourists) don’t always take this path (perhaps rushed for time) or at least walk the entire way. However if you can make the time for it, it s a walk I greatly enjoy, with picturesque views of Kyoto - one can spot the giant red torii gate of Heian Shrine in the distance and it allows you that quiet solitude after the crowded-ness Keage Incline can have (especially as it hits late morning). I adore it (bring snacks & water with you, especially if you had an early morning start)
PHILOSOPHER’S WALK
Perhaps because I came at the start of the sakura season (you can see in my photos, there were quite a few sakura trees not in full bloom and it was still relatively early morning - the Philosopher’s Path was peaceful and really only visited by locals and Japanese families. It was that quiet lovely local-ness of Kyoto I just adore.
It was also the first time I stumbled upon Monk, and wondered what it was, till later in the year I returned and had an amazing dining experience there (a blog post will come soon)
HEIAN SHRINE
Even though I get grumpy (not a morning person) about having to wake up horribly early to get to Keage Incline, it did allow me to capture some beautiful golden shots of sunrise over Heian Shrines giant torii and the cherry blossoms bordering the river canal (the photos above)
Then after walking back down from after my morning walk from Keage to Philosopher’s, I managed to capture a moment right in front of the gorgeous torii and all the photos below (also because everyone was busy at Keage Incline at it’s peak time)
So perhaps a benefit of waking up early indeed, but would I do it every time?… lol nope once in a while is fine!
Though if Spring in Japan was warmer, I’d probably be more inclined to wake up early, however the chilliness in a spring morning is a huge deterrent for me! haha
I LOVE MEANDERING
Kyoto is a perfect place to get lost in, to walk down some random path because something caught your eye, just to discover if it is what you were thinking or something even more amazing.
Which is why I love this city so
A lot of my favourite moments were just slowly walking down various little streets, twists and turns if something captured my attention - perhaps a cloud of pink above some greenery, then I would go investigate and then I would come across some delightful interludes like this. I have no idea where this was exactly, but I kept walking and just kept discovering more
(seriously this is why always have some snacks & water on you to keep you going!)
AND SIMPLY WANDERING
I have always been an advocate of a slower travel, and I realise I have that luxury since I live in Japan, I have more chances to visit Kyoto than most and a lack of restrictions as I’m not tied to a limited timeframe per se - so I’m grateful that I can experience this city more intimately
However its those little local moments, glimpses of daily life that really strengthen my love of this historical city, when you walk down a local street and you see simply people going about their lives, perhaps an artist cycling to work, carrying her latest creation that showcases her love, her soul for her art…
These are those instances that enhance all my travel experiences not only in Japan but worldwide
I WILL ALWAYS LOVE KYOTO
Even though I dreaded the possibility of endless crowds, giving one goal to see one ‘popular’ cherry blossom spot and then simply just going about my usual way of travel in Kyoto (I did plan a lot of my fooding as always), simply walking down paths, along the river canals - I saw a plethora of sakura blossoms without having to wait for ages to take photos or disturb anyone else appreciating the blooms - that it just made me adore Kyoto even more!
So if you can, when you plan your Kyoto spring trip, try and incorporate these elements in your schedule if possible.
first trip & you want to see the all the famed sights ie, Kinkakuji, Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Kiyomizu-dera etc - give yourself at least 3 days to do so leisurely so you can go to one or two each day then explore that actual area
then 2-3+ days to just meander, wander, get lost
travel on weekdays, no weekends/public holidays
if possible, plan to travel near the start or end of Sakura season (Philosopher’s Path - the river is covered in fallen sakura petals - would love to see it eventually one day!)
To finish: Yes! go see Kyoto in Spring at least once, but don’t be afraid to also go elsewhere, lesser known, lesser travelled to chase those fragile pink blossoms
