Reality Check

I’ll be honest; I am a little disappointed in Fushimi Inari, the famed temple in south-eastern Kyoto with hundreds of red torii, or temple gates. This stems from two things; the place is absolutely rammed with visitors who are the subjects of a seemingly never ending retail fusillade, and from my expectation of a more spiritual experience, coming from my own naivety. As the busiest Shinto temple site in whole country, I should have expected this to be the case. The lava-like slow movement of the crowd through the tunnel of tightly placed torii is also a claustrophobic experience, especially in the 32°c heat. It is a relief to escape that particular situation. Rather than taking the stock photographs of the empty tunnel of torii disappearing into the distance, I tried a different approach, picking out some details and taking a few photos of less populous areas of the site.

Talking of spirituality; I really don’t have any. I have to say though that I value any opportunity to find a quiet place to clear my head and get my ducks in a row, which is not the same thing. The best, and. most recent place I have found that opportunity is in one of the local Buddhist temples where I took this shot: Baby It may also have something to do with not having had two or three mugs of coffee yet that day, I’m not sure. I’ll be going back though.

Something else of note, while I’m navel gazing; over the last few years, due no doubt to the late onset of maturity in my case, I realised that all of the stuff I gathered over the years means very little in the face of life’s realities. Having the read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and adapting many of Marie Kondo’s recommendations, I found that my whole mindset changed in this regard, for the better. I had a huge clear out of clutter and dumped bags of stuff I didn’t use or need. The difficulty with this now is the daily temptation of the local traditional arts shops here in Kyoto. There are so many woodcut paintings, hanging textiles, beautiful paper and stationery, small carved wooden objects and many other items that I would love to buy, take home and cherish.

It struck me when editing my photographs yesterday (Tuesday) that while I am so very enthused and excited to share my experience, and the many innovations and differences here with my family and friends, I am taking documentary photographs rather than creative shots. I’m going to try to curb my enthusiasm and instead, try to improve the quality.

Lastly for today, I had my first experience of a non-European toilet. I don’t mean to be indelicate, but there are a number of Western things I am glad the Japanese have adopted, at least for tourists. Can’t say I enjoyed the experience, if enjoyed is the right word.