A couple of weeks ago, me and Martin went to Kyoto for a weekend. The pictures here are the ones I took with my Camera. He also took some pictures with his, but I will post them seperately.
First thing we did upon arrival was to go to Inari and visit the beautiful Fushimi-Inari Shrine, the shrine of business....
Each of the gates is sponsored by a company.
Very suitably, without knowing it, Martin had chosen the perfect colors for the day.
Next is an interesting ad I saw on the street. Wonder who the genius behind it was. I can really relate to that, being a smoker and wanting to build up my beautiful body in the process... "Why not take a break from your hard work's day at the gym and have a relaxing breather with our fine cigarettes to enhance your lungs".... Plus he kind of looks gay. What happened to the Camel and the Marlboro man? At least they looked cool. This one looks like a ballerina on steroids.
Then there was a visit to the huge Ultraman
And last is a shot of the fancy buffet we ate at. Very nice design of the plates, and we made sure to pick matching dishes. Taste was 4/5.
That's all for now
We also managed to discover the secret headquarter of the aliens, with its giant transmitter, also known as Hakkaku-sanju-to (Built 1289) 
We went to the Hanaya Ryokan to have lunch and onsen. The building is very very old and is designated as juyoubunkazai (important cultural property). Food was traditional healthy food in the usual 15-17 courses and we were really full after lunch. And then we jumped into onsen, proving once more that it is not dangerous to go in bath after a big meal.
During our trip we passed the Okutamago lake and its huge dam.
I think I am jinxed. Everytime I take a trip to see Fuji-san in its glory, it is too cloudy and Fuji-san is sleeping that particular day. This day was no exception. After 4 years in Japan I have yet to see Fuji on purpose from closer than say Tokyo. I have seen it from my balcony, from the airplane etc etc. But every time I get close to it, it hides from me. Last time same thing happened at lake Yamanakako. And the time I took a tour to climb the big mountain. We couldn't see it although we were standing right on it. Both times due to cloud and fog. And these are just a couple examples.
But although we missed the main attraction, the rest of the trip totally made up for it. Just look at this beautiful shot Ayako took. Wow. And the picture doesn't do the scene justice.
