Sunday in downtown Kyoto

Today I thought I'd take it easy and explore downtown Kyoto on a Sunday, after all the lost wanderings of yesterday.

First stop was the Kyoto International Manga Museum. Manga, for those of you not clued up on Japanese culture, is Japanese comics. Whereas comics in the West tend to be aimed squarely at children, in Japan they are aimed at EVERYONE, often tackling complex social issues and telling long and complicated tales as well as providing a form as escapism, much as written novels do back home. Much of the artwork is absolutely beautiful and I whiled away a good time looking along the 'wall of manga' (an enormous 3 FLOOR LIBRARY) of manga publications. On display was also original artwork from manga and anime (literally, animated manga, which covers much the same ground) including (if you're not a fan, move on here) Darker Than Black, Cowboy Bebop and Naruto (just for you, Simon). No photos, since photography was prohibited, but it was beautiful and fascinating, at least if you knew what you were looking at.

After that I stumbled across the Kyoto City Hall. This was interesting for two reasons. Firstly, the grounds in front are at their best on a Sunday afternoon, I presume. I think the sight of a bunch of Japanese youths dressed in tight leather trousers, black shirts, big brass belt buckles, black leather shoes and with swept-back hair, all dancing to 50's rock and roll in the middle of a concrete park is probably the most absurd thing I've seen here, and that's saying a lot. I got some interesting photos and even some video I may try to post some time.

Finally I moved into the subway station for a coffee and what did I find? The Kyoto Ireland Festival. I didbn't expect that. Live Irish music in the middle of the subway entrance, free Jameson's tasting sessions which seemed to be going down a treat with any businessmen around at the time, and a street-level parade (which I sadly didn't get a photo of since my battery ran out).

All in all, considering the tiny area I covered, the amount of stuff I saw was unbelievable. Different from temples and shrines, but an equally valid part of Japanese life and culture and a wonderful window on it all.

Oh, and I forgot to mention the evening/late--night live music party (jazz, mainly) down by Kyoto river last night. Again, found totally by accident with the help of the two American guys I bumped into where I was eating), this was another thing that can only really be conveyed in photos. Where in the US or UK the place by the river would be filled with tramps and drug dealers, here it was a lively jazz party. No-one seemed to know why, but it was there and it was good, so everyone just embraced it and enjoyed themselves.

Right, better run before I get kicked off the computer in this new hotel (which is great).

Cheers all,
James