cyclists and joggers; a small boy, leaping with concentration from stone slab to stone slab across the river, his mother not far behind, watchful but not anxious; the occasional puppy bounding along (not a lead but a tow rope, owner on the other end.) i had fallen into a steady pace, strolling on by the kamogawa, people watching, enjoying the soft breeze, thinking in part about park connectors in singapore and community spaces, in part about tea-making and when i would serve my newly-bought genmaicha. when i stopped for my regular quarter-hour (but by now, much overdue) map check, i saw that i had been, in fact, following the river on the correct bank but in the exact opposite direction from where i meantto go (the villa goethe institut). i sat down by the edge of the river and dangled my legs, wondering if i should backtrack, or simply read for a while and then make my way back to the ryokan. the gnats, though not annoying, are plenty in number.
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mandarin ducks in the canal, carp, hydrangeas and irises (richly-faded purples and blues) from backyards of little houses, the occasional sawn-log bench at intervals. the walk along the tetsugaku no michi, the philosopher’s walk, takes me from ginkaku to nanzenji: i saw the aqueduct, quite the most beautiful thing i’d seen in kyoto, and, when i had climbed to the top , there was water, gurgling along.
Best of the Transparent Hummingbird