Location hunting: Tanuki edition!
August 4, 2015 3 Comments
I only had three days in Kyoto this trip, and with the Gion Matsuri also fighting for my attention, this meant that I had to choose between two other sets of sacred grounds to check out: Ōmi Jingu and the special train on the Ōtsu Line for Chihayafuru, or Kyoto itself for The Eccentric Family [Uchouten Kazoku]. But to be frank, even if I’d been able to walk properly, I’m fairly certain that the latter would have won out, for after becoming disillusioned with how tourists flock to the city all year around, this show is the one that had me falling in love with Kyoto all over again.
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| And as luck would have it, these pilgrimage maps were still available from the Kyoto City Hall! |
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As with Sound! Euphonium, I completely failed to plan for this…luckily, I still managed to get a few shots that kind of matched…
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| …such as Yajirō’s well at the Chiko-ji temple. This well is famous for being a connection between our world and the underworld…which might be why people aren’t allowed to approach it. Remember how Yasaburō got in from the roof? | |
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| Another easy spot to find: the restaurants overlooking the Kamo River. What’s really cool about these is that a channel of water runs under the dining patios, which I assume helps keep them cool even in Kyoto’s boiling hot summer! | |
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| The pool parlour where ‘the Prince’ hangs out doesn’t actually exist, but it’s modelled on a real cafe quite close to the Shimogamo Shrine: the BonBon Café. |
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| Also nearby was this bridge…though there was a tree in the way… | |
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| …and the bridge where the Ebisugawa brothers bullied Yashiro was about 10 minutes walk from my lodgings. |
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That’s pretty much all that I managed to match, but here are some other real life locations that you might be able to find when you visit Kyoto yourself.
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| Rokkaku-dō, where you’ll find Hesoishi-sama… | |
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| Turtles and stepping stones on the Kamo River near the BonBon Café… | |
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| The Demachi Shopping district… | |
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| The Minami-za theatre, and a certain minor crossing… | |
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| …and, of course, the Shimogamo Shrine. | |
The locations were scattered all throughout the city, so I ended up hitting a few of them on each day. But if I ever manage to live within striking distance of Kyoto, I will probably make it a point to find as many of those locations as possible, much like this person has.
A little bonus…
Having satisfied my Eccentric Family wanderlust, I found myself with two hours to spare on the day I left Kyoto. Luckily, it was pretty easy to get to the Keihan Otsu Line. As per my last post, my primary goal had been to find the Sound! Euphonium train…but I was delighted to find that the Chihayafuru train was still running too!
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| I also spotted little Hikaru-kun, the mascot of Otsu City, on another train! | |
And these are the last things of note from my recent trip to Japan. Next time, I will definitely make it out to Omi Jingu for that mini-Chihayafuru pilgrimage!
About karice
HOT CHOCOLATE IN A BOWL 
The restaurants near the Kamo River and the Shimogamo Shrine are probably my favorite photos. So cool-looking, especially at night!
Does Japan have like one of the most extreme weather in developed-countries? I always hear how it’s either really really cold or scorching hot…
You mentioned feeling guilty of “bragging” about all these awesome experiences in a previous post. At least for me, updating a blog with meaningful content and providing comparison shots would takes a good deal of time and commitment. You could have just as easily enjoyed the trip and kept the memories to yourself instead of sharing (and nothing’s wrong with that).
Ss I’m sure Utari and the rest of your readers appreciate the effort. So once again, THANK YOU. 🙂
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I went back again and realised that I had an even better match for the Kamo River shot! And it’s a really scenic place — here’s another photo I took:
I also really liked the Shimogamo shrine. There was actually a festival on when I was there, the Mitarashi festival, which is why I went at night instead of during the day. But it strikes me as a somewhat quieter shrine than some of the other big Kyoto attractions, so I’m keen to go back again one day, and to check out what it’s like at other times of the year!
From what I understand, Japan’s got cold winters and hot summers, like the East Coast of the US, largely because of the currents that run up and down its coast. That said, winters in continental Asia are far worse, I think — South Korea’s winter is pretty bad, because of the winds that come from Siberia. But the summers are pretty warm, though it’s the humidity that kills you rather than the temperature. That said, lots of people are hospitalised each year for heat stroke, and its been getting worse in recent years…
Glad you like these posts! I used to share more photos on FB (and did so last year when I was there for the fall colours), but I tend not to post about anime stuff there, so this was the only place it was going to go ^^ There was actually a lot more I wanted to write about Kyoto, but I’ve got way too much RL stuff to catch up on now!
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