I forgot about a late afternoon walk through the center of town I took on the 1st day, checking out the heart of old Kyoto. I said before that much of Kyoto looks like some other Japanese cities, which is true. But, I should say that the center of town is decidedly different from any other place I visited. Here, I was able to understand a little bit the comparisons I had heard between Kyoto and Boston.
A wide, shallow river runs through the center of town - you can see the water rushing by. Along the riverbanks, restaurants and homes that have their backs against the water open up onto large porches and decks that cantilever out over the walkways along the edges of river. These structures look kind of ramshackle and random, squeezed against each other along the shore. It was pretty nice this evening, as the sun had come out and some of the larger decks had been set up with pillows and tables for dinner service. (Some of these shots are from the next day as my camera battery died late the first day)
When you cross the bridge and go looking for the front door of these buildings, you find yourself on narrow streets not more than 6 ft or so across, with tiny stores and restaurants one after the other on either side, similar (but smaller) to the tiny streets in the North End or Beacon Hill areas of Boston. many have wait staff out front pitching tonight's menu to try to get you to come in. As I walked down this street, I noticed little doorways that were open to long dark passageways between buildings, many leading back to some discreet dining location or bar that you probably have to be a local to know how to find.
The next block over, a canal has been funneled off of the main river, originally used for transporting goods quickly between establishments, but now used more for show, I think. It's lined with trees and a cobblestoned street on one side, while buildings are precariously perched right on the edge of the water on the other side. The whole place is very quaint and attractive, and there are so many little passageways and alleys - you kinda want to go down each one to see what you might find.
Here I also found another building by Tadao Ando (the guy is everywhere), the Times Building. Set along the canal, the concrete building is an interesting series of narrow passages and stairways connecting a series of offices and shops and tiny courtyards. Here you really get a sense of Ando's love of dark little passageways, and the setting along the river allows him to make some really cool little spaces. The exit on the far side of the building is the most interesting part. This large building is set along the water quite conspicuously, but the back entrance is a narrow sliver of concrete that is actually squeezed between a restaurant and a store on another street. The guy just makes cool buildings - it's just what he does.
A few more blocks over are some larger streets with overhangs protecting almost every section of sidewalk from the rain (this would come in handy later). Kyoto was also my first experience with Japanese street malls - huge pedestrian streets stretching for block and blocks covered by a glass roof. They're always crowded and there is always something you want to buy every few minutes - very dangerous.
Earlier, I also visited the Kyoto Imperial Gardens and Palace. Sounds impressive, but unless you reserve a spot for one the guided tours given twice a day, there's not much to see. An enormous park with ridiculously wide pathways holds the grounds of the Palace, none of which can be seen. A massive stone wall stretches around the palace grounds keeping the interior private. For me, the most interesting part about this was the physical reminder of the aloof and secretive imperial government of Japan's past (though certain parts of their current government seem pretty aloof and secretive, too).
No comments:
Post a Comment