In front of the house.
On the street outside the entrance to Ikumatsu, the ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) Josh and i stayed at in Kyoto.
Path from the street to the entrance.
Hallway leading to our room. We weren't supposed to take pictures inside the ryokan, but took a few anyway. There are small stones on the side of the path.
Our room actually consisted of several rooms. This alcove was in the entrance room, which was 1 tatami in size. "Tatami" is both the name of the floor mats in traditional Japanese buildings, as well as a way to describe room size. One "tatami" is either 90x180 (eastern Japan) or 95.5x191 (western Japan) centimeters. Those sizes are roughly 3x6 feet.
A screen divided the entrance shown in the previous photo from the 5-tatami room. On the left are the room's closets.
Other side of the 5-tatami room.
The main room, a luxurious 10 tatami in size. Quite spacious after the 3-tatami rooms in the budget hotel in Osaka. The TV seemed a bit out of place to me though, with everything else being so traditional.
The alcove. The 1 accessible electrical outlet for the room was tastefully hidden in the right of the alcove.
Washroom. To the left of this was the toilet, to the right the shower/bath room.
Shower room. To take a shower you just close the door and stand on the floor.
In the shower room there was a large tub. From the scale of this picture it is hard to judge, but this was the largest tub i saw in Japan excepting the public baths.
After arriving we were served a bowl of matcha and wagashi (a traditional small sweet) in the room. After our matcha we went for a bath and then to dinner.
When we came back from dinner a nightlight had appeared in our room.
The table had been moved aside.
And our futons laid out.
Kyoto has lots of running water.
This was in Kurashiki, a traditional town that Noriko took me to. Everything in Japan has to be cute, even weights that keep draperies from blowing in the wind.
Noriko in Kurashiki.
Me in about the same place.
Typical street in Kurashiki, away from the waterway.
After Kurashiki Noriko and i met Akira--a friend i'd met at Drake last school year--in Kobe. He drove us up a mountain for a scenic view of the city. Unfortunately, i didn't have a tripod and couldn't do a long-exposure shot so this is the best i have.
After the mountain, we stopped by the harbor.
Right before the rickshaw ride in Arashiyama, with the rickshaw driver.
Entering the bamboo forest. To a Japanese person this probably isn't very special, but it was my first time seeing such a place outside of in a movie.
Our driver told us the bamboo grows to full height in 2 months. I presume the fences at the side of the path are to keep such an ambitious plant from attacking the people.
Throughout the ride we stopped for several photo opportunities.
