People say you shouldn't go to Kyoto in August as the place is too hot. Still, this summer in Japan has been very weird and rather cool so I took my chances. I dug out the camera (Nikon D90 with 18-200mm lens) and headed south on the Shinkansen. 2.5 hours later I arrived, still sleepy from the morning train. Armed with a bunch of recommended walks I went to a mixture of places I'd been before and new ones. I took in the castle, Kiyomizu temple, Heien temple and rounded off with the Golden temple, which I timed rather nicely to get the sunlight. Sadly they kick people out at 5 pm so it wasn't perfect, but perfect enough. I think I lost a kilo pounding those pavements but it was really very beautiful and out of 750 shots I got a few dozen nice ones. So, when people tell you not to go to Kyoto in August, say "balls!" and go anyway. It may not be what it once was - in fact, it's shameful how real estate developers have persuaded old people to leave their homes only to have the places torn down and replaced with modern flats. That's Japan; a host of often infuriating contradictions; they love the past and their culture but they still don't mind tearing it down. Balls to them too.
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