NISHIYAMA RYOKAN

Hello! How are you doing? Have you seen girls walking around in Yukata in Kyoto city? Usually, people wear Yukata (one-layer-Kimono for summer season) on a special occasion like Matsuri (festivals). But for some reason, it's not so unusual to see thses girls wearing Yukata as everyday clothes here in Kyoto. Maybe that's because the traditional part of the city is still preserved in this modern day. Well, speaking of Yukata... Our Yukata collection at Nishiyama Ryokan is now on sale for both of men and women! Isn't this pretty!? How about strolling around the city in Yukata? Also Yukata would be a wonderful gift for your family and friends^^ Come see our collection at Nishiyama Ryokan!!!

Tanabata (also called "the star festival") is held on July 7th. It is the only day a year that the star Altair crosses the Milky way to meet the star Vega. On this day, people write their wishes on strips of paper and hang them from bamboo tree. It is believed that those wishes come true on Tanabata. We had our guests make wishes...and here is one of them!!! written by two pretty sisters from the U.S. Thanks to our guests, we had more wishes on the bamboo tree. I hope all the wishes come true.....

Speaking of summer, I hear about ghost stuff more often. For example, horror programs on TV or at some places a haunted house is built only during summer time. The reason is that horror stuffs make you frighten and cool you down in hot summer. I don't know if this is only Japanese culture but needless to say Japanese horror movie is quite popular all over the world. There is one famous haunted house in Kyoto Studio Park Toei. If you are interested, why don't you go there to cool down?? I mean if you do like horror movie... http://www.eigamura30.com/english/index.html

It has been getting hot lately. I went to Kurama temple lately. Kurama is the name of the place located in northern part of Kyoto. It is less hotter than the center city. There is Kurama hot spring. I have never been there, but after walk around whole day, taking a bath and chilling out sounds perfect!

Hi there^^ What a damp weather we are having these days...sigh However, we have something special here in Kyoto, that we can see only for a couple of weeks, espeaiclly in the rainy season. "Fireflies" As you can imagine from its name, they are flying insect that glow in the dark. You can see them here in Kyoto city if you go a little up north. One of the best places to see fireflies is "Kamigamo Shrine". In this season, lots of people visit the shrine in a search of fireflies. And I am one of them...lol I should have brought my digital camera...shouldn't I? lol I hope you can see those little tiny dots in the dark. They are the fireflies flying along the creek in the shrine. How about walking around in the shrine looking for fireflies on those few sunny days in this rainy season? You would see lots of them if you are lucky enough^^ We will keep you posted with more photos of Kyoto and Japan! See you next time!!!