Friday, February 15, 2013

Soft sounds (Miyama I, Kyoto LXXXIII)


A day trip to Miyama, north of Kyoto. Train ride to Sonobe and from there by bus to Kayabuki no sato - village. This small picturesque haven is a hidden gem with its traditional thatched roof houses, surrounding mountains and automatic fire gun system. Yes, to protect the beautiful traditional and highly flammable houses in case the fire alarm goes off, small wooden house -looking boxes scattered around the town open up with a fire hose coming out. This auto turret system provides the town with something that looks like a very good irrigation system for the houses. Again, such a cliche I know, but that's Japan: tradition and hi-tech hand in hand.

But the main attraction for me were the snowy landscapes. It's been a while now since I last saw snow. And I don't mean snow just on a mountain top somewhere in the horizon or one centimeter layer that doesn't survive longer than couple of minutes on the city streets. I mean snow that gives light when it gets dim, softens the sounds of the space it's covering and makes the landscape simpler and cleaner. Such a pleasure to walk on a white carpet of snow in the countryside, somewhere there behind the horizon. I'm from Finland after all...

This is the first half of the photos:




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