Kyoto Report 2025 – 9

November 25, 2025
bill
Japan
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This Tuesday report will provide some insights into life for a westerner (me) who is working for an extended period at Kyoto University in Japan but who over the years of working here has increasingly began to understand the language and local cultural traditions. Sadly, this is my last Kyoto Report for 2025. My time here has once again come to an end after 9 weeks and I am heading back home. I will return to my work here next September if all is well.

Yuu Mochi

This is the sweet to kill for.

It is manufactured by – Tsuruya Yoshinobu – which is a set manufacturing company that was founded in 1803.

It is “one of the most famous confectionary shops in Kyoto” and their main shop is beautifully laid out on Imadegawa-dori, in the Kamigyo Ward, just near the Imperial Palace Gardens.

From its inception, it served ‘Kyo-gashi’ for Kyoto Imperial Palace and grand tea masters.

And for me.

It comes in this beautifully designed packaging and it the Yuzu taste is very subtle.

It is very soft and glutinous and is coated in ‘Wasanbon’, which is the “highest quality sugar” available in Japan.

As they say in the description “If you eat one, you would not able to stop eating”.

Very truthful advertising.

A perfect treat with a green tea.

Garden of Fine Arts Kyoto

The weekend before last we caught the subway out to Kitayama Station, which is in the northern area of the Kyoto urban area.

I discussed this journey a bit in last week’s – Kyoto Report 2025 – 8 (November 18, 2025).

Once leaving the subway, immediately to the right on the northern side of the Botanical Gardens is the – 京都府立陶板名画の庭 (Garden of Fine Arts Kyoto).

This is an outdoor art gallery with very interesting architecture and displays.

The entry sets the tone – water and concrete with distinct shapes.

There are several levels and the water ponds spill over to each level and the sound of the cascading water in some parts of the museum is very loud.

Even though it is an open-air museum, the walls and waterfalls provide a sense of inclusion.

On one wall as we made our way down the ramps and stairs that join the levels we came across a replica of Leonardo da Vinci’s – The Last Supper

On another one wall is an extensive (long) mural reproduction of a painting – 張澤端作「清明上河図」台湾 (“Along the River During the Qingming Festival” by Zhang Zeduan), a Taiwanese painter which is housed in the National Palace Museum in Taipei.

It was painted sometime during the – Ming Dynasty – which ran from 1368 to 1644.

The exact date is unknown.

The detail depicted is incredible.

At the bottom of the levels, we encountered an enlarged version of Michaelangelo’s – The Last Judgment (Michelangelo) – which in real life at the Sistine Chapel in Rome spans the whole altar wall.

The Kyoto replica also spans a large space.

The guy posing at the bottom is not part of the painting (-:

It is accompanied by a key to let viewer identify all the components.

I decided this is where I might find an economist or ten, hanging out in the bottom left corner.

Here I am trying to identify which economist this particular ghoul is.

Mount Fuji

I always look out for – Mount Fuji – when I travel to Tokyo on the train from Kyoto.

Sadly the great mountain was shrouded in clouds last Thursday when I was travelling.

I met Santa or lots of them

I was in Tokyo last Friday and after attending to some media interviews, we took the afternoon off to catch up with a friend and visit the Tokyo National Museum out at the Ueno district.

It turns out that our friend preferred to sit and talk and so we walked down to where all the food shops are in – Ueno Park – the latter being famous for the Cherry Blossom Festival in late March and early April.

The Park hosts several museums, the Ueno Zoo and lots of shrines and sitting places.

Anyway, unfortunately, the south end of the park where the food mostly was had an Xmas theme and there were Santas everywhere.

One tapped me on the head and said I had been a good boy this year and would be very happy with the presents he would bring.

I wanted to give him a lecture on delusion but it is hard to deal with an inanimate object on matters pertaining to reality.

We had a really nice afternoon although when the sun disappeared it turned very cold.

Rocket launcher

As we were walking up to the Tokyo National Museum, we passed this monstrosity (very large).

Upon closer inspection it turned out to be the rocket launcher for Japan’s first satellite – Ohsumi (satellite) – which was launched on February 11, 1970 and spent 33 years, 5 months and 21 days circulating the earth.

Upon the successful launch, Japan became the “fourth nation to independently place a satellite into orbit” (the others being US, Soviet Union and France).

Interestingly, just 14 or so hours after the launch, the satellite lost its power and then spent the next 33 odd years wandering aimlessly around in orbit being crashing back to Earth and melting over North Africa.

And … the end for 2025

All things come to an end and I always have mixed feelings when my time is up each year in Japan.

I miss the rivers.

This photo was taken on Kitaoji Bridge, looking south, on my last run in Kyoto for 2025.

It was really cold (4 degrees) and windy.

But still beautiful.

I miss lots of things about living in Japan.

When I woke up early last Friday, we watched the sun come up over the sea from our hotel room.

It was quite the view, although once I got out in the fresh air a few minutes later to go running It was very cold.

And this photo was taken the soon after in Tokyo as I was running around the Imperial Palace loop, which is one of the great runs in the world I think.

The early morning sun was not enough to offset the very cold start to the day but the views around the Palace moat are excellent.

The Tokyo runners who use this circuit and there are lots of them have a really good deal.

I stopped running briefly and took this photo on the North West corner of the loop (I know loops don’t have corners) and I was looking South down to the Tokyo business district.