Updated Version of KWC
The latest version of KYOTO WITHOUT CROWDS is now available on Amazon. Many of the changes are just tinkering, but there are a number of updates and a few minor corrections. Some temples have raised their prices, others have changed their routes, opened or closed rooms, created new attractions. We hope the latest version will be an improvement, but the amendments are not significant enough to make it worth buying if you already have a copy.
Kyoto was lovely in May - as always. (The photo above is of Shoboji's "Birds and Beasts" garden.) We got in with special visas, but individual tourists are still barred from Japan. At this stage it’s difficult to see what that’s achieving beyond damage to the economy and loss of cultural influence. I see the mayor of Kyoto has now come out against it, so perhaps the pressure is building.
Almost all the temples that closed their doors during the pandemic are now open again. An exception is Koto-in. We haven’t noted its closure in the new edition of KWC because it should have re-opened by the time tourists come back in any number. The temple says it’s waiting for the pandemic to be over…