The Great Kyoto Adventure, Part IV - KyoAni!

Having finished my temple tour, I was ready for a little not-so-traditional sightseeing. It started, by necessity, with a walk through downtown Kyoto.

I was far north on the map, and I needed to go Southeast. I had a couple of new places I wanted to visit, and I wanted to stop by a familiar place on the way.

A statue in front of "Big Boy" restaurant.

There were some interesting stores, and I might have stopped by if I thought I had time.

I passed a temple or two, but I had definitely had my share of traditional Japanese buildings for the day.

It was always funny to me to see a
liquor vending machine.

Some neat graffiti.

 

I passed the north end of the Kyoto Imperial Garden, which, if I am not mistaken, is the location of the old capital of Japan. I had other plans though, so I just kept walking.

  

There it was again, "Usagi-Yama" Shopping Arcade! (That's not its real name, fyi). After doing some research back at home, I realized that I had completely neglected to take a photo of this side of the alley, which is kind of like the front, considering it's the first view you see of it when watching the anime.

 I didn't stick around long, though. I already spent an entire evening here once, and I had other places to see.

Across some familiar bridges and intersections, I boarded a train at Demachiyanagi Station.

That Bridge I Was Looking For!

Right outside of Fujinomori station, I found the bridge from Tamako Market. You know, the one I spent two hours wandering around looking for last time I was in Kyoto. While the anime would have you believe differently, this bridge is actually 4 or 5 miles away from the shopping arcade.

The anime also makes it look like there is a lush park
where those buildings are.

I also found a kitty!

Meow.

Actually, this area was overall more interesting, and felt more like the anime than the area around the "Usagiyama" shopping arcade.

I still couldn't quite find Tamako's house, though.

Nope.

Not quite...

Interestingly, there was a signboard nearby for an elementary school, and the children in the pictures were wearing uniforms very similar to the ones worn by the high school students in Tamako Market. Also there was a notice about the elementary school's "entrance exams." I promise I didn't read that wrong.

Upon turning the corner, I spotted another familiar bridge!

But that wasn't the last of them...

I could see the first bridge from there.

  

I had just about had my fill of this place, so I headed back towards the station.

When you're doing a pilgrimage such as this, everything looks like it might be something you saw in the anime. I took a couple more pictures, thinking I might recognize them later, and then headed back into the station. Next stop: Kyoto Animation Studio and Shop!

That's a mouthful.

The train had a green theme. I like green.

It wasn't hard to see the building containing the store from the Kohata Station.

I climbed the stairs and went inside. It was beautiful, and I bought several things, but I had made it only half an hour or so before they were to close up shop. Also, there were signs everywhere forbidding photography. How irritating. I took a photo of the outside of the store, but I didn't dare try to sneak a photo inside. I didn't want to risk getting kicked out.

The first (and maybe last) Pizza Hut
I ever saw while in Japan.

I wanted to see the studio, too, but I couldn't seem to find it. I wandered around for a while, and then I crossed the train tracks and wandered some more.

It turns out that there are two Kohata stations. The Kyoto Animation Studio is right outside the JR Kohata station, and the shop is right outside the other one. The studio is several blocks east of the shop.

In any case, I had found it.

Obligatory selfie.

If only I could have actually gone inside. Oh, well. I wasn't really expecting to be able to. I was just glad to have found it.

Outside in the display case, along with posters promoting their most recent anime, there was a map showing how to get to the shop. It would have been nice to have the opposite...

I decided to just use the JR station nearby, until I saw the prices.

Yikes.

I changed my mind. A little more walking wasn't gonna kill me.

I saw some interesting trains on the way back home. The one above had a few extra folding seats, which I was glad to discover after standing for about half an hour.

There was even a double decker train.

I had arrived in familiar territory, and was getting close to home.

I love the look of Japan at night. I guess any metropolitan city would look like this at night, but Japan is just special to me.

I got home and checked out my goods. I got some posters, some other trinkets, and it all came in an awesome K-On! paper bag.

Needless to say, I was dead tired, so it wasn't long before I passed out in my futon, only sort-of ready to go to school the next day.