It's summer in Kyoto but in the high mountains of Toyama and Nagano, it still looks like winter.

I had the chance to travel to Toyama prefecture by the Sea of Japan earlier this month. They get lots of snow up there. And they grow tulips. In spring, they have a tulip festival.

I promised a friend that I'd post pictures of the sakura by the river once it bloomed. It's a little late but here they are.

I've learned enough about Heian Jingu to expect crowds there in sakura season. The maiko performance in the shrine courtyard was a surprise though.

...in this city of cyclists.

I knew the light wouldn't be good - it was too late and cloudy - but I went down to Kiyamachi-dori anyway.

The early bloomers by the Kamo river.

A friend from overseas is spending a week here.

On a day of rare snow, a few people made the trip up north to Ohara and Sanzen-in, the mountain village's most famous temple.