NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/8, 1/500 sec, ISO200)
Today we will leave Kyoto for Kanazawa but since our train is scheduled for lunch time we still have one more sight to visit.
A true highlight which is in walking distance from our hotel at the station: the Sanjusangen-do temple. This is a very strong recommendation should you plan to visit Kyoto. It is an amazing sight but it comes with a catch: you are not allowed to take pictures!
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO360)
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec, ISO200)
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec, ISO200)
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/8, 1/100 sec, ISO90)
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/8, 1/125 sec, ISO64)
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/11, 1/100 sec, ISO125)
You can take pictures but only outside, not inside the hall with 1001 golden Buddha statues. The golden Buddhas are arranged in 10 rows and 50 columns on both sides of a center piece in a long hall. It is a spectacular sight but as a photographer it is really hard to just look around, see the pictures and not take any pictures.
But I can understand why. People taking selfies in front of the Buddha army would compromise the experience. The room is rather dark so flashes would fire on phones and simpler cameras and the shutter sound of better cameras would spoil the experience. My camera is a Nikon Z8. It is massive but it doesn’t have a flash, it is too heavy for selfies and it totally silent because doesn’t have a shutter. I should have a special permission. 😉
But I followed the rule and did what my wife does for many years now. I just looked at the scenery. I would love to tell you how liberating it was and that it offered a more immersive experience but the truth is: I would have loved to take some pictures.
Before we went back to our hotel to pick up our luggage it was time for coffee. We found a very nice looking coffee house inside the station. Viennese coffee, nice pastries, golden spoons and an excessive waiting time to get in. The coffee was really excellent though.
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/2.8, 1/100 sec, ISO360)
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max (1.54mm, f/2.4, 1/120 sec, ISO320)
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max (5.1mm, f/1.6, 1/125 sec, ISO32)
After coffee we collected our luggage and went to purchase our train tickets. There was a long line and I guess it was mostly because of the language barrier. We later learned a more effective way to purchase train tickets. At least we stood in line with Captain America traveling with his shield of course. Japan is a country where every piece of luggage is too big and kind of awkward. Imagine how much of a nerd you need to be to travel with something big and totally useless. I guess he either bought it here or it is a very special suitcase for ultra flat items. Needless to say that he was picked for a luggage size check of his suitcase which was exactly the same size as mine. I guess it is better not to stick out in Japan.
In order to speed up the ticket purchase process a young lady from JR walked through the line to ask everybody about their destination and preferences and put down notes in Japanese. So the only thing we needed to do was to hand over the piece of paper and to pay for our tickets. I guess without her help the wait would have been even longer. Time to get our Ekiben for the train ride.
My wife bought something boring that I can’t even remember. Maybe it was egg salad sandwiches. She doesn’t like fish or seafood. No real problem in Japan because there are many alternatives but of course it seriously reduces your options. If you love fish, seafood and especially Sushi you have come to the right place. I got a box which contained king crab (the season just started), sea urchin and salmon roe on rice. It was truly great only the size of the portion was a little too small for my taste.
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max (5.1mm, f/1.6, 1/120 sec, ISO40)
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max (5.1mm, f/1.6, 1/125 sec, ISO32)
Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max (5.1mm, f/1.6, 1/250 sec, ISO32)
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/5.6, 1/100 sec, ISO90)
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/8, 1/250 sec, ISO220)
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec, ISO900)
The first train to Tsuruga, a normal express train, was completely booked so we couldn’t sit next to each other. We planned to have a coffee at Tsuruga station so we planned to let one Shinkansen go. Big mistake. Tsuruga station is mostly empty and looks like the many small stations we have here in Austria. Nothing beside a small room and a vending machine. It was extremely cold compared to Kyoto so we finally got out our winter clothes because the small waiting room wasn’t heated.
Everyone else took the first train so we had the Shinkansen to Kanazawa to ourselves. I was relieved when someone finally entered our car because I started to worry that something might be wrong. Of course the train left exactly according to its schedule.
NIKON Z 8 (26mm, f/2.8, 1/250 sec, ISO1250)