Dead leaves on the dirty ground

In Kyoto, we caught the changing of the leaves. In parks and shrine areas, it looked as though someone took a giant paintbrush and made sweeping arcs against the green trees so that smears of red and orange stained the leaves. It was a pretty sight, very contrasting.

Walking through the city of Kyoto is a dichotomy of old meets new. I can be strolling down a boulevard where stores like Lacoste or Starbucks line the streets to find a geisha in complete uniform and makeup. I was pretty perplexed and wished I were shameless enough to whip out my camera to snap a picture of her. Instead, I kept walking to the world's best gyoza shop in the world. I have no idea what it's called but that just means if you want to try the place out, you'll need to buy me a plane ticket to show you where it is. My written directions will be useless.

Kyoto reminded me of Los Angeles. I'll be the first to admit that LA is a wasteland, devoid of warmth and nature. But I know that there are pockets where such beauty exists. Beyond these groves of trees were houses cramped next to each other and street hawkers screeching their wares. Just like LA.