WINTER WONDERLAND IN KYOTO

There's a canal carrying water from Lake Biwa to Kyoto that runs along the foot of the mountains behind the JR station in Yamashina. The path beside the canal is a lovely place at any season, and one of my favorite places to bike or walk. It's very lovely in Spring because the sides of the canal are lined with cherry blossom trees, and in Autumn the colored leaves over the canal are so beautiful. But over this New Year holiday it snowed in Kyoto, and turned the canal walk into a winter wonderland.

Even though I am so familiar with the path, it seemed like a brand new place. Branches weighted down with snow hung over the dark water. The whole world seemed to be changed to monochrome, all shades of gray except for occasional splashes of color - a red bridge, a pink camellia, a yellow light reflecting on the snow.

I walked along, my boots crunching in the newly fallen snow, until the light faded away and left strange shapes glowing whitely in the darkness. Finally I turned off the path and walked down the road to Yamashina JR Station. Even the station looked other-worldly that night.