Kiyamachi Kyoto Red Bicycle

木屋町赤い自転車

We love this bike.

A sporty red Giant with upturned handlebar grips, it was parked on a bridge on Kiyamachi Dori.

Fall this year has been warm, so the leaves even in early December are just starting to change.

Strategically placed behind the bike - and not staged - is a floor mat from a nearby bar or restaurant.

The owner of the establishment has hung it out to air or dry before business hours start in the evening.

The bridge is just south of Sanjo Dori with the Takase Canal in the background.

Behind the bike and to the left, there is a modern building designed by Tadao Ando.

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Kiyamachi Bicycle Pile Up

木屋町自転車

Kiyamachi is a narrow north-south street in downtown Kyoto that runs parallel and very close to the Kamo River. It is full of bars and restaurants and many other less savory establishments.

The latter have spilled off of the east-west side streets that connect Kiyamachi to Kawaramachi, and onto prime real estate on Kiyamachi north or Shijo. This has taken a bit of the luster off of what was once an elegant avenue。

Still, Kiyamachi boasts the Takase River - a canal once plied with boats carrying goods to and from points south, such as Fushimi and Osaka - that is lined by lovely willow trees.

Cycling on the street is a tricky affair. It is narrow and, at night, thronged with people.

There is a motorcycle parking lot, and one bike lot on a side street. It gets full fast.

Hence, people often park wherever they can.

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Kyoto Alley Between Kawaramachi and Kiyamachi

京都河原町と木屋町の間の路地

Between Kawaramachi and Kiyamachi - two north-south streets in central Kyoto - is a grid of narrow alleys that connect them.

In typical Japanese fashion, the alley has a colorful mix of shops and restaurants.

The man standing at right is a tout for a brothel. On the left is a German themed restaurant. Farther up is a classic Kyoto cafe, Tsukiji.

Just off the main boulevard at the end of the alley is Kawaramachi, one of the main shopping streets in Kyoto. It is filled with middle-class people nicely dressed out for a day of shopping.

Many of them will dip into the alleys to find an offbeat shop, have a coffee, or perhaps enjoy some less salubrious service.

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Woman in Kimono Man on Bike

着物と日傘の姿の京美人、ちゃり乗ったはるおっちゃん

A classic Kyoto scene.

An elegant woman of a certain age in a summer kimono carrying a parasol strolls north on Kiyamachi . She has been shopping and is signifying her taste and wealth with the bags she has in her left hand.

Not a hair is out of place. She is grace and perfection in motion.

In front of her, at the corner, is an "o-chan" (middle-aged guy) on his "chari" - the all-purpose Kyoto bike.

His shirt is hanging out, he has on a dirty baseball cap, the bike is oily and in need of a tuneup. And he is hot as hell and badly in need of a cold one.

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Japanese Inn Kiyamachi Kyoto

木屋町旅館

While cycling up Kiyamachi the other day, we came upon this amazing Japanese inn.

Multi-storied, with eaves and soffits everywhere you look - it appears like something from a Hayao Miyazaki animated film.

However, it is real indeed.

The inn is located on the Kamo River side of Kiyamachi, just north of Gojo Dori.

This area has seen its fortunes improve in recent years. Restaurants have opened, and the brothels that have opened north of Shijo have not spread south to this area.

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