I had the opportunity to revisit Kyoto again. I must say it took a second trip for me to fall in love with this city. Why??? Well, I can say I was naive to believe people when they said : “Kyoto is ancient, you feel like you are walking in the Edo period”. When I arrived the first time, I was so disappointed to see the Kyoto tower! I was indeed hoping to see a modern city, yes, but perhaps not that modern, or perhaps I was hoping to see more ” ancient” than modern.  I was never personally fond of the mix between modern and ancient, just like some Parisians dislike the mix of  their dear Louvre Museum with that huge crystal pyramid as an entrance. I think it is very difficult to make both coexists together in harmony, but in some cases it is possible.

Kyoto is perhaps one of the most blessed cities in the world with the most beautiful temples and shrines! Yet I have an after taste that there is something “wrong” about this city. When I think again, yes, I love its shrines, I love shinbashi dori in Gion, but I dislike that around such a beauty, there are ugly buildings that completely kill the ancient atmosphere. To me, some  old houses “struggle” to exist among the new ones (Check out the picture below)

Courtesy of "Homesick Home"

I have heard that there are laws that try to keep the harmony in some neighborhoods. I do find interesting that in some Gion corners, you are walking down in a modern street and all the sudden you find yourself  in an old street, but when they try to mix both in the same street, it just doesn’t seem to go well :

Courtesy of Home Sickhome

Despite all this, I have to say that I enjoyed visiting the city once more. The first time I went there I had only spent 2 days. This time I spent 5 and it was worth revisiting the sites seen and seeing others that I missed in my first visit. My favorite was the twin dragons ceiling painting in Kennin-ji! That is to me a perfect combination of modern and ancient! The painting was made in 2002!

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