Leaves and me.

As temperature is getting down and down, I took my winter clothes from the closet in my room. It's the second winter for me to spend in Tokyo and gradually get used to it. It's a bit colder than in my hometown Nagoya, but only a bit. We have a few days of snow, cold winds, and cloudy.
I found myself that I was once a winter hater, but recent year it seems to begin to change. I can enjoy anything, anything even once I hadn't liked.
In this picture, I bought a beverage from Starbucks. Since it's one of the best season to drink coffee outside, instead of taking it in there, I took this in a big park nearby.

So... Tomorrow I go to a temple where is a quite famous for foliage. Don't miss it!

Kyoto in Autumn, 2012.

Waking up at 3:00 a.m. in the morning, I prepared for leaving my home to Kyoto. (You don't have to wake up so early, just I'm a early person ;))

I forgot to bring a guide book this time....Only I'd got was a flyer of Kyoto which Japan Railway published, haha...

So....Let's take a walk ;)

I started with walking around Arashiyama ("yama" means a mountain), where is located western Kyoto, takes about 25 minutes from Kyoto station by local bus. It was first time for me to visit there.

I had longed for visiting Kyoto in the autumn for many years. What made me so hard to make this real was a rumor that Autumn in Kyoto is a number of, or numerous, people gathering for sightseeing.

Since I'm a person who detest crowded places (you know that!), I had avoided to go there such a long time. But this year, many people told me that autumn leaves in this year will be surprising ever, probably once a few decade, some said to me.
Well, I suppose it could be nice if I would go to the finest place to see the finest autumn leaves.

I went to Hogo-in temple at first. As it turned out, this place has an astonishing garden.

I tend to take a glance or two when I see something, not seeing carefully. That's what I usually do. However, this temple was tremendous, beautiful, you can't miss it when you go to Arashiyama, especially when it is Autumn.

I had taken pictures nearly an hour there. I can't believe my ability to concentrate is that good, haha.

This kind of man-made garden, such as this, such as gardens I told you before usually have some meanings. Every single stone has sometime its own meaning. I studied this stone carefully, but nothing come across to me ;)

Even a bench which is usual aspect looks beautiful...!

Look up to see foliage, then turn my face to down, and up, then down.... My neck was tired by then :D

It's a tea house, I think. they require additional fee to be inside, I gave up :(

How come this season is soooooo beautiful in my country! :D

 

An old gate which is not used any more.

Leaving Hogoin temple, I went around Arashiyama again.

Red foliage, yellowish foliage. Everything is beautiful for the time being in Kyoto :)

It's not exactly a gate, but close to it. It's a symbol of a religion as well.

I'm sick of taking photograph by then, I put my SLR in my bag, just enjoy watching autumn begin to change into the winter.

I'm terrible with winter. Cold, everywhere seems in silence, I don't like silent place neither :( And talking about snow, I like snow, but I don't like lots of them.

I consider autumn leaves as gifts from autumn. This thought may be odd, but I like to think that way :)

Last place I visited was Daikaku-ji. Before I arrived there, I ate lunch nearby and a chef in there told me Daikak-ji is a must to see. But after I left the gate of this temple and walking to a bus stop, I couldn't help thinking whether it's such a great place to visit.

Probably that's because the first one (Hogo-in temple) was so overwhelming that rest of temples looked less attractive to me.

Well, that's all for today. I put so many pictures on this post, you may be tired of reading it. Hopefully you enjoyed to see it! :)

Greetings from West Tokyo.

Having had a nice holiday in my hometown Nagoya, I at last came back here. I'm sorry for making you wait. I'm home in Tokyo just ago, and it seems I'm totally exhausted for the long trip from Nagoya to Tokyo right now (It took nearly 7hours due to traffic jam!). So.... Today I put one picture on my blog. Let me give more few days...! I promise to create a nice post about Kyoto where I visited this time.

Gokayama.

Sorry for uploading only one picture. I'm currently back to my hometown Nagoya. Since my laptop which I am using now has few pictures, I chose that I took in Gokayama, Toyama prefecture last year, or perhaps this year!? I just forgot :( I am going to go to Kyoto or Nara tomorrow first in the morning;) So...please wait a day or two or even three for great photographs taken there!!!

Showa Commemorative National Government Park, late Autumn in 2012.

Good morning! It's literally "good" morning for me. Although many people don't like Monday, I like this day since everyone deserve a fresh start. As you can see last post, about my illness, I wasn't good health at that time. That's one of the reasons why I wrote it down...sorry.

But hey! The weekend came after that, and I visited there in "Showa kinen kouen", or Showa commemorative National Government Garden, I entirely recovered. I am such a simple person, it seems I just need taking some good pictures and daily walks. How peaceful I am... :)

Foliage are turning their color little by little, and if you watch carefully, it's likely to be able to see them literally changing their color from green to yellow or red :D

Well, it looks you don't need to listen to my words, haha... Just enjoy what I shot!

Many people consider me as a person who only use digital SLR, but I also use film cameras. I especially love TLR. It's absolutely beautiful shape...! Though it's quite difficult to take a well-composed photo, haha.

About my illness called "Schizophrenia".

It was 2003 when hard times had first hit me. I was totally exhausted, drained, and to make things worse, I had no idea what caused it at all. I could sleep only 40 minutes a day, that had lasted for two weeks.

That was how I decided to go to a psychiatry.

I visited more than 10 clinics, that were really helpless. They just said to me "Bear off, and keep taking medicines".

If you can believe it, they spent only 3 minutes to examine me and they thought that's enough. There were lots of patients lined in the waiting room, doing nothing but just wait. My worst experience was waiting for 3 hours to be examined that took 3 minutes as usual. On the way back to my home, I couldn't help but thinking what I am doing here. I had once taken more than 400 medicines a month.

Through experience from this kind of things, I found myself that medicines never solve the problem. And attitude to the mental illness of this country is definitely wrong. Some doctors who I contacted seemed to be indifferent besides giving prescription drugs. Although there are many clinical psychotherapists in Japan, some doctors don't think of their need.

Sure, you're able to sleep by taking a sleeping medicine. But the point is not how to sleep; how to make the atmosphere which you can sleep without any concern.

I was told by the current doctor that my illness will never be cured. Instead, he told that it could be remission at some point in the future. Remission!No doubt that it's mere a comfort word to me. It's pointless to keep taking medicines forever if that won't cure the illness, after all? Much better than ending up with hanging, still it's like a prisoner for medicine, isn't it?

Then, what should I do? Stop taking them?
No, it's out of the question to stop it since sidelines including my family worry me. Only thing I can do is just taking them without thinking. This is not to say medicines are worthless. Some of them are useful. Personally I just don't like it.

There's no certain solution to me for now. I'm trying, struggle to solve this long lasting problem.

One thing I found out through a decade of suffering is quite simple; keep in touch with close friends, family, relatives and so on. Don't think you are alone. To be honest, people who are suffering from this illness tend to consider themselves isolated. So am I sometime. But you are not. Get through it together.
This is my opinion.

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I'm sorry for some heat up. I wasn't supposed to do so. Those who got offended by this post, just ignore, forget it, and leave this blog.

Well, it's time for sleep. Hope to fall asleep without any medicine tonight ;)