A Perfect Day (Bike Riding In Kyoto)

Have you ever had a day that was just so perfect, you know that you'll remember it forever? The photos  in this post are from one of the best days of my life. Nothing particularly spectacular happened, unless you count riding a bicycle down the river in Kyoto under a soft rain of cherry blossoms spectacular? Which I do, obviously. Routine for some, memorable for me. I should note at this point that C thoroughly concurs, if not leads the march on this one.

If you've been following our Japan journey, you might have noticed that we had a lot of drizzly, cold weather. This day stood out as an unusually warm, sunny day, and we decided to rent a couple of bicycles from our hostel and meet Gerard for a little bike ride. It was the first time I'd been on a bicycle since I was about 12-13 years old, so I was a little... concerned.

You know the saying, that one about riding a bike, but I wasn't sure it applied to me. Add my cycling inexperience to a foreign city, little laneways, cars, bikes and many pedestrians. I was a bit scared at first! I followed Gerard and C, who were much more confident than I, and was worried I'd fall behind. Soon, though, we took a little ramp off the side of the road and emerged onto the paved walk/bikeway that ran alongside the river.

We rode for miles along that river. The wind whipped my hair, I tinkled my little bell to warn pedestrians of my wobbly approach and we took in the sights and smells of this beautiful day. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom, and on every soft breeze, their petals drifted down like snowflakes.

We stopped by a canal for a rest and decided it was high time we created magic with the mountains of petals on the ground. Not very graceful, but oh well. Sometimes excitement and joy overtakes grace! I have some of these precious petals in my notebook, they fade so quickly but I'll always think of this day when I look at their fragile faded wisps.

(a perfect little house in the middle of the city)

C and I rode home alone, it was dark along the river and we gasped with delight every time the huge-bodied bugs buzzed down toward our heads as we flew down that river in the cool night air. It was impossible to wipe the grins off our faces and we vowed to do it again the next day. Of course the next day brought with it flooding thunderstorms, and the perfect day was made even more perfect in it's rarity and goodness.

Kitty
xo

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