My neighborhood
Have a look at the google earth screendump below (and click on it for a larger image)...


Kyoto University International House

Kitayama-dori area around the Shugakuin Station
I am staying at the Kyoto University Intarnational House in a part of town known as Shugakuin (marked by the pushpin in the upper right of the googlesat image). This is in the north-eastern part of the city, very close to the montains that divide Kyoto from Lake Biwa to the east. My building, full of Kyoto University gaijin, is in a little area of multi-storey aparment blocks clustered around the Shugakuin Station of the Eizan train line. The train line is convenient for getting to work at Kyoto University (the other push-pin), but most days so far I have walked at least one way. The walk is a pleasant 30 minutes through a low-rise residential area of two-storey hoses and small apartment buildings populated by a mix of grannies out for a stroll, students speeding by on bicycles, and busy professionals on their way to or from work.

The Takanogawa, looking north
A short walk to the west of the International House, on the other side of the train station, is the Takanogawa. Gawa=river. The Takanogawa is a tributary of the Kamogawa, which is the major river that runs through Kyoto. Kamogawa and Takanogawa form an easily-identifiable Y shape on the map and their confluence is close to two points of interest: Kyoto University, to the east, and the Imperial Palace - a large park-like rectangular area - to the south-west. South of Kyoto U is one of the main temple districts while south of the Imperial Palace is reputed to contain Kyoto downtown (which will make for an interesting field-trip some future weekend). Further south still, near the very bottom of the satellite image, is Kyoto Station - gateway to the rest of Japan. But all that's for another day.



I am staying at the Kyoto University Intarnational House in a part of town known as Shugakuin (marked by the pushpin in the upper right of the googlesat image). This is in the north-eastern part of the city, very close to the montains that divide Kyoto from Lake Biwa to the east. My building, full of Kyoto University gaijin, is in a little area of multi-storey aparment blocks clustered around the Shugakuin Station of the Eizan train line. The train line is convenient for getting to work at Kyoto University (the other push-pin), but most days so far I have walked at least one way. The walk is a pleasant 30 minutes through a low-rise residential area of two-storey hoses and small apartment buildings populated by a mix of grannies out for a stroll, students speeding by on bicycles, and busy professionals on their way to or from work.

A short walk to the west of the International House, on the other side of the train station, is the Takanogawa. Gawa=river. The Takanogawa is a tributary of the Kamogawa, which is the major river that runs through Kyoto. Kamogawa and Takanogawa form an easily-identifiable Y shape on the map and their confluence is close to two points of interest: Kyoto University, to the east, and the Imperial Palace - a large park-like rectangular area - to the south-west. South of Kyoto U is one of the main temple districts while south of the Imperial Palace is reputed to contain Kyoto downtown (which will make for an interesting field-trip some future weekend). Further south still, near the very bottom of the satellite image, is Kyoto Station - gateway to the rest of Japan. But all that's for another day.

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