京都の冒険 | Kyoto Adventure

8am (not a second late or else Doc will hold you by your throat) we departed from JCMU to Hikone Station 「彦根駅」to make our trip to Kyoto. We arrived at Kyoto Station 「京都駅」then took the subway to Shijo Station [ 四条駅] and walked further untill we reached a local shinto shrine.

Unlike Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines like the picture above, have big gates (usually red or orange) to mark its entrance. Also, on the sides of these huge gates are dogs or lions ( 狛犬Komainu) which serves as guradians of the shrine. Just inside there would be purification fountains which would purify the body. In shinto its not about good vs. evil, but it rather concerns pure vs. impure.

After visiting the shrine, we stopped for lunch and took off for Kyoto University 「京都大学」to see Professor Eiichi Taniguichi's lecture on urban logistics. He starts off by explaining the three basic pillars of city logistics, which are mobility, sustainability, and liveability. Then he touches on the measures of city logistics - supplying infrastructure, regulatoin and economic measures. What I found most interesting about his lecture was the case studies of different cities in the world. Being a person who loves to know the "behind-the-scenes", it was really interesting to see the routes that deliveries are made.

After the lecture, we took the city bus, or might as well call it a sardine can since it was packed, back to kyoto station to catch a train back to hikone. A tiring day it was.