One of my pleasures of moving to Kyoto is Ginko, which a small trip for the idea of haiku.I sometimes go out to Ginko with the people of the English Haiku gathering. Because the weather is nice, I go to Shiga and Nara prefectures. Even in the afternoon to Osaka. If I use the limited express or Shinkansen, I can go to Hyogo prefecture, Okayama prefecture, and Hokuriku on a day trip. If we stay overnight, we can relax in the hot springs. One of the great things about Kyoto that I never thought of was the good access to the neighboring areas. Thanks to you, I am blessed with the opportunity to travel. I also occasionally go to my parents' house in Tokyo and the house in Karuizawa left by my husband's parents.
By the way, Basho, who wrote haiku in the Edo period, travels Oku-no-hosomichi, 'Road to the deep north'. He admired Saigyo who composed waka, wandering about various places in Japan. He was a poet who had attended on the Empereror in the Heian Period, but gave up his position, wealth and honour.
Woodblock printing began in the Edo period, and many ukiyo-e artists appeared. Among them, Hiroshige drew many landscape paintings such as Tokaido and Kiso Kaido. The common people who saw this wanted to go there and bought one after another. In other words, his ukiyo-e was also a tourist guide.
Saigyo, Basho, and Hiroshige once invited people's hearts to travel. And now it's easy to take pictures with a digital camera. If you put a haiku there, it may be a modern tourist guide. Please enjoy my travel haiku along with the scenery of Japan.

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京都へ引っ越してからの楽しみの一つが、英語俳句の会の人達と時々吟行に出かけること。今日は天気がいいからと、ふらっと滋賀県や奈良県へ。大阪へは午後からでも。特急や新幹線を使えば、兵庫県、岡山県、北陸へも日帰りで。一泊ならばゆっくり温泉にも。思ってもみなかった京都の良さの1つが近隣圏へのアクセスの良さ。お陰様で、一人旅や会の人達と吟行に出かける機会に恵まれています。また実家のある東京や、主人の両親が遺した軽井沢の家へも時々出かけます。
ところで、江戸時代、俳句を作った芭蕉は奥の細道を旅します。芭蕉が指標としたのは平安時代天皇に仕えながらその地位と富と名誉を捨て出家し、日本各地を放浪し和歌を詠んだ西行でした。
そして江戸時代には木版印刷が始まり、沢山の浮世絵師が登場します。中でも広重は、東海道や木曽街道などの風景画を多く描きました。これを見た庶民は、そこに行って見たいと思い、次々に購入しました。つまり彼の浮世絵は観光案内でもあったのです。
かつて西行、芭蕉、広重が人々の心を旅に誘いました。今はデジタルカメラによって簡単に写真が撮れます。そこに俳句を入れれば、それが現代の観光案内かもしれません。日本の風景とともに旅の俳句もお楽しみください。