Kyoto Zoo

The day following the typhoon was glorious, so we thought there was no better way to enjoy it than to take in the the city zoo. Going to zoos is something we enjoy doing in new cities, even before Ingrid arrived in our lives, as we feel the zoo tells a lot about the city. As everything in Kyoto is very civilized and the city is remarkably well kempt, we expected a lot. But it was kind of depressing, mainly because its quite small. The premise of zoos has always depressed me a bit, but zoos with insufficient habitats or cage sizes is even more depressing. So we were bummed that the Black Bear had just enough room to make a U-turn in its daily pacing, same with the hippo and the elephant. The upside of small zoos is that all animals are practically within touching distance so you can take pictures of them as though you're a Nat Geo photographer in the wild.

Ingrid didn't care, she loved all the animals. Particularly the baby Rhesus monkey that was as curious of her as she was of it.