Unless you’ve got the means to stay in a five-star hotel in Japan, you’ll likely not get a much better view than the one we have from our hotel here in Kyoto.

Our room is tiny – probably just over 20 square meters (about 215 square feet) – and the only window we can actually open is narrow enough to make a Tokyo subway car at rush hour feel spacious.

The hotel’s windows have this visually annoying wire frame baked in, and it won’t open more than the width of my hand – just barely enough to squeeze it through with my small Lumix camera (turned off, of course).

Once my hand and camera are through and literally outside, I can switch the camera on, let the lens extend, and grab a few shots – like these two captured early this morning around 6:00 a.m., right after my early-morning wee-wee moment.

It’s not exactly the kind of panoramic view I used to produce for travel magazines and glossy brochures, but there’s still something quietly satisfying about this everyday sunrise view.

A sliver of Kyoto sky, the soft hum of the city below, and the faint aroma of brewing coffee drifting up from the hotel’s busy breakfast room.

You take what you can get – and sometimes, in Japan, even the narrowest window can provide an interesting view.