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Japan

A collection of 7 posts

Layers of Tori

The hundreds of red tori gates at the Fushimi Inari Taisha near Kyoto is among the most popular and most photographed scenes near the former Japanese capital. Being so popular, there are two challenges: capturing unique images; and capturing images without people cluttering the scene. The second challenge is the

Autumn Colours in Kyoto

Autumn Colours in Kyoto

The Tenryuji Temple in Kyoto’s Arashiyama area is a peaceful temple complex with spectacularly beautiful gardens. The ponds provide stunning reflections, and in the bright middle of the day light, I found that eliminating sky and focusing on colours and the reflections made for stunning images. This is a

Yasaka no To

Yasaka no To is a pagoda in Kyoto’s Higashiyama district that is one of the busiest tourist attractions in the city. The picturesque pagoda, coupled with the adjacent old-style streets, makes it very popular for photographers, tourists and locals alike, and by day you would be hard-pressed to find

Arashiyama

The Arashiyama Bamboo Grove is a must see site when visiting Kyoto, Japan. On the edge of the city, Arashiyama is a natural bamboo forest. To have the best experience I recommend you make the effort to get up early—sunrise early—to beat the crowds. The other advantage of

Gazing up to the Pagoda

Gazing up to the Pagoda

The Churieto Pagoda in Japan’s Kawaguchiko region is one of the more famous landmarks in the region, particularly because there is a classic view of the pagoda with Fuji-san in the background—and often with sakura (cherry blossoms) flowering. An alternative and less common view of the pagoda is

Finding Fuji-san

Finding Fuji-san

We visited Japan in September 2018, and we were greeted with typical September in Japan weather—overcast and often rainy. Kind of what you might expect when you visit in the latter part of the typhoon season. One of our goals was to take in some of the spectacular views

Shuri Castle

Shuri Castle is a reconstruction of the original castle of the king of the Ryukyu Kingdom – an independent country (that paid tribute to both China and Japan) until 1879. This image was made on our trip to Japan in 2005. Although I had lived in Japan for almost two years