Stone Lantern

It was a beautiful day and I saw this simple stone lantern at a local shrine with delicate blossoms hi-lighting the cold hard material of the lantern from behind. I sometimes forget that I am living in Japan and how exotic it can be. This was a small reminder to appreciate the beauty that Japan has to offer.

More Small Flowers

These are some small flowers growing on the side of a concrete wall on one of the walks that I go on from time time to time. They look like violets.

Venus Bridge

It was a beautiful day today so we took the opportunity of time off work due to a certain sickness that is causing some panic around the world, and walked up the mountain for a gorgeous view of the city.

Kyoto Maiko

We ran across some beautiful Maiko-san dressed in kimonos early in the morning one day in Kyoto and slightly off the main drag. These days they are most certainly hounded for photographs such as I have here. Traditional beauty in a modern world and becoming more and more rare.

Nara Palace

This is a remake of the palace that used to be on this sight. Is was built for the 800th anniversary of the establishment of the Nara Kingdom. This is an up close shot of an eaves decoration.

Murder!

What do you call a group of crows? That's right. A "murder" of crows. Lots of crows in Kobe. This "murder" was hanging out on a neighbouring building early one grey morning.

Japanese Garden

This is a Japanese garden that we came across on a dreary day just as the plum blossoms were starting to bloom sometime near the end of February.