Even a Temple needs to get its mail delivered

Thought it was interesting to see the postman rush down on his bike through the Temple to deliver the mail.

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Standing on the top of the mountain

I have been away for the last 5 days and have some photos to catch up shortly. Can you guess where I have been?

What river might this be?

Arcades

Time for some tea

I am very excited to be telling you more about these colors. Can you guess what this is for?

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大津

Last year at the end of summer I visited to Suzumushi Temple in Arashiyama, Kyoto and also to Ishiyama Temple which is nearby, but in Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture, an area well known for Lake Biwa.

I have more photos from Ishiyama Temple to put up yet, but was looking through some of the colorful images and found this one. These are characters helping to promote tourism for Otsu City. Aren’t they great?

Here is the Otsu official city web page and the home page for Ishiyama Temple. I will introduce this again when I put the photos up.

Have you been to Lake Biwa or another place in Shiga Prefecture? What places have you been to in Otsu City?

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Hotel inside Huis Ten Bosch, Nagasaki

At the end of last year I went on a trip to Huis Ten Bosch, Nagasaki. It is a theme park built towards the end of the economic bubble years in Japan, and struggled for a long time to attract enough visitors to make a profit. Recently, it was bought out by HIS and has begun to show a profit for the first time.

Economics aside, it is in a beautiful setting and the buildings inside the theme park are all built with character. They are not just wooden facades, but actually real buildings that you can shop, eat and stay in.

This picture above shows the scenic canals and one of the hotels.

During the winter season the park is not full, but during the warmer months you can expect to see many people. I have more photos from Huis Ten Bosch and will add them to a longer post shortly.

I made a book with some of the photos from my first visit to Huis Ten Bosch, which you can view here,

Streets of Huis Ten Bosch

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The views are wonderful in Arashiyama, from the mountains to the clear waterways

A beautiful sunny day in Arashiyama by the water. Arashiyama is a great place to take a day trip from central Kyoto and enjoy the mountains and Temples in the area. On the weekend many families are out walking along the river.

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Aerial view

A friend introduced me to Canon’s book printing service, PhotoPresso. I have tried a few photo book services before, but was quite surprised how easy the PhotoPresso service was to use and how quick and efficient their printing service was.

It took me about 2 hours to put this book together and I had printed copies in my hands delivered in less than 48 hours after.

To view in full screen mode, you can hover your mouse over the book cover below then click on the “blue button”.

To help shibuya246 in the Canon popularity contest you can also follow the links “Huis Ten Bosch” at the bottom left of the book and then vote the individual photos up on the PhotoPresso site.

I took this set of photos at Huis Ten Bosch in Nagasaki, Japan at the end of last year.

Windmills

Hotel

Sunset

I am just finishing a print book on Hiroshima also which I will put up later.

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Mystery beckons

A lot of times, pictures of Japan show Tokyo and Kyoto with familiar images. Sometimes, it is nice to go to new places and see a different view. Here is a view of the bay in Kyushu.

What great views of Japan do you know that are a bit unusual?

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Bamboo Walk in Arashiyama

This is the bamboo walk in Arashiyama, from a photo earlier in the year.

It is getting close to the end of the year and the weather is getting a little bit colder. It is always good to see the reports on the news of first snow falls in Hokkaido. Even though Tokyo only rarely gets snow, and normally not in December, it feels more like Christmas when you hear of snow.

Tokyo weather is normally mild at the end of December, with blue skies. In the sun it can be very relaxing, but the shaded areas can feel a bit cold. The lack of a driving cold wind makes winter one of the enjoyable seasons for Japan.

Maybe, if I take a trip up to Hokkaido the story would be a bit different.

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Kyoto City

It is always nice to climb the many towers that Japan has in each city and check out the view. I had some spare time when visiting Kyoto before catching the Shinkansen home and decided to take some photos of the sunset from Kyoto Tower.

Shinkansen arrives into Kyoto at dusk

No matter where I travel in Japan, Kyoto is always calling me to come back. What is your favorite memory of Kyoto?

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Togetsukyo Bridge, Arashiyama

Although the Autumn colors had almost fallen away from the trees, I took a short trip to Arashiyama, Kyoto. Arashiyama is a great place to visit to see some of Japan’s old style temples and beautiful country scenery.

On the list to visit in Arashiyama is Tenryuji, the bamboo walkway and Togetsukyo Bridge. You can also catch an open car (Torokko) train from Arashiyama into the mountains and then ride a boat back down the river. Very peaceful.

I will have more photos of this area shortly.

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Shirakawago

I am in Hokuriku for 4 days and will be back in Tokyo by the weekend. In Hokuriku I am visiting Shirakawago and Gokayama, Toyama-Ken. In Kanazawa, Ishikawa-Ken I visited Kenrokuen and tonight I am at Kagawa Onsen. Tomorrow I will visit Fukui-Ken before returning to Tokyo.

I should have lots of photos by the time I get back home.

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Sudachi is one of the local fruits. Mixed with Sake or served with food it can be a nice freshner

Whilst in Shikoku I saw lots of gifts for bringing back. The most popular items seemed to be Udon (Sanuki Udon in particular) and anything with Sudachi in it.

Sudachi pie. looks great. Would you prefer to try unagi pie or sudachi pie?

Plenty of udon you can try here

Local wakame from the Seto Naikai

If you purchase more than 3,000 of goods you can talk as many of these as you can carry for free

Lots of choice out front

By the boxload

Toilet paper with a twist of Sakamoto Ryoma

What would you like as a gift from Shikoku ?

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