The JR Takamatsu Station

One of the great many arcades

The light and breezy shopping arcades are a great feature of Takamatsu

The greenery of Ritsurin Park and the wide open roads of Takamatsu

One of the main buildings inside Ritsurin Park

Inside the Park

Some of the local produce

Fish art in one of the buildings

European influence here with some nice cakes

Seafood of course is very popular being right on the Setonaikai

A very warm welcome

Chicken with bones

The arcades are not as busy at night, but there are still plenty of people around

Cutlet curry rice burger

PR for the Setouchi Art Festival

Looking back down an arcade

The Eldorado. I heard a few foreigners hang out here to meet up and talk

Kushiage

Heading down one of the side streets

Very warm and inviting

The taxis look the same in many places in Japan

Takoyaki

Takamatsu is well known for its good udon

Tokaiya restaurant

Arcade entrance at night

Clean white snow

Checking the train times or just checking in?

Carefully treading down this road trying not to slip

Shibuya traffic

The crossing looks almost empty compared to normal

Waiting at the crossing in Shibuya

Hachiko looks cold standing out here in the snow

QFront lit up against the snow

Keeping the trains running

Most train lines were able to keep running smoothly

Ebisu Station

Taxi?

Waiting in the cold for the lights to cross

Catching a taxi sounds like a good option

The snow is starting to settle quite a bit now

I would not look forward to riding this bike home in the snow

On the way home

Not that cold outside, but the snow has been confirmed ^^

A few friends I found along the way

On the way to Suzumush Temple in Arashiyama

Nice Kaguyahime sign outside this place

Lining up to get a look inside Suzumushi Temple

Beautiful greenery with the bamboo

From the Temple grounds you can see back towards Kyoto city

The grounds were not very large, but were well maintained

Tall bamboo growing in this area

Pathways with lots of character

The roof line of the main Temple building

I liked the colors shown here next to the entranceway

The Church next to Glover House

Lots of stairs to get to the top. Must have been a tough work 50 years ago

Looking out over the port area

Old Glover House

A cold day, but a nice view all the same

Out on the deck area

Tea in Glover Garden

Nagasaki mascot with my niece

Mountains all around

How many powerful people must have set here and made important decisions

Ship docks

The view from the top balcony

Some of the clothing from a past era on display

Very nice styled station building

Town clock

The arcade from the station to Dougo Onsen

Entrance to the Dougo Onsen

Quite an unusual looking building

Stylish

Balconies

Lucky when I arrived the place was not too busy, so they let me take photos

Baskets for putting in your non valuables while you go the baths

Entrance to the male baths

Balconies from the waiting room overlooking the square outside

Botchan's Room from the Natsume Soseki novel

A quick explanation of the connection between Natsume Soseki and the Dougo onsen

On a hot summers evening, the cool breeze passes in nicely in this corner room

Narrow passageways, reminded me of Sen to Chiharu

Going upstairs?

Lots of character in the wooden structures

Interesting decoration on top of the building

Great atmosphere here with the buildings and people walking around in yukatas

A gift store close by

Warm spring water flowing through town

Popular place to be in the evening

Approaching from the road

The outer entrance to Nijo Castle

Looking back through the main entrance gate

Good to see the school groups going through the historical grounds

The Ninomaru Palace which has the Nightingale wooden floors that creak to let you know if an assassin is approaching

Nice symmetry in the gate and building

Beautiful sunny day in Kyoto

The main hall stands out above the trees

Lots of detail on this entrance way

The pond is a very gentle and calm and scene

Rock gardens

Attention to detail on this roofline

The wooden structures have a nice color to them

The changing colors of Autumn

A meeting hall

One of the gates inside the gardens

Beautiful surrounds

Entrance to a tea house

What a beautiful garden to walk around

Autumn colors

The gardens and structures blend together well

Very nice pathways to walk down and admire the trees

A little mix of momiji in here

Momiji

Getting close up

and again

The road above was quite noisy with traffic. Down below was a lot quieter

Heading down the track to start the walk under the bridge

A few quick snaps along the way

The walking map of the surrounding area. Lots to do and see

Glad the fencing was here to stop me diving in

Anyone worried at this stage?

Really great walkway here. Didn't feel like I was walking under a bridge

Looking down was a bit unnerving at times, particularly when there was only a piece of glass between you and the ocean

Nice effect of putting the map on top of the glass panel

A wider view of the sea and a few eddies

The whirlpools were not at full strength the day I visited, but it was still interesting to see

Looking around the bay

Quite a few other people under the bridge taking a look at the whirlpools

Plenty of chance for a lookout

Lots of little inlets and islands dotted about the place

The under structure of the bridge

Some places to buy souvenirs and eat

A more relaxing view of the bridge

Very peaceful

The colors in the bay were very bold

Lookout point with souvenir shops

Wakame Udon at Naruto Bridge

Lunch with a view

Nice to sit and watch the ships go by under the bridge

The souvenir shops and restaurants had some of the best views

After walking under the bridge, the next stop was to go to the top of the hill and look out from above

It took ages to go up this escalator and it was very hot

Taking a look from a much higher vantage point

The view out across the highway and Otsuka Intl Museum grounds on the left

A very blue day

Just a couple of others around taking photos, watching the boats go by

Time to go back down again

The trees were lit up beautifully at night

Walking through the pathways

Gardens of the Temple

Temple buildings

Looking through the entrance way

Nice colors bouncing off the lights here

Reflections in the pool

Temple roof

Watch your step here

Bamboo in the forest

The bamboo rises up very tall

Looking to the skies

A nice stroll out in the cold weather. Perfect Kyoto night

Lots of people enjoying the night setting

Leaving the Temple

The ringing bell

No shortage of great scenery in Kyoto

The streets outside are also well lit

About to cross the bridge

The shape of the bridge mixed in with the bright red and shady greens was very cool

Lots of people out. It was school holidays, so the children had probably been told to get down here and pray for good exam results

A few birds standing back watching all the people go by

A small pond gives a tranquil feel to the whole place

Lots of action

One of the old looking structures in the grounds. The people here are listening to some entertainment provided by the man on the bottom left

Beautiful colors looking out under the roof

Always a good idea to wash up before entering the Temple grounds

Some nice gardens here

Water water water

Water looked good on a hot day

Nice decorative leaf

Cleansing water

Entrance way to the main Shrine

Reminds me a bit of Asakusa

Style plus

Through the doors

The inner grounds

The doors were magnificent

Even the goldfish looked happy

Plenty of places to buy charms

Omikuji

A priest gives a service

Shrine roof

Side view of the service

People buying good luck charms, many for passing exams and good luck in studies

A closer look at the goods on offer

受験合格

Time to go home

Walking up the main entrance taking in the peaceful greenery, you get the sense that this is a special place

Buildings appear through the lush green foliage

Nice combination of stonework with natures colors around

Map of the temple grounds

A little bit of Autum color

The temple is built on the hillside so there are stairs and gardens everywhere. It makes for a very nice setting

Interesting shaped structure

This room was huge. I think it was 400 tatatmi mats in size

Walking through corridors

The ceiling of this room was very detailed

Looking back down one of the stairways within the temple

The buildings are connected with stair corridors allowing you to walk around the entire complex undercover

Its a long walk up here

Not sure what this object was representing

The scenery outside of the windows is quite serene

Magnificent workmanship

Time for some quiet reflection

The buildings blend into their surrounds nicely

Gardens and buildings both well maintained

The wood on the floor was very smooth under foot. You walk around of course with no shoes here

One of the temple buildings

Temple grounds

No shortage of stairs to exercise on

Lots of history here

Back on the stairs

Looking towards the main temple building up the hill

Some guards watching over the grounds

The covered structure on the left is one of the inner staircases. Going up the stairs reminded of a scene from an anime

So much greenery on the grounds

Gentle stream running down past the temple

Boats in the harbor at Naoshima

Looking out on a smaller island

You can go inside this red pumpkin which sits near the ferry terminal

The community bus that takes you from one side of the island to the other

The beach near Benesse House

Looking back at the hotel, Benesse House

Pumpkin and the bay

Pumpkin on a beach

I got up early to take the sunrise, but the weather was overcast

A great place to sit and relax looking out over the water

Getting ready to go for a swim

Colorful

Benesse House

Time for a read of the paper

Lots of great art work in the park here

The architecture blends in with nature

Inside Benesse House, designed by Ando Takao

Trademark bare concrete with interesting light angles, by Ando-san

Pumpkin at night

The town of Shirakawago

Tourist Information Center

Local toilets

Beautiful flowers out a this time of year

Very peaceful

Butterfly

Good way to keep the drinks cool

This would be a great place to sit and have a cup of tea

One of the many houses you can stay in (better book in advance)

Some of the backstreets have their own great character

In winter the snow settles on the roof giving a very different soft look

270 years of history in this building

One of the buildings designated as a National Treasure in Japan

Local life

Lodging here in the winter can be quite cold

You can book in advance to stay here

Walking down main street

Another place of lodging

There are a number of Temples, shops and restaurants to see

Stop in for quick bite

Crossing the bridge to the car park

This concrete bridge over the river looks like it doesnt have much support

Nice pond in between the houses

Crops

Hats

A house having its roof remade in the traditional style

The river that flows through the town

Local restaurant

Nikuman. A bit different than the local conbini