Haven't done pictures in a while....
Since I got my new camera, I've been going picture-happy. So, I thought I might share....
So, on Sunday, the day before my birthday, I went out to Ishiyama temple, out in Shiga prefecture. Here's a few of the good ones....
The main hall at Ishiyama Temple
Hahcidai Tatsuou - a small shrine in a pond
A statue of Lady Murasaki, who penned The Tale of Genji, regarded in Japan as the world's first novel. Legend has it, she wrote the story at this temple, so there's a nice monument to her
The Ao-oni festival procession, which I was lucky enough to stumble upon
Monks praying at the Ao-oni festival
The intrepid NHK reporter who interviewed me about the festival. Or tried to, anyway....
Me and the Ao-oni
There was also a good taiko performance as part of the festival
I was happy to get a pic of the guys in the suits screwing around....
Then, on my birthday, I got the new camera and headed out to Yasaka Shrine and Chion-in
The main building at Chion-in
Looking down the main steps at Chion-in
Me and the Big Bell of Chion-in
Steps leading down from the Big Bell
The pond at Chion-in
Irises at Maruyama Park
A statue of Sakamoto Ryoma and... another guy
The front gate of Yasaka Shrine
The main buildings of Yasaka Shrine
A lion-dog statue at Yasaka Shrine
Then, of course, I just carried it around with me wherever I went.
A Shinto ceremony on the Kamo River
The Kamo River in the evening
Some kind of choral performance at Nishiki Tenmangu Shrine
The lead singer
One nice thing about this camera is the zoom and the movable screen, so I can now take pictures of people without them noticing:
A skateboarder outside City Hall
A protestor on the Sanjo Bridge
Some kids at Yasaka Shrine
Some guys on the train platform
Anyway, today I went south, to Uji City, to check out Manpukuji temple and Byodoin temple:
The main gate at Manpukuji
The garden at Manpukuji
The Big Wooden Fish - this is a standard item at most Zen temples. Monks are summoned to their meals and duties by banging on the fish....
A surprisingly colorful incense burner at Manpukuji
A view of the gravel garden, the building, and the mountains
The main building at Manpukuji
The monk doing the calligraphy for my temple book at Byodoin
The Phoenix Hall at Byodoin
Another view of the Phoenix Hall
The Phoenix Hall at Byodoin is on the back of the 10 yen coin. So I thought I'd compare....
The bell at Byodoin, which we were not allowed to ring. Dammit.
And of course I've been having fun with the macro settings. One of the big reasons for getting this camera was the "Super Macro"
Thumbtacks on the wall at work
The tip of my fountain pen
A little bottlecap figure that I was playing with....
Okay, that's about enough. Wow, I've been camera-happy....
Of course, if you want to see more (and oh there are more), you can follow the link to my Flickr page and feast your eyes.....
So, on Sunday, the day before my birthday, I went out to Ishiyama temple, out in Shiga prefecture. Here's a few of the good ones....
The main hall at Ishiyama Temple
Hahcidai Tatsuou - a small shrine in a pond
A statue of Lady Murasaki, who penned The Tale of Genji, regarded in Japan as the world's first novel. Legend has it, she wrote the story at this temple, so there's a nice monument to her
The Ao-oni festival procession, which I was lucky enough to stumble upon
Monks praying at the Ao-oni festival
The intrepid NHK reporter who interviewed me about the festival. Or tried to, anyway....
Me and the Ao-oni
There was also a good taiko performance as part of the festival
I was happy to get a pic of the guys in the suits screwing around....
Then, on my birthday, I got the new camera and headed out to Yasaka Shrine and Chion-in
The main building at Chion-in
Looking down the main steps at Chion-in
Me and the Big Bell of Chion-in
Steps leading down from the Big Bell
The pond at Chion-in
Irises at Maruyama Park
A statue of Sakamoto Ryoma and... another guy
The front gate of Yasaka Shrine
The main buildings of Yasaka Shrine
A lion-dog statue at Yasaka Shrine
Then, of course, I just carried it around with me wherever I went.
A Shinto ceremony on the Kamo River
The Kamo River in the evening
Some kind of choral performance at Nishiki Tenmangu Shrine
The lead singer
One nice thing about this camera is the zoom and the movable screen, so I can now take pictures of people without them noticing:
A skateboarder outside City Hall
A protestor on the Sanjo Bridge
Some kids at Yasaka Shrine
Some guys on the train platform
Anyway, today I went south, to Uji City, to check out Manpukuji temple and Byodoin temple:
The main gate at Manpukuji
The garden at Manpukuji
The Big Wooden Fish - this is a standard item at most Zen temples. Monks are summoned to their meals and duties by banging on the fish....
A surprisingly colorful incense burner at Manpukuji
A view of the gravel garden, the building, and the mountains
The main building at Manpukuji
The monk doing the calligraphy for my temple book at Byodoin
The Phoenix Hall at Byodoin
Another view of the Phoenix Hall
The Phoenix Hall at Byodoin is on the back of the 10 yen coin. So I thought I'd compare....
The bell at Byodoin, which we were not allowed to ring. Dammit.
And of course I've been having fun with the macro settings. One of the big reasons for getting this camera was the "Super Macro"
Thumbtacks on the wall at work
The tip of my fountain pen
A little bottlecap figure that I was playing with....
Okay, that's about enough. Wow, I've been camera-happy....
Of course, if you want to see more (and oh there are more), you can follow the link to my Flickr page and feast your eyes.....