Yesterday's post (“Photo Shoot at Kyoto’s Haradanien Garden: John and Ai”) has inspired me to at least start to try to show the magnificent Haradanien Garden (原谷苑) in north-west Kyoto, a few kilometers in the mountains behind the Kinkakuji “Golden Pavilion” Temple. I'd made my first visit last week and from that trip had posted so far only one wigglegram, and then visited a few days ago for the photoshoot with John and Ai, and from that visit also posted some subtle pastel blossoms.

Having entrusted my route to get there to Google Maps on my iPhone, I unknowingly ended up at a minor secondary entrance on the opposite side of the garden from the main entrance. This was wonderful because it meant that I had a large part of the garden just to myself for a while, before people filtered up from the main entrance. It was also nice because I was spared what I found out on the second trip to be a decidedly unappealing experience of loud hordes outside the main entrance.

I was surprised to find that the entrance fee was ¥1,200, double what I might have expected before seeing the garden. After having seen the garden at peak blossom season, though, the price seems low.

It alternated between sun and clouds (and even rained a bit toward the late afternoon), and so the light was changing often, as did the view depending on whether you were under the canopy or looking out a portal...

Despite that the crowds can grow quite thick, the layout of the gardens — paths crisscrossing on a many-leveled hillside separated by a large variety of flowers, trees, and shrubs — enables many photographic possibilities. I was constantly surprised at the kind of shots I could get... long, sweeping shots showing just one person or one small group in frame, despite the pulsating throngs of people.

I wonder what kind of shot she got. Here's mine:

Continued here...