Picking up from yesterday's intro post on the Ishiyama Temple (石山寺) half an hour away in Otsu, Japan, here are a few more shots from early in the visit to the large mountainous grounds...

To be continued...

These were all at the entrance to a temple in Otsu that Paul Barr introduced me to today. I haven't yet looked at the rest of the photos, but it was quite an impressive place, so I have hope that at least a few good shots came of it.

Continued here...

I went out for a bit today with the Big Lens. Nothing too exciting, but a few pleasant shots...

This post's last shot reminds me strongly of the last shot on "Cherry-Blossom Joie de Vivre in Kyoto" from four years ago.

The other day after a short stroll through the Chishaku-in Temple in eastern Kyoto, we made our way behind it to search for a set of stairs that Stéphane had suggested. We found it.

At the top of the small set of steps was a park with cherry blossoms and kids playing, beyond which was a large wooden gate building...

Paying a scant 50 yen (US$ 0.60) to pass through, we found the main set of stairs....

Just as we started up, someone came to jog the stairs, reminding me of north-east Kyoto's Tanukitanisan Fudouin Temple where athletes train by [...]

Today I visited eastern Kyoto's Chishaku-in Temple (智積院) with Paul Barr and Nicolas Joannin. I'd driven by its large temple grounds hundreds of times, but had never stopped in, and perhaps couldn't have picked a better day. It was the first short-sleeve day of the year, and the open grounds were dotted with all kinds of blossoming trees...

To be continued...