Here are a few more pics from the early part of my visit to Kyoto's Fushimi Inari Shrine (伏見稲荷大社) with Anthony yesterday....

I tend to take pictures of them whenever I see them (all the time), so I'm surprised that they've appeared on my blog only three times in the past, in posts about Arashiyama, Giouji Temple, and Konpukuji Temple (update: and Miyajima).

Part of yesterday's Elaborate Sub-Shrine facing the pretty lake....

I really liked the rack of gate offerings, as (I think) they made for some great imagery.

The real gates weren't so bad themselves, of course; with paths [...]

Wow.

Wow wow wow.

I've lived in this part of the world for the better half of the last 20 years, but today was my first visit to the Fushimi Inari Shrine (伏見稲荷大社) in south-east Kyoto, and it was amazing.

I'd heard enough about it to know that it had a path lined with a bunch of torii gates, but I was totally unprepared for the thousands and thousands of gates lining miles of mountain paths.

And frankly, that wasn't even the best part, but it was such a visually-overwhelming experience for someone with an eye toward photography that I [...]

Day 4 of my camping trip with Anthony to Kotobikihama beach (northern Kyoto Prefecture, Japan) was a day full of sun and sand, marred only by a few minutes of wind-driven terror (or, at least, wide-eyed surprise, as my tent almost got blown away).

The night was pleasantly warm, as opposed to the freeze-your-toes-off cold that it had been on previous nights, so that was welcome. Unfortunately, along with the warmth came a howling wind that buffeted the tent in loud gusts that were jarring both mentally and physically. I spent from about 1:30am to 3:00am trying to make sure [...]

Day 4 of my camping trip with Anthony started early, as usual, but without the prospect of having to move the tent (as I did the previous day), I looked forward to a day of fun.

Anthony's new friends had returned home the previous evening, but now he had May and Monet to play with, and added new friends Emma and her older brother, Benjamin, as well.

Kotobikihama beach is large – about a mile long – with several distinct sections. This morning, we headed out to the main part of the beach, which is quite a distance from the [...]

I had an amazing photographic and cultural opportunity fall into my lap this weekend.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize it until after I got home and did a bit of after-the-fact research.

One of the mommies at Anthony's preschool has three daughters. One is four years old and in the preschool year below Anthony's, and another is a year older than Anthony, having graduated from the kindergarten in March. (Like the Japanese fiscal year, the Japanese school year ends in March.) The third is older, perhaps around 13 or so. These children are absolutely exquisite. They're cute and beautiful as can [...]