As I introduced the other day, a small Shinto shrine about a hundred yards from my place here in Kyoto shut down because its main benefactor had passed away, so they had a ceremony to ask the shrine's spirit(s) to return to whence they came. Apparently, such ceremonies are exceedingly rare.

Some shrines like the nearby Heian Shrine are huge multi-acre affairs, but most are much smaller. There are literally thousands of shrines in Kyoto, with the median size probably about the size of the one that shut down: about the area of a single parking space.

As part of [...]

In my previous post on our trip to Miyajima near Hiroshima, Japan, I showed the main gate of the Itsukushima Shrine (厳島神社、宮島) at low tide. This time I have a few pictures of the shrine itself at low tide.

The shrine is mostly over piers above water (high tide) or mud (low tide), and I should start of by noting that it's much more picturesque when over water (as in the shot at the start of my first post from the trip). To me, today's pictures are more "interesting" than "pretty," and are probably neither to anyone else, but it's [...]

As I earlier posted from our trip to Miyajima an island near Hiroshima, Japan, one of the main photographic attractions is the large main gate of the Itsukushima Shrine (厳島神社、宮島). It's off the coast in the intertidal zone, so when the tide is in, it's in the water and really pretty. There's a nice daytime shot of it at high tide at the end of this post, and on another post, some night shots.

Perhaps it's just the geek in me, but I think there's a certain interest to it even at low tide. I like to see how things [...]

More pictures from our short trip to Miyajima Island, Japan two weeks ago.

The view above, taken on the ferry ride over, doesn't show much detail, but does show the relative positions of a few landmarks, including the famous main gate of the Itsukushima Shrine (厳島神社、宮島) almost a mile away, the smaller stone gate for the foot path to the shrine, and our hotel. (Mouseover the bold words in this paragraph to see the items highlighted in the photo.)

You can also see Mt. Misen in the center, which I posted about recently.

As you get a bit closer (and [...]

Finishing up my Kyoto fall-color preview featuring pictures from last year that didn't make the cut a the time, here are four final images to get one into the autumn mood. (Previous installments: Part I, Part II.)