My first outing this season to partake of Kyoto's fall-foliage delights was on Friday, as I wrote about yesterday. The first stop was my first visit to the Hokyo-in Temple (宝筐院) in the Arashiyama area of western Kyoto.

The long path into the garden was quite photogenic, though it was difficult to get a shot that both avoided people in the photo and avoided annoying people while taking the photo, but within those constraints I did okay...

Yet, despite all the work to avoid people in the shots, I tend to like ones with people better, like the one at [...]

Fall-foliage season, long over with in most of the Northern Hemisphere, is just getting into full swing in Kyoto. Throwing common sense to the wind, I dared to venture to the Arashiyama area of Kyoto yesterday (Friday), where the density of tourists during this season threatens to form a singularity. Adding to the mass of folks, I went with Paul Barr and Damien Douxchamps.

We limited ourselves to a few temples on the northern fringes of Arashiyama, and so we avoided the most oppressive crowds.

The first stop was my first visit to the Hokyo-in Temple (宝筐院), which includes a [...]

I guess yesterday's A Simple “What am I?” Quiz wasn't as simple as I thought because there have been no correct answers yet. While I give it some more time, above we have a view of the entrance foyer from the same visit that produced the quiz photo.

I've so much to post from yesterday's visit, but I don't know when I'll find time, considering that we're now really starting to get into the fall foliage season in Kyoto. I spent a long photographic today in Arashiyama with Paul Barr and Damien Douxchamps, ending with the most-tasty chicken at Uroko. [...]

It's been a while (almost a year!) since my last "What am I?" Quiz... I'll have to do better.

Today's "What am I?" quiz is fairly simple (it's clearly wood), so today I add a "Why?". Why is the What above what it is?

The photo is from an amazing day today at the Seifuso Villa (清風荘) near Kyoto University. The subject of the photo is something one sometimes sees to a small extent at temples; what I saw today was by far the best example of (whatever it is) I've ever seen.

(As usual, I'll hold all comments back [...]

Given yesterday's post about how iPad photography looks silly (not is silly, mind you, but looks silly, to me), when I was out and about in Kyoto today with a friend visiting from The States, seeing someone taking pictures with an iPad caught my attention more than average.

The scene above, at the Kiyomizu Temple (清水寺) not long before sunset, really warmed my heart. I loved the juxtaposition of old and new... traditional and revolutionary... young and old (and young at heart)... all wrapped in the aura of understated but undeniable class and style. I was tickled pink just to [...]