The view above, of the entrance gate to the Honen'in Temple (法然院) in eastern Kyoto, is from the outside looking in, as opposed to the views in yesterday's post, which were from the inside looking out.

The path leading to the entrance gate is in two parts... the first being an exceptionally-well-done cobblestone path with what seems to me to be a decidedly modern feel...

Frankly, I find the modern feel to be a bit jarring in the rustic traditional temple setting, but I like the cobblestone path a bit better than what follows directly in front of the main [...]

Dipping into my archives to last November (of "A Long But Photogenic November in Kyoto" distinction), here are a couple of photos from the Honen'in Temple (法然院) in north-eastern Kyoto. It's a simple temple with some nice garden features, including its famous entry gateway seen above (and here).

The path is flanked by two meticulously-groomed piles of sand.

Continued here...

This post is sort of a continuation of "Hoverfly and Hydrangea", from a trip last month with Aeron to the gardens of the Heian Shrine (平安神宮) in eastern Kyoto.

The light was really not very good (mostly quite harsh), and I was enjoying the conversation with Aeron more than I was paying attention to the photography, but I thought I'd share a few more pictures anyway.

Some of the trees in the garden had wonderfully "interesting", twisted shapes, though I had no idea what to do with them camera wise. As I said, the light was often really harsh, which [...]

It's been stressful for me lately, so I'm posting something tranquil to make me feel better.

On an entirely unrelated subject, here's a protip for folks living in a foreign country: when it comes time to renew your visa (your permission to reside in the country), don't forget; they don't like it when you forget.

(Japan didn't like it when I forget, but they kindly granted me "special permission" to stay, so I don't have to remember again for another three years, but wow, what a colossal paperwork headache I created for myself.)

Continued here...

It's been ages since I've been out with just me and the camera, so I took some time for myself yesterday to visit the Kuuya-taki Waterfall (空也滝) in the mountains of western Kyoto. I first posted about it a year ago, and have since posted many updates, such as here and here.

(As always, the "nearby photos" link under any of these shots brings up other photos taken over the years in the same area.)

It had been raining recently, so yesterday I hoped to get lucky with a large flow of water over the falls, and also lucky to [...]