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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/125 sec, f/16, ISO 1100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Towering

So, continuing with the story about our recent visit to the Sanzen-in Temple in the Kyoto mountain suburb Ohara on Sunday (which produced the pretty desktop backgrounds I posted yesterday)....

As I said in the first post, it's a mountain temple, and so it has different zones separated by various flights of stairs....

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/250 sec, f/6.3, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Ever Upward

You can see in the background of the picture above the trunks of some cedars disappearing above the lower canopy of maple and other leafy trees. The cedars here were all very tall, and ramrod straight...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/5000 sec, f/3.2, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Vertigo

The next level included a modern (circa 1989) temple building (one you could wear shoes in!), and in front was an incense station....

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 38 mm — ¹/8000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 900 — map & image data — nearby photos
Incense Station

At a station like this, you light some incense and make a wish while the smoke wafts over you, (and, perhaps like the gomaki sticks I wrote about in Part I, the wish then accompanies the smoke as it drifts up toward the heavens). I mentioned it a couple of years ago in a post about the Nanzen Temple, but at the time I was less clear about what was going on. (Not that I'm totally clear now, but I digress...)

So, Anthony lit three sticks for us...

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Lighting the First Stick

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Our Three Newly-Added Sticks

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Partaking in the Wish-Filled Smoke

Anthony was very sweet... he called me over, then wafted smoke toward me, and said something that translates along the lines of “that your back feels better”. Although I've been in good shape lately, I have a history of back problems, so his wish was very thoughtful and selfless.

Up some more steps and there were more buildings, and a pleasant area for taking a break...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 38 mm — ¹/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Pleasant Area
all to themselves

Of more immediate concern was that the final stamp station (discussed in Part I) was there, so Anthony could complete his “stamp rally” and collect a set of “remembrance stickers”....

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 58 mm — ¹/4000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Inspecting the Fruits of his Efforts

This was as high as we went.... I'm not sure how much more further up the mountain is the temple grounds, or where it just becomes mountain hiking, but we turned around and headed down a different path...

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Pretty and Fun

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Wall of Fern

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Random Temple Rooftop #28

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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 28 mm — ¹/125 sec, f/6.3, ISO 3200 — map & image data — nearby photos
(somewhat spooky)
Friends Forever

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View into Town
the village of Ohara in the background

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Ice-Cream Break
just outside the temple grounds, near a signpost for a different temple

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Entrance Signpost

We bought an ice-cream cone from an old lady at a shop right across from the entrance to the temple grounds, and while Anthony was enjoying it, an apron-laden girl about Anthony's age — likely the granddaughter of the owner — emerged from the shop and proceeded to carefully search the big stone steps leading up to the grounds. I don't know whether she was looking for bugs or seeds or what, but it was cute, especially with the apron. That's her in the picture above.

Continued here...

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A few desktop-background pictures from the first half of yesterday's visit to Sanzen-in Temple in Ohara, a mountain suburb of Kyoto, Japan....

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 66 mm — ¹/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Lost

Desktop-Background Versions
Standard: 1024×768  ·  1440×1080  ·  1600×1200      Widescreen:  1280×800  ·  1680×1050  ·  1920×1200  ·  2560×1600

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/125 sec, f/5, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Helicopters

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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/250 sec, f/4.5, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
I Love Moss

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Continued here...

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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/125 sec, f/4.5, ISO 1250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Growing Tsukubai Basin
Sanzen-in Temple
in Ohara, a mountain suburb of Kyoto, Japan

Getting cabin fever from being cooped up inside due to the swine flu hysteria, Fumie wanted to get out and into nature, and I was all for it. We decided to visit the Sanzen-in temple (home page) in the mountains north-east of Kyoto, about 20 minutes by car.

We'd gone by the unattractive bus parking lots for it many times, and so based on that my preconceived image wasn't very complimentary, but it turns out that my prejudice was what most prejudice is: ignorant.

The unattractive parking lots are apparently private third-party lots, among many dotting the main road through the village of Ohara (officially, part of Kyoto City). The temple itself is set in a niche of the mountains about half a mile off the main road, reached by a pleasant stroll past restaurants and shops that are surprisingly in good taste. (Normally, the environs around a famous rural temple or shrine are fairly garish, and to me, one of the uglier features of Japanese culture.) I even saw something I'd never seen before: chilled cucumber on a stick which I can actually sort of imagine as being refreshing, and chilled eggplant on a stick which I cannot. Wow.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/125 sec, f/6.3, ISO 640 — map & image data — nearby photos
Lane Leading to the Temple

The couple in the shot above are checking out this restaurant...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 34 mm — ¹/125 sec, f/4.5, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Restaurant Along the Lane

...which features a cute figure dressed in a costume related to the temple...

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Lady Carrying a Bundle of Sticks?
(if it were a real person, would babies be on her head?)

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Halfway There
Anthony makes the trip faster by flying

The lane leading to the temple was wonderfully wooded and pleasant, paralleling a little stream. I felt like we were walking in the woods, but in looking at the satellite photo of the area (see the “exif & map” link under each photo), I see that it's just a little strip like this, surrounded by rice fields.

Anyway, we reached the temple and paid the 700 yen (~$7) each to get in, which is fairly pricy as temples go, but, as I soon found out, well worth it.

The grounds are made up of many temple buildings, separated by wonderful gardens. Being on a mountainside, there are many different zones, each with its own flavor. (The Konzou Temple, which I wrote about last month, is also on a mountainside, but the two couldn't be further apart in style, feel, popularity, state of repair, mountain steepness, or commercialism. A comparison would perhaps make an interesting post.)

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Inner Passage

I'm not sure how old the temple site is, but it was founded by a guy who died in 822, so “about 1,200 years ago” would be a good guess. I have no idea what the temple name, 三千, means, but the characters for it mean “3,000”.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/160 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Contemplation

Patience is an important skill for a photographer... I saw the girl sitting there enjoying the garden, sitting seiza style, and wanted to get the picture you see above. Unfortunately, there seemed to always be someone else in the frame... people coming or going, or just wandering into frame and picking that spot to tie their shoe. It was surprisingly uncrowded for a weekend (perhaps one of the nicer side effects of the flu hysteria), but it was a pretty spot and so naturally there were always people coming and going.

So I waited, and waited, and waited, and finally, for just a second or three, it was clear and I got the shot I wanted.

The temple had a little activity for elementary-school kids (for whom admission is only 150 yen to begin with), a “stamp rally” where they visit six stations throughout the grounds and add a stamp to a booklet, then at the last, when presenting the booklet filled with stamps, receive a small present. Like most children, Anthony probably prefers having teeth pulled in preference to anything involving nature or history or culture, so this stamp-rally thing made the visit appealing for him.

Here', he's getting stamp #2...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/125 sec, f/4.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Stamp Station #2

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/80 sec, f/4.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Stamp #2

Stamp Station #2 was near a corner of one of the main buildings, and the walkway that wrapped around the outside yielded some impressive views.....

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 40 mm — ¹/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
View Across One of the Gardens
to the rear of the next temple building

The grounds are filled with short momiji maple, which are certainly spectacular in the fall, along the lines, I'm sure, with the garden at the Enkouji Temple (as seen in this post of Kyoto fall-foliage desktop backgrounds, and in this spectacular photo), but here, there's an additional dimension lent by towering cedars...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/125 sec, f/9, ISO 400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Towering

From about the same spot, looking back toward the mountain, I noticed a stairway blending in with the wooded slope...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 62 mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Forest Stairway

Anyway, back inside, to the area with “Stamp Station #2”...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
An Ornate View
from the stamp station

In the center-foreground of the picture above, you can see a stack of sticks (182 sticks, actually). These are gomaki, sticks on which you write a personal wish or prayer. The temple later burns them in a ceremony, and your wish/prayer goes with the smoke up to the heavens. (I posted about the comparable Shinto rite in last year's “Intense Burn” post, and in the prior year's “Rare Shinto Shrine-Closing Ceremony” post.)

Anyway, when Fumie wrote one, Anthony decided to do one as well. All by himself, without any prompting or help, this is what he wrote:

He wrote the wrong character at the end, but otherwise it's perfect, and means:

We're very proud of him.

Unfortunately, I missed him actually writing it, because I was again exercising patience to try to get a shot just outside the building, of the path continuing on the suggested route for temple visitors, devoid of people...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/125 sec, f/8, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Path
Sanzen-in Temple, Ohara, Kyoto Japan

The small white wall toward the end of the path are ropes filled with omikuji “bad fortunes”, as I wrote about here.

Eventually Anthony and Fumie finished writing their gomaki and joined me, and I think I startled Anthony or something, because I captured a serious face that hints at what he'll look like as an adult...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Serious Moment?

He is a kid, though, so did a little dance in excitement about the “stamp rally” thing...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/320 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Kid Dancing a Happy Jig

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Stamp #3

Stamp #3 was outside a smaller temple building (the one visible from the back, across the garden, in several of the shots above). While he was up there getting his stamp, a monk inside started giving a presentation of some sort, so they hung around a bit to watch...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/125 sec, f/5, ISO 640 — map & image data — nearby photos

As before, I took the opportunity to try to get a pretty picture of the gardens. It was overcast for much of the day, but the sun was showing a bit at that moment, so...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/200 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Sunshine at the Sanzen-in Temple

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/500 sec, f/4.5, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Leaving Stamp Station #3
( which, as you can see, looks nicer from the front than from the back )

We weren't even halfway through the grounds yet, but this post is already way too long (and I'm up way too far past my bedtime), so I'll leave the rest for another post...

Continued here...

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The swine-flu hysteria that's gripped the world of late came to Japan a week or so ago. A few days ago, thousands of schools in Kobe (two hours away), Osaka (an hour away), and Shiga (just over the mountains) were closed, and last night at 10:30, we got a message from Anthony's school that they, too, would close today. It seems a 10-year-old at another school in Kyoto got the flu.

This morning, we got word that Anthony's school would be closed for the next week, as are all schools in Kyoto.

I can understand not wanting to spread the flu, but I don't understand why this strain is accompanied by such hysteria. Consider this story about the first three cases in Japan, which talked about the devastating effects of the swine flu:

A temperature of 100.5F?! Oh my! (rolls eyes). They're being held in quarantine for 10 days.

100.5F is at the edge of what I'd consider a fever, but the other two are perfectly normal temperatures. Americans learn “body temperature is 98.6F” (37.0C), but Japanese tend to think a bit lower is normal. Maybe it's that in Japan, it's much more common to take one's temperature with the thermometer under the arm-pit, and that gives a lower reading? In any case, 97.9F and 98.8F are certainly not fevers... unless you're in the midst of hysteria.

When other schools closed in those other cities earlier in the week, the kids just went to their local parks and such to play, sort of defeating the intended “keep isolated” purpose of having closed the schools in the first place, so the Kyoto school closures came with the admonishment not to do that.

So, with the prospect of Anthony being cooped up for the next week, Fumie had the idea to get a Nintendo Wii, something she'd thought about for a while. Antiseptic wipes in hand, I donned a face mask and went out and got one. (Thanks so much to those who sent a gift for my Lightroom plugin development this month, for helping to finance this 🙂 )

I also got two games for it, Wii Music (where you can pretend to be a music conductor), and, because I mis-remembered Fumie's request for a different game, Pikmin.

I got it home, and, well, it was a disaster. Perhaps this is why I'd never before bought a game console, but trying Wii Music felt like pulling teeth. Maybe I misread the Japanese and accidentally put it into “asinine mode” or something, but I found it ludicrously stupid and tedious. It was very frustrating.

I'm tempted to equate the hype that's surrounded the Wii along side that which surrounds the swine flu, but it's not fair to pass judgement so quickly, so I'll get the English manuals for the Wii games and give them another try. But my, how depressing. When video games first came out, you plugged them into the TV, turned them on, and played. When did they start to require hours of moronic setup, and cease to be fun? Sigh.

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Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/640 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos

On the second day of our short trip to Ishigaki Island in the far south of Japan, just shy of Taiwan, after our stopover at a lovely scenic lookout for breathtaking views and ice cream, we continued north in search of a beach. It wasn't an arduous search, because it seems that most of island's entire coastline is beach.

We were heading for a specific beach we saw on the map, when – for just a moment during a bend in the road – we caught a glimpse of a gorgeous stretch of beach. It took a bit of searching, but we finally found an entrance...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/1000 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Beach Entrance on the Left
it's the almost-invisible break in the curb along the left, near the 2nd-closest utility pole

It's not marked at all, and unless you're looking (or lucky) you'd never notice it. Here's the view from the middle of the road....

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 35 mm — ¹/3200 sec, f/3.2, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Hidden

But when you walk through that little clearing, you're greeted with this:

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/500 sec, f/22, ISO 2500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Your Very Own Private Beach
( this picture is also included in Part II of this post )

Fumie and I both burn easily – I can get a 2nd-degree sunburn simply by being exposed to a child's drawing of a sunny day – so after using copious amounts of sunscreen and the like, we let Anthony loose...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/500 sec, f/22, ISO 2200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Testing the Waters

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Sand is Meant to be Dug

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Toe-Deep in The East China Sea

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Sand is Meant to be Thrown

The little island-outcroppings visible behind Anthony were 100 yards off shore, and really added a wonderful dimension to the scene.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm — ¹/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Tiny Islands

Anthony and I waded out to them....

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Looking Back to the Beach
( Fumie is the dot on the beach just right of center; the blue thing is an old boat )

The outcroppings were made of very sharp rocks (old coral?)...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/500 sec, f/7.1, ISO 720 — map & image data — nearby photos
Ouchie!

But, they also had shrubs and such, including the delicate flowers I posted the other day.

After taking the photo above, the polarization filter came off my lens as I adjusted it, and plopped right into the sea. I guess I didn't have it screwed on all the way, silly me. Amazingly, as it fluttered toward the bottom, I was able to reach down and actually grab it. That saved me from having to reach all the way to the bottom with one hand while attempting to keep an expensive camera out of the water with the other. I shoved the wet filter into my pocket and we headed back to shore where I dried it off with a T-shirt.

Fumie was relaxing...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/2500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Southward View
as pristine and uncrowded as the northern view

At one point I got this sort of exaggerated shot:

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Sort of Dramatic

I'm not entirely sure where the strong colors or the vignetting come from. Unlike the other day when I got vignetting from a mis-sized lens, I think this came from the polarization filter not being screwed on all the way. But then, this was after I got back and I think I had dried the filter and put it back on, so I think I would have made sure to put it on tightly. I dunno. I may need to get a low-profile filter, or a larger size and a step-up ring.

Many of the photos taken at the beach with the filter had a slight amount of vignetting, which I found sufficiently annoying to crop away in all but the photo above.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/4000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Relaxation

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70 mm — ¹/500 sec, f/14, ISO 2000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Anthony Inspecting Sea Life
there were all kinds of interesting things in the sand

More on Anthony's sand exploration in a later post.

In the title to this post I used the word “secluded”, but in reality, since the beach is right off the road, “hidden” is a better description. But it turns out that there is a well-secluded beach you can get to from here, if you don't mind wading (or swimming) through a couple hundred yards of ocean. More on that, too, in a later post...

Continued here...