More glimpses of unfamiliar Japan

This is the draincover for the island of Himeshima, a small island less than seven square kilometers in size with a population around 2,700....

Kiyomizudera, like most religious sites in traditional Japan, worshipped buddhas and kami, they were shrine-temple complexes, so its not unu...

Kiyomizu means "pure, clear water" and refers to the founding legend of the temple and the water found here. There are a lot of Ki...

At almost 450 meters above sea level, the views from Kezo-Ji are quite stunning. Looking down on Daikon Island in the middle of Nakaumi. Na...

Halfway up the side of a mountain, miles from anywhere, literally clinging to the side of the mountain. we came upon an a small abandoned Lo...

The third and final mountaintop temple we visited a few weeks ago up in Izumo was Mine-Ji, and the Nio were particularly impressive. I had...

The Tenmangu Shrine in the village of Tsudera is located a little off the Kibi Bike Path, and is a fairly standard, small, local shrine, but...

The Kibi Bike Path is a 15k, well signed, and very popular bike and walking path that crosses part of the Kibi Plain in southern Okayama. Bi...

The Fukuoka City Public Library, opened in 1995, is another of the many pieces of modern architecture built on the reclaimed land known as t...

One more manhole cover in Yuda Onsen features the white fox, this time in combination with one of the last steam trains in Japan, the Yamagu...