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Kaisando Hall at Tofuku-ji Temple

September 30, 2015 — Leave a comment

Kyoto has a wonderful temple complex with some amazing gardens, some old and some modern. Tofuku-ji Temple is a great stop. People come in groves to Fushimi-inari taisha with it’s 1,000 orange tori gates going up Fushimi mountain. You should stop right before or after that visit to Tofuku-ji which is only one stop away from the tori gates. This has a few buildings and great gardens as mentioned and this is Kaisando Hall where one side of the walk way has a stream and more wet garden before it slopes up to the forest. This side has a great area of gravel that is raked in a checkered pattern. It is quite great to look at and I needed a 21mm lens to take this picture and probably done better if I had the 15mm lens. We sat here for a while enjoying the serene seen.

Taken with Voigtlander Bessa R4M with 21mm f4 lens on Ilford FP5img048

Kanteibyo Temple in Yokohama Chinatown

September 27, 2015

Chinatown in Yokohama in Japan is the largest China town in the country. The largest Chinatown I was in before that was in Philadelphia. Lots of great Chinese food restaurants in Chinatown there. It was all delicious. There is a bright and colorful temple there that you can visit which is pictured here. Named Kanteibyo I decided to take this picture with Ilford FP5 and got a lot of detail out of it, but no color.

Taken with Voigtlander Bessa R4M with Ilford FP5

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Tea at Nishiki Market

September 22, 2015

The past two times that I went to Kyoto and went through Nishiki Market I would stop at the one stall that sold tea. I happened to get some Roasted green tea this time, Hojicha, and it is definitely tasty. I also have gotten their green tea with roasted rice. I took a quick picture of this box full of the roasted tea leaves. It looked and smelled wonderful as he scooped up and filled a bag for me to take back home to the states.

Taken with a Konica Hexar at 30mm on Ilford FP5

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Amida Buddha at Kotoku-in, Kamakura

September 18, 2015

The Amida Buddha at Kamakura is a really large bronze statue at Kotoku-in temple. It was great to see and by far the highlight at this specific temple. It has been washed away and damaged a few times over a long period of time by natural disasters. If I had seen this on my first trip to Japan like my original plane then this would have seem more amazing, but my trip 2 years ago I went to Nara to see the large on at Todai-ji which was incredible because it was housed in this massive wooden building. I sure loved the small beach town and the smell of the sea and the distant sound of waves.

Taken with Voigtlander Bessa R4M with 21mm lens using Ilford FP5

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Kyoto Gion

September 14, 2015

My trip was now a few month back and I already miss Kyoto. I have spent a little over a month worth of time in that city and it is never enough. I would go again anytime and if I could stay to see all the seasons. Walking around at night is great even if it is a week day Gion is moving about here and there. This entrance to the subway below gave me a good frame for the theater that was lit up in the front.

Taken with Konica Hexar 30mm f2 with Ilford FP5

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