More glimpses of unfamiliar Japan

Okidomari, near Yunotsu, is one of the sites included in the UNESCO World Heritage site connected to the Iwami Ginzan silver mine. It is...

Chiringashima Located in Kagoshima Bay about 800 meters offshore near Ibusuki, Chiringashima Island is the largest island in the bay. It...

Shirahige Shirahige Shrine is located on the western shore of Lake Biwa in what is now Shiga. It is home to one of the famous "floa...

Shurin-ji is a small temple in Sasaguri, but it was the largest temple so far on my first day walking the Sasaguri Pilgrimage. It was th...

The Treasure Hall at Makiodo Temple in the Hunisaki area. Makiodo was built on the site of Makisan Denjo-ji, a large temple in the Kun...

Tsukiyomi Shrine is not a big shrine, but it is the largest shrine near Sakurajima, the active volcano and former island across the wate...

Hidden away in a corner of Shitennoji Temple in Osaka is a rather unusual garden. Called Gokuraku Jodo Garden, its is based on a descrip...

The path through the garden at the former Chikurin-in Temple in Sakamoto. December 2019. Sometimes I think I will just post a single p...

Japanese Gardens Japanese gardens have borders and edges. In some traditional gardens the walls or fences are an integral part of the ae...

This unusual tree is called Kabura Sugi and it can be found on Dogo, the largest of the Oki Islands in the Japan Sea off the coast of Sh...