Ume in Ikegami Baien contrasted with a stone lantern

Posted on October 18th, 2011 under Japan. Tags: flower lovers guide to tokyo, lanterns, ume. Comments Off on Japanese plum blossom and Japanese lantern

Kamakura's famous Hasedera front gate with pine tree

Posted on October 9th, 2011 under Japan. Tags: buddhist, hasedera, kamakura, lanterns, pine, temples. Comments Off on Hasedera

Japanese float @ 麻布十番商店街祭り

The wonderful thing about wandering the streets of Tokyo in the summer is you never know what you will run into. One day I stumbled upon a festival featuring this festival float (舞車) which looked like it could have been from a much earlier era (were it not motorized). The Japanese kids playing the instruments on the float could have looked a bit happier, but I suppose after a hot day of playing the same thing for hours on end they had lost much of the gusto I imagine they had earlier in the day.

Posted on September 29th, 2011 under Japan. Tags: lanterns, matsuri, Tokyo. Comments Off on Azabu Juban Shotengai Matsuri (麻布十番商店街祭り)

Festival at 天祖神社

Although the heat in the summer in Japan can be brutal, the evening festivals can make for an enjoyable end to otherwise miserably hot days. Today’s photo is from one of the many matsuri I attended at Tenso Jinja near our apartment in Tokyo.

Posted on August 29th, 2011 under Japan. Tags: lanterns, matsuri, nishi-waseda, shinto. Comments Off on Summer festival

Today’s random desktop background image is a bit dated. I took this photo in 2007 in Kyoto. The maneki neko (welcoming cat), that is so common at the entrance of Japanese stores, was on the roof of this establishment. The lanterns indicate that some sort of Evening Special Viewing (夜の特別拝観) was going on at nearby Kiyomizu Dera (清水寺).

Posted on June 4th, 2011 under Japan. Tags: kyoto, lanterns. Comments Off on Maneki Neko (招き猫)