I’ve posted photos of ema before. This one I saw in Nikko at Futarasan Jinja. Basically, for just a few hundred yen your wishes will come true thanks to the gods of the Futarasan Shrine. The happy couple here is Yuko 裕子 (or possibly Hiroko) and Masanori 正典 (I think). One of them wished for good relations (the heart indicating a romantic relationship I suppose) between the two of them for a long time. For all the reader knows, though, the one may not even know the other exists at this point.

Posted on August 12th, 2012 under Japan. Tags: ema, futarasan, nikko, snow. Comments Off on Love Ema from Futarasan Shrine (二荒山神社)

Nikko's Rinnoji (輪王寺) in the snow

Few places on the planet are as nice as Nikko on a snowy day. While this photo isn’t yet seasonal, it won’t be too long now.

Posted on September 19th, 2011 under Japan. Tags: nikko, snow. Comments: 1

As the sun began to set we rode the train back to Tokyo from Nikko in February. The scenery of snow-covered rice paddies was beautiful. I would have loved to have jumped out of the train for a minute to take proper photos at several places. Instead, I can only offer this small taste of the actual scene from inside a rapidly moving train, complete with reflection off the glass on the left which messes things up a bit.

Posted on June 9th, 2011 under Japan. Tags: nikko, rice paddy, snow, sunset. Comments Off on Train from Nikko to Tokyo in winter

If the Japanese Cedars (杉) aren’t mighty enough for you in and around Toshogu in Nikko then toss in some impressive structures and stone lanterns for some serious solidness.

Posted on May 9th, 2011 under Japan. Tags: lanterns, nikko, snow, toshogu. Comments Off on Toshogu Cedars

Today’s photo is a close up of the ema at Mizu Inari Shrine. A wider view of the same scene can be seen here. Normally I like to browse what people have written. On this cold evening, I took a picture instead to read on my computer screen back in my warm apato.

Some of the prayers/wishes here are for good health, to be fast at math, and to be a good studier. One person wants money. Another wants a home free of sickness, devils (maybe bad luck), and disasters.

Is it impolite to read the wishes of others? I’m not sure.

Posted on March 21st, 2011 under Japan. Tags: ema, nishi-waseda, shinto, snow. Comments: 1