Jonathan-Mac
Well-Known Member
Glad to see you're enjoying the trip and getting some nice photos.
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Some shots from Japan
- Thread starter pdk42
- Start date
pdk42
Moderator
6) Daitoku-ji
These were taken in Daitoku-ji, a beautiful area with zen and bonsai gardens, multiple buddhist temples, and a small bamboo wood. We cycled there from our tea ceremony and were greeted by a lovely man who made space for us to park our bikes and gave us a little map and directions to get our Eki stamp! Given that it's out of season, a number of the temples were closed, but as a result the place was almost empty which greatly improved the experience. The weather was gorgeous with cold air and warm winter sun, creating a beautiful lighting and mood. We wandered around for a couple of hours just soaking up the experience. Afterwards we cycled to a lovely little cafe called Sarasa Nishijin and had hot baked apples with cream and honey, washed down with hojicha latte. A good day!!
Daitoku-ji by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
Daitoku-ji Butsuden by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
Kyoto Autumn Colours II by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
Kyoto Autumn Colours by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
The apples!
The roasted tea latte
These were taken in Daitoku-ji, a beautiful area with zen and bonsai gardens, multiple buddhist temples, and a small bamboo wood. We cycled there from our tea ceremony and were greeted by a lovely man who made space for us to park our bikes and gave us a little map and directions to get our Eki stamp! Given that it's out of season, a number of the temples were closed, but as a result the place was almost empty which greatly improved the experience. The weather was gorgeous with cold air and warm winter sun, creating a beautiful lighting and mood. We wandered around for a couple of hours just soaking up the experience. Afterwards we cycled to a lovely little cafe called Sarasa Nishijin and had hot baked apples with cream and honey, washed down with hojicha latte. A good day!!
Daitoku-ji by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
Daitoku-ji Butsuden by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
Kyoto Autumn Colours II by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
Kyoto Autumn Colours by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
The apples!
The roasted tea latte
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pdk42
Moderator
7) Imperial Palace, Kyoto
We spent the morning at the Imperial Palace in Kyoto. Some very interesting buildings there and a really superb Japanese garden.
Pillars of Japanese Society by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
Imperial Colours by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
Imperial Palace Gardens, Kyoto by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
Imperial Palace Gardens, Kyoto by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
Imperial Palace Gardens, Kyoto by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
We spent the morning at the Imperial Palace in Kyoto. Some very interesting buildings there and a really superb Japanese garden.
- Panasonic - DC-S5
- LUMIX S 24-105/F4
- 50.0 mm
- ƒ/8
- 1/10 sec
- Pattern
- Auto exposure
- -0.3
- ISO 100
Pillars of Japanese Society by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
Imperial Colours by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
Imperial Palace Gardens, Kyoto by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
Imperial Palace Gardens, Kyoto by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
Imperial Palace Gardens, Kyoto by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
pdk42
Moderator
8) Philosophers' Path, Kyoto
Worth a visit for sure, but if I'm honest there are much nicer canal scenes to be had in England ! Maybe it's nicer in Cherry Blossom time, but going by the number of gift shops and over-priced cafes and restaurants dotting the route, I'm guessing it's much busier in the spring than it was for us yesterday !
The Start of the Philosophers' Path, Kyoto by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
The Philisophers' Path, Kyoto by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
The Philisophers' Path, Kyoto by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
The Philisophers' Path, Kyoto by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
Worth a visit for sure, but if I'm honest there are much nicer canal scenes to be had in England ! Maybe it's nicer in Cherry Blossom time, but going by the number of gift shops and over-priced cafes and restaurants dotting the route, I'm guessing it's much busier in the spring than it was for us yesterday !
The Start of the Philosophers' Path, Kyoto by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
The Philisophers' Path, Kyoto by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
The Philisophers' Path, Kyoto by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
The Philisophers' Path, Kyoto by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
pdk42
Moderator
9) A Landscape shot
I'm a bit out of my comfort zone in tourist places and cities, but today we went to see a Buddhist temple and garden up on the outskirts of Kyoto and I managed to grab a nice shot of some rain on the hills.
Splashes of Orange in the Rain by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
I'm a bit out of my comfort zone in tourist places and cities, but today we went to see a Buddhist temple and garden up on the outskirts of Kyoto and I managed to grab a nice shot of some rain on the hills.
- Panasonic - DC-S5
- LUMIX S 24-105/F4
- 105.0 mm
- ƒ/8
- 1/30 sec
- Pattern
- Auto exposure
- 0.7
- ISO 100
Splashes of Orange in the Rain by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
pdk42
Moderator
10) A few random Kyoto scenes
Kyoto Streets by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
Mini Shrine by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
The Kimono Shop by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
Kyoto Streets by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
Mini Shrine by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
The Kimono Shop by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
Richard Wong
Well-Known Member
Absolutely beautiful lighting in that last shot!
pdk42
Moderator
Yes Richard, it was a beautiful late autumn/winter day.
pdk42
Moderator
11) The Seiryo-ji Temple
We went for a bike ride out to the Arishiyama Bamboo Forest/Walk but it was absolutely rammed with tourists and the streets around it were cluttered with tourist honey-trap shops so we beat a hasty retreat. On the way back we stumbled across this temple, almost totally devoid of people, and discovered this gorgeous little garden behind it.
Seiryo-ji Temple by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
We went for a bike ride out to the Arishiyama Bamboo Forest/Walk but it was absolutely rammed with tourists and the streets around it were cluttered with tourist honey-trap shops so we beat a hasty retreat. On the way back we stumbled across this temple, almost totally devoid of people, and discovered this gorgeous little garden behind it.
Seiryo-ji Temple by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
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Jonathan-Mac
Well-Known Member
My experience is that Japan is the best place I've ever visited for discovering places a little off the regular tourist routes that have few people and can be enjoyed in peace.
pdk42
Moderator
Yes, I agree with that. Plus, with social media it’s now common for places to suffer huge influxes of visitors - all it takes is for some “influencer” to post up some pics or a video on Tik Tok and the hoards will follow.
The Rigger
LMF-Patron Gold
I really enjoyed touring the Kinkaku-Ji when I was in Kyoto years ago. The grounds were very restful, albeit popular at the time (we were in Japan in August and September), and the "Golden Pagoda" was pretty cool. If you have time, it's worth a visit.
CharlesH
LMF-Patron Gold
Not just Japan. In the past I really enjoyed touring in Europe. Any more it seems like there are large crowds anywhere I want to go. It has gone from a real pleasure to more of a hassle.
pdk42
Moderator
I know this will sound like hypocrisy in the extreme given my current activities, but tourism is getting a bit out of hand in some places. So much so that locals are pushing back and some local governments/administrations are introducing tourist taxes. Venice has recently introduced a day charge to enter the city unless you are a resident or hotel guest.
pdk42
Moderator
12) Stamp Book
Our AirBnB host (who is wonderful) also runs bookbinding workshops at her father's studio. So, we did a session with her. Here is a shot of my wife doing the label embossing:
And here is my finished result:
We then went to the local buddhist shrine and a monk added the temple stamp:
And here is a shot of the monk at work.
Caligrapher at Work by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
Our AirBnB host (who is wonderful) also runs bookbinding workshops at her father's studio. So, we did a session with her. Here is a shot of my wife doing the label embossing:
- Panasonic - DC-S5
- 35mm F2 DG DN | Contemporary 020
- 35.0 mm
- ƒ/4
- 1/60 sec
- Pattern
- Auto exposure
- ISO 1250
And here is my finished result:
We then went to the local buddhist shrine and a monk added the temple stamp:
And here is a shot of the monk at work.
Caligrapher at Work by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
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pdk42
Moderator
13) A few shots from around Hirosawano-ike lake and Ohara
Hirosawano-ike Lake by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
The Last Few Acer Leaves by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
Acer Tree by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
The Path to the Ohara Temple by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
Hirosawano-ike Lake by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
The Last Few Acer Leaves by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
Acer Tree by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
The Path to the Ohara Temple by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
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pdk42
Moderator
If you're considering going to Japan, it's worth adding that whilst it's expensive to get here (from Europe), the cost of living once here is much lower than the UK and other places.
For example, here is last night's dinner - end of day reduction at the local supermarket on a very good plate of Sushi (better than most Japanese restaurants in the UK) - £3.50
Or this meal at a little Syokudo and Teishoku restaurant in Kyoto. Lunch of friend chicken, salad, rice bowl, tofu, miso soup, and endless kukicha tea - all for about £6 !
Bonus shot of yours truly !!
For example, here is last night's dinner - end of day reduction at the local supermarket on a very good plate of Sushi (better than most Japanese restaurants in the UK) - £3.50
Or this meal at a little Syokudo and Teishoku restaurant in Kyoto. Lunch of friend chicken, salad, rice bowl, tofu, miso soup, and endless kukicha tea - all for about £6 !
Bonus shot of yours truly !!
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pdk42
Moderator
14) The Golden Temple
Well, it had to be done. Hordes of tourists of course.
The Golden Temple by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
Well, it had to be done. Hordes of tourists of course.
The Golden Temple by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
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pdk42
Moderator
15) From Buddhist to Shinto
This is from the Shinto shrine of Kitano Tenmangu in Kyoto.
Lighting Up Time at the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
This is from the Shinto shrine of Kitano Tenmangu in Kyoto.
Lighting Up Time at the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine by Paul Kaye, on Flickr
RuleOfThirds
Well-Known Member
Really love the pictures of your trip! Keep them coming please! In 2023 I was late getting entrance tickets to Machu Picchu, Peruvian government has put a quota on how many visitors are allowed daily. So they sell tickets online in advance, and beside those they have a few thousand available every morning, regulated by crooked police, who decide.
If you know your way, you know how to use the crooked system, by paying a fee to get in the right lane… anyway we made it to Machu Picchu, but was shocked to see thousands of visitors lining up in lines to get a possibility to buy entrance tickets a 4:30am. Because we payed the crooked police via our local guide, we were like the 10th person out of thousands to be able to buy them. 5hrs later the main square was still completely full of tourists waiting for a possibility to buy them as we left with our mandatory guide.
If you know your way, you know how to use the crooked system, by paying a fee to get in the right lane… anyway we made it to Machu Picchu, but was shocked to see thousands of visitors lining up in lines to get a possibility to buy entrance tickets a 4:30am. Because we payed the crooked police via our local guide, we were like the 10th person out of thousands to be able to buy them. 5hrs later the main square was still completely full of tourists waiting for a possibility to buy them as we left with our mandatory guide.