Miyajima Torii Gate

Don't worry, I'm just starting on my many photos from Japan and South Korea; you'll be bored of them before I'm done. I'll continue withe Myiajima's most famous site, the Itsukushima Shrine's torii gate. Can you see it in the lower left of this photo from the ferry?

Here's the more famous view of it.

Any way you view it, it's an amazing thing to see.

Our World Tuesday

Niagara Falls 1988 (Maid of the Mist)

San Francisco Beach

Here's a leftover Skywatch Friday photo from San Francisco. The view was even better in the opposite direction.

Miyajima Park

Large sections of Miyajima are dedicated to parks, and a visitor must spend time here.

Everything's just as you'd expect in Japan, perfectly kept and clean.

Wandering around here was one of my favorite things in Japan. And that's saying something!

Our World Tuesday

Miyajima Deer

Miyajima is famous for its "wild" deer, and they get right up to you. I had one try to see if I had anything in my pockets while I was taking photos!

Camera Critters

Saturday's Critters

Fisheye Pagoda

Here's a Skywatch Friday shot I took for fun with my fisheye on Miyajima/Itsukushima, or Shrine Island - the pagoda certainly doesn't lean like that!

Miyajima Shrine and Pagoda

Miyajima/Itsukushima, or Shrine Island, is obviously famous for its shrines. In Japan, there is commonly a torii gate as you approach a shrine. You're not supposed to walk through the center as that is reserved for the gods.

Inside the shrine area are numerous places of worship. Photography inside the buildings is forbidden, but in the grounds it was allowed.

There's also a famous five-storied pagoda, built in 1407.

It's very impressive once you get close to it.

Our World Tuesday

July 4th Skies

For Skywatch Friday, here's a shot taken on July 4th at the club where we relaxed with an appetizer and a drink. A typically perfect Colorado afternoon to sit outside!
And no, I wasn't laying on the ground for last week's Skywatch shot, but I did use my ultrawide fisheye lens.

Miyajima

Our first full morning in Japan was spent at Miyajima, or Shrine Island, near Hiroshima. Here's a view from the ferry as we approached.

It wasn't great weather but we didn't let that stop us from exploring.

It was truly beautiful, and if you look carefully in the above photo you can see one of Japan's most famous sights (there are more photos to come). Next week we'll see more photos of the shrine and a pagoda.

Our World Tuesday

Niagara Falls 1988 (2)

Here's another random 1988 shot from Niagara Falls for the weekend...

Japanese Trees

Here's a Skywatch Friday post, from Itsukushima, more commonly known as Miyajima, an island near Hiroshima. We don't get this kind of foliage where I live!

Fields

Our big vacation this year was to Japan and South Korea, and I'll be posting lots of photos over the next few months. We arrived in South Korea and flew to Japan the next day. After arriving in Tokyo we took the famous bullet trains to Hiroshima, and here are some photos from that first day's ride through the lovely countryside.

We stopped in several cities but only left the trains to get on another one.

They stopped in cities along the way.

Despite the rain the countryside was beautiful, as it went past at nearly 200 mph (320 kph).

Our World Tuesday