Jeffrey E.F. Friedl's Blog, page 50

Recommended: Osaka Airterminal Hotel

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In Real Life

this looked much more cool

at the Osaka Airterminal Hotel (大阪国際空港ホテル), Itami Japan

I've discovered a new way to travel out of Kyoto/Osaka: a morning flight
out of Osaka Itami combined with a previous-night's stay at the Osaka Airterminal Hotel.

Note: the airport is Osaka Itami (ITM), not the larger and more popular (and further away) Kansai International (KIX).

It's less than 45 minutes to my fligh,t but I'm just getting out of a long, hot
bath and now sitting down to write this. No rush. The entrance to the gate
security area is a two-minute stroll from the hotel front desk, with a
Starbucks in between any time I want to avail myself. I already checked my bag when I woke up, spending the three minutes to walk
it down to the no-line-yet ticket counter. Back to my room a few minutes later for breakfast
and the aforementioned bath.

What a great value. A clean, quiet room for $75 is hard enough to find to begin with, but with this kind of convenience providing such a gentle start to a 20+ hour trip, it's well worth it.

The free internet access is blazingly fast. Last night I
downloaded an hour-long video from YouTube to put on my phone. It took just
a minute or two.

My only words of caution: book in advance (the hotel was fully occupied
last night), and note that the free internet is wired only.

Oh well, I guess I should get to my plane...

Thank You Skype for Not Sucking, and For Saving my Afternoon

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Thinking Cap

at the Enkoji Temple (円光寺), Kyoto Japan
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I've been feeling remarkably lazy about writing lately, sorry.

My wife and I were in a travel agency the other day (here in Kyoto,
Japan) to purchase some pricey tickets for some upcoming family travel, and
since it was a lot to put on the credit card at once, I had called ahead to
my US-based credit card to let them know the charge was coming so that it
would go through smoothly.

Of course, while standing there at the travel agency office, the transaction was denied. Sigh.

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Next to the Parking Lot

at the Miho Museum (ミホミュージアム) near Kyoto
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I couldn't call The States with the travel agent's phone, so we were
facing the prospect of having to bicycle back home to make the call to the
credit card company (again), then head back to the travel agency (again) to
try the transaction (again). What a pain.

But before leaving the travel agency, I had an idea. I had installed the
Skype app on my iPhone years ago but had
never used it. I do that a lot... I've never launched most of the apps that
I have on the thing. (I mostly don't even remember what I've put on there
most of the time.) Anyway, it was on my mind because I've heard good things
about Skype's quality for app-to-landline calls from Paul Barr who uses it
to chat Stateside while he's in Japan. The calls are not free, but they're
cheap enough not to matter, but you do have to fund your account with some
money to use it... or so I thought.

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Picture I took of some chick taking a pic of some guy taking a pic of some leaves.

(at the Nishi Hongwanji Temple (西本願寺), Kyoto Japan)

I hadn't given Skype any money, but on a whim I gave the Skype app a try
and dialed the toll-free number shown on the back of my credit card, and
voilà, I was talking to my credit-card company as if they were
sitting next to me. It was amazing.

I guess toll-free numbers are supported as such (without toll) by Skype.
Very, very nice. I encouraged the credit card company to acquire a clue,
the travel agent retried the card while the company was still on the line,
and all went well.

It saved my afternoon. Thank you Skype, and thank you Microsoft for not screwing them up when you bought them.

I've since funded my account with $10 just in case I
ever have to use it to call a
non-toll-free number. US calls go at a the not-worth-thinking-about rate of about a buck an hour, so practically speaking I'll probably
never use that $10, but it's cheap peace of mind.

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Moody

at the Enkoji Temple (円光寺)
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These photos have nothing to do with the article... they're just some
recent photos from among the huge backlog my laziness has prevented me from
dealing with.

And no, I did not place the yellow leaf on the small statue's head in
the lead photo.
(I saw someone else do it and took the opportunity to snap
a picture )

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Fog and Smoke

the latter from an early-morning leaf-burning fire

at the Tenjin Shrine (天神神社) in Koka, Shiga Prefecture, Japan

(not far from the Miho Museum)
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Geometric Views from the Miho Museum

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Meep-Meep

golf cart shuttle at the Miho Museum (ミホミュージアム)

near Kyoto, Japan

I've spent the weekend since having posted “Visiting the Miho Museum”
trying (and failing) to fight off a cold, but I seem to be slowly
recovering today, so today we have a simple post, of a bunch of
geometric-ish images from my visit to the museum, presented in the
order I took them (with the exception of the first two images being
swapped).

These first two from the tunnel leading to the museum have been
processed with differing white-balance settings for dramatic effect. The one above is processed so that the sunlight streaming in is white, turning
the incandescent lights lining the tunnel a deep orange.

The one below is the opposite, set so that the tunnel lights are white,
thereby turning the sunlight a cool blue...

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In reality it was neither blue nor orange... it was a dark spacey gray. But still cool.

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Too-Tall Paul

distorted by the fisheye lens








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Bridge Truss




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Shadows




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“L”

I'm not sure what the thing above is, but I think it's a light. (The photo is from directly underneath, looking straight up).

Here's a more conventional view...

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“L” is for Light?

Out of curiosity, here's what the “L” shot from above looks like at f/16 instead of f/1.4, flattening the dozen feet between the light
and the ceiling into nothing...

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Flattened

and decidedly too busy

Just outside the window where I was taking these light shots is a rock
garden of some sort. Looking like it came out of a Sears catalog, it's
probably the least well done aspect of the museum...

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Uninspired Rock Garden

with window reflections of the museum architecture

I'm no expert on rock gardens, but I'm thinking that one needs a better
backdrop, and so a square of marble and glass is probably not the ideal
location in the first place.

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Disconcerting?

One more shot from the lobby of the special-collections wing, where all
the interior shots have been so far...

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Corner
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With “Disconcerting?” above I had intended to post only the color shot,
where like in the tunnel the different colors of light can be exaggerated
and set upon each other via white-balance adjustments in post, but thought
that maybe the lack of color might make for a slightly strange moment as
you try to figure out what you're looking at. Maybe not.

In any case, here's the color version...

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First Floor Hallway

as seen from the 2nd floor lobby




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Industrial Strength Joint

in the museum cafe
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Precise

ring of museum symbols mark the fill line




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Slightly Escher-esque

I tried to get a nice shot of the 2nd floor hallway, but didn't quite do it. Paul always has a nice smile, but
this first shot with him in the foreground looking at the off-camera Egypt Room would be better without him...

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... and this second shot just doesn't have the right balance...

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Oh well, maybe next time. Or maybe not; I'm told it's normally very crowded, so perhaps a future visit won't have such clean views.

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Entrance Lobby and Sunburst

On the way out I grabbed a snapshot of one of the first visually-striking things I noticed on the way in, a circular umbrella stand...

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I couldn't come up with a good way to make a good photograph, though.

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Return Trip




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Tree Snuggies

which I wrote about six years ago

And finally, one more futuristic take on the tunnel...

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Visiting the Miho Museum an Hour out of Kyoto

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A Bit Futuristic

tunnel on the path to the Miho Museum (ミホミュージアム)

Shiga Prefecture, Japan
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Yesterday I made my first visit to the famous Miho Museum (ミホミュージアム) in the mountains of
southern Shiga Prefecture, an hour or so out of Kyoto.

There are two things that must be said when talking about this museum:

The first is that a visit is a spectacular experience. I can't begin to
tell you the high level of sense and style the designers have in displaying
works of art. In particular, the current “special collection” on display
until the middle of this month, of what I can best describe as “a bunch of
old red plates”, is jaw-dropping eye-popping bathing-in-the-light-of-angels spec·tac·u·lar.

Photography was not allowed and so I can't even begin to show it, but
even if photography was allowed, no photo could do the interactive 3D
experience justice. The folks who designed the display are masters
of light and sightlines and presentation, and their work oozes with
class and style.

When I actually stopped to read the details of some 1,000-year-old
plate or bowl I found interest in imagining who might have made it, and
what kind of hands it may have passed through on the way to the display
case in front of me, but much more than that I was in awe of how
these objects were displayed, and my jaw dropped at every turn in the
twisty many-roomed gallery.

But I'm getting ahead of myself... first, we have to arrive. From the
parking lot you can walk the 600m (0.4 miles) to the museum, or hop onto a
golf-cart type shuttle. I was with Paul Bar and Stéphane Barbery, and we chose to walk.

The initial part of the road is, I'm sure, spectacular during
cherry-blossom season, but it was quite dull for us:

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The First and Last Scene

that we saw that could be described as “dull”

Eventually you come to the opening of a tunnel...

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Tunnel and Shuttle

shuttle is approaching




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Tunnel Entrance

and shuttle just passed

The lead photo is from inside the tunnel. Here's a similar one, with the white balance set for
the incandescent lights lining the tunnel instead of for the sunlight splashing in...

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Spacey Vibe
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Eventually the curve leads you to see the museum in the distance...

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... but before you arrive to it you first must cross a bridge supported by thick, photogenically-arranged cables...

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End of the Tunnel





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Me

taking the shot above

photo by Stéphane Barbery





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Looking Back

from the middle of the bridge back to the tunnel

I'm probably the first person ever to take this shot. Same for all of these shots.

The thick cables terminate into an industrial-looking gridwork on the
outer edges of the bridge, a theme (as we'll see) carried throughout the whole museum.
(The industrial vibe reminds me of some of the photos on
“A Visit to Suntory's Kyoto Beer Brewery”.)

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Totally Tubular

At last we approach the museum entrance...

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At this point one must dutifully mention that the museum was designed by
that Louvre pyramid guy; in this
case the look mimics traditional thatched-roofed farmhouses of the region, such as these seen on the road
near the museum:

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I was told that food for the cafe is grown here

The inside is done tastefully. Here's the foyer for the special-collections wing:

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The glass ceiling is supported on a framework similar to that of the bridge, and this theme is carried out throughout the various wings of the building.

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At the Cafe




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Veggie Plate

of exquisite quality




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Random Staircase




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Near the Main Lobby

Let's go back down the random staircase to take a closer look at that 1,600-year-old mosaic on the floor...

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Lasers ● Bullet-Proof Glass ● Motion Sensors ● Ugly Warning Placards ● Yellow-Braided Ropes

none of these things mar the experience

Just six little stones that look like they've been taken from the
parking lot protect a 3rd-4th century floor mosaic depicting Dyonysos's
discovery of Ariadne on Naxos (whatever that is). Really, have you ever
seen a museum so devoid of things that detract from the experience of why
you're there in the first place?

If you look closely at the big version of the photo you get when you
click through, you can sort of make it out the description card on the
bumper closest to Paul, and even harder to make out is a “no touch” symbol
next to it, but otherwise there are no signs or warnings of any kind
visible in the shot.

Simple clean understated first-class class. The whole place is like this.

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Up Close and Personal

Like the special collection area, photography was not allowed in the
permanent exhibits either, but here's a shot from just outside the “Egypt”
room:

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Egypt Room

When you walk inside, and take a sharp right, on the wall is a small
poster that, though it's not apparent until you really pay attention,
serves as an overall description for the entire room. At the bottom is a
small “no photography” symbol, and that's the full extent of the “no
photography” warnings at this place... one small sticker on an easy-to-miss
poster in each room.

It's so easy to miss that Paul and I had looked around and decided that
photography must be allowed in this room, before eventually noticing the
sticker. There was no staff anywhere nearby to ask. We decided that the
sticker was meant to convey “no photography in this room” instead of the
at-first-glance “no photography of this poster”, so we refrained.

It seems clear to me that they don't care whether you take photos of the
artworks... they care whether your taking photos would disrupt others'
enjoyment of the artworks. Perhaps they had trouble in the past,
but even if not, I can easily imagine the clickity-click of even reserved,
respectful photographers would disrupt the atmosphere.

Later, at the larger restaurant near the parking lot, we had another, larger lunch just because
it had such a good reputation...

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Second Lunch

It was very good.

So, at the beginning of this article I said that there were two thing
that must be said when talking about this museum, but I've so far mentioned
only one.

The second is that the museum is owned and run by a religious movement
that, according rumors I've heard from everyone I've ever heard about the
museum from, is a cult. I've heard that it's similar to scientology in that
it has a pyramid-like scheme for “advancement” and that the ultimate goal
seems to be extracting money from its believers.

I have no idea whether that's true. As far as I can tell (and I was on
the lookout for it from the moment we arrived), there's not the slightest
hint of cult or “spiritual movement” at the museum... it's a museum 100%
and that's that. I recall that on one poster I saw the founder of the
museum's name mentioned, which is perhaps relevant because that lady also
started the religious movement (cult?), but at no time on the museum
grounds did I ever even see the “religious movement” mentioned by name,
implied, or even hinted at. Ever.

Yet here we have a private museum that rumors say cost a billion
US dollars to build and curate. And that's not all... looking out the window
you're meant with a sci-fi like view of the church off in the distance...

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That's a lot of land in between.

Even more strange is that the Wikipedia entries for the
museum and its owning religion make no
mention of any kind of “cult” status or even rumors.

I've been told that the religion has three main tenants: eat only
healthy food, appreciate art, and that people's spirits can heal one another. If this is true (that these indeed are the tenants), the first is well
represented in the lunches we ate, and the second one was apparent everywhere.

I highly recommend a visit, but do check their
calendar. Paul, who has been there a few times, said that it's normally
quite crowded, and he was shocked (and pleasantly surprised) at how
uncrowded it was yesterday.

To be continued...

My Forgetfulness is Getting Worse: Forgot the Whole Camera This Time

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Big Yellow Tree

It's big. It's yellow. It's a tree.

at the Nishi Hongwanji Temple (西本願寺), Kyoto Japan

My previous post told the sad tale of forgetting the camera memory
card on a family outing. I did that mistake one better yesterday by
forgetting the entire camera this time, dutifully arriving at my
destination with a nice array of lenses but nothing to put them on.

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Cameras to Spare

maybe I can borrow one of his

After a massage and
returning home to fetch the camera, I returned to the Nishi Hongwanji
Temple (西本願寺) where several huge ginkgo trees are currently in full
splendor.

First the memory card, then the camera. I worry about what I'll forget on today's outing (upon which I embark momentarily)!

Not a Good Day for Photography in the Friedl Household

I once complained that I had ruined every photo before I even took it by accidentally leaving
the camera in low-quality JPEG mode (instead of raw mode, which gives
much latitude in recovering from exposure mistakes).

Today I did myself one better.

After driving 2½ hours last night to a hotel near a particular
spot where I wanted to make a sunrise photo with the family, we got up at
5:15 and by 6am we had parked and were ready for the 30-minute hike to the
location, when I took my first shot of the day, of a picturesque ridgeline
with a dull warm 40-minutes-before-sunrise light beyond.

The photo that popped up on the back of the camera was stunning: the sky
that seemed almost black in person was now in the photo a deep rich blue at
the ridge with a lovely gradient to black at top. The day was starting off
exceptionally well, except....

... except that unfortunately, I always have my cameras set to
not show each photo on the back of the camera immediately after
capture (because it wastes battery), so the photo suddenly popping up meant
only one thing: the camera was in “demo mode” like it would be at the
store, because I'd forgotten to put in a memory card. Doh!

Sigh.

The camera and lenses all went back into the car, and we made the hike
sans camera. (Fumie and I both had iPhones with full batteries, but both
died from lack of battery within 10 minutes after reaching the destination. I speculated at the time that the battery might have been consumed faster
because of the cold, but I didn't really believe it because it wasn't
that cold... just a touch below freezing... but both batteries
suddenly returned to half full when we got them back to the warm car.)

I guess it just wasn't my day for photography.

Approaching the Tea House at Kyoto’s Seifuso Villa

Note: this article may not appear properly in news readers.

This article contains interactive aspects that are likely removed by most news readers. Please see this particular article directly on Jeffrey's blog for full functionality.

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Approaching the Front Door

with Paul and Damien

Seifuso Villa (清風荘)

Kyoto Japan




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Anybody Home?





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Nice Door




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Garden Gate





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Appreciating the Garden Gate

with Will, our host from Kyoto University

and the head of Kyoto University's property management group as guide

The Seifuso Villa (清風荘) near Kyoto University was a private residence
for centuries before being donated to Kyoto University in the 1950s, which
now preserves it as a cultural treasure. Thanks to the kindness of a friend
who teaches at the university, I was able to take a tour of the villa last
week.

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The Garden Gate

This simple gate is on a path that leads to a small tea house where the
resident might meet afternoon callers of sufficient distinction to merit
such a setting.

Careful inspection of the ground under the edges of the roof that would otherwise
be moss shows a black stripe. It goes around on all sides...

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With My Foot for Scale





Nikon D4 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/200 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1800 —
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“Black Stripe” Detail

This is, of course, the subject of the “What am I?” quiz from
last week. The black stripe is made up of charcoal logs buried
edgewise. One sees this occasionally at temples where water might drip
down, providing what I suppose to be a surface less prone to erosion and
its unsightly results.

Continuing along, we come to the tea house...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/100 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/100 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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Simple Tea House

receiving some late-afternoon sun
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As it so happens, two other photos I took end up making a nice little two-frame wigglegram to give more of a sense of being there...

div#dxLJqCPKbPKbqdA img { width:690px; height:520px; visibility:hidden; position:absolute; top:0; left:0; border: solid 10px #311}







Animatable — slowly sweep mouse from side to side to view effect
写真の上をマウスで左右にゆっくり動かすといろいろな影響を見えます。

1)return true;var x=Math.floor((e.clientX||e.pageX)/BW);if(X==0)X=x;else if(x!=X){var which=x>X?i+(x-X):i-(X-x);if(which>=I.length)which=I.length==2?0:I.length-1;else if(which

We spent quite a long time on the impressive grounds and in the house, certainly subjects for subsequent blog posts. But eventually it came time to leave, so here's an “action shot” of the gate in use...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/50 sec, f/3.5, ISO 1000 —
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I have no idea why I include this, other than for that I seem to like it for unknown reasons.

Here's a similar shot as “The Gate” above, but less documentary and more artsy...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/80 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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And finally, another shot of the front door to the property, at dusk, in a subdued style quite different from what I normally do...

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A Temple with Extra Restrictions on Photography is Now My Favorite Kyoto Temple

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 720 —
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Harsh

conditions of entry to the Hokyo-in Temple (宝筐院)

Kyoto Japan

This is a followup to yesterday's post with
photos from the Hokyo-in Temple in Kyoto,
a temple with some of the most harsh, restrictive anti-photography policies I've ever encountered.

On one end of the spectrum are places that allow even tripods, such as
the Yoshiminedera
temple. Moving along toward more restrictions, the Heian Shrine allows
tripods, but only if you pay a ¥2,000 (about US$20) fee. Most places
don't allow the use of tripods at all, but the Hokyo-in Temple featured
yesterday doesn't even allow you to have a tripod in your
possession. Even if securely sequestered in your backpack, you're
simply not allowed in.

Fall Foliage at Kyoto Arashiyama’s Hokyo-in Temple (with a wigglegram)

Note: this article may not appear properly in news readers.

This article contains interactive aspects that are likely removed by most news readers. Please see this particular article directly on Jeffrey's blog for full functionality.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/250 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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Path to The Main Garden

at the Hokyo-in Temple (宝筐院)

Kyoto Japan

My first outing this season to partake of Kyoto's fall-foliage delights
was on Friday, as I wrote
about yesterday. The first stop was my first visit to the Hokyo-in Temple (宝筐院) in the
Arashiyama area of western Kyoto.

The long path into the garden was quite photogenic, though it was
difficult to get a shot that both avoided people in the photo and avoided
annoying people while taking the photo, but within those constraints I did
okay...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/50 sec, f/4.5, ISO 250 —
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Yet, despite all the work to avoid people in the shots, I tend to like
ones with people better, like the one at the top of this post, or that same
lady at the top of
yesterday's post, or this lady stopping in the middle of the path...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/125 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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Richer “3D” Feel

(I wish I'd made a wigglegram of this exact scene!)
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Once I made the plugin onto the path myself, I transversed it quickly so
as to avoid being in others' shots, and came around the back side of the
main temple building only to be blinded by the sun...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/250 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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Blinding

“do not look into sun with remaining eye”
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Much of the day had harsh light like this, but the front of the main
temple building was bathed in rich color-splashed shade, so it was
wonderful...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/200 sec, f/1.4, ISO 220 —
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Peeking Through
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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/200 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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Corner Post

in the harsh direct sunlight
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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/80 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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From Behind the Corner Post

similar to this B&W photo yesterday





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Front Shade

view from the corner post toward the front
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Now we move inside...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 250 —
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Simplicity
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Here's a wigglegram to make you feel as if you're there; wiggle your mouse over the image...

div#dsz6oCK3K3pcA img { width:690px; height:444px; visibility:hidden; position:absolute; top:0; left:0; border: solid 10px #311}



















Animatable — slowly sweep mouse from side to side to view effect
写真の上をマウスで左右にゆっくり動かすといろいろな影響を見えます。

1)return true;var x=Math.floor((e.clientX||e.pageX)/BW);if(X==0)X=x;else if(x!=X){var which=x>X?i+(x-X):i-(X-x);if(which>=I.length)which=I.length==2?0:I.length-1;else if(which

The fall color get all the attention, but the little details in the garden are still nice...

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1100 —
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This Season’s First Fall-Foliage Outing in Kyoto: Northern Arahiyama

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/80 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Picturesque Path

at the Hokyo-in Temple (宝筐院)

Kyoto Japan

Fall-foliage season, long over with in most of the Northern Hemisphere,
is just getting into full swing in Kyoto. Throwing common sense to the
wind, I dared to venture to the Arashiyama area of Kyoto yesterday
(Friday), where the density of tourists during this season threatens to
form a singularity. Adding to the mass of folks, I went with
Paul Barr and Damien Douxchamps.

We limited ourselves to a few temples on the northern fringes of Arashiyama, and so we avoided the most oppressive crowds.

The first stop was my first visit to the Hokyo-in Temple (宝筐院), which
includes a picturesque path that naturally attracts the camera. The shot above recalls last week's “Why Does Photography with an
iPad Look so Silly?”, though the lady wrapped in understated class also
calls to mind the followup article, “iPad Photography: This Guy is
Doing it Right”.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/50 sec, f/9, ISO 1600 —
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Veranda

of the main temple building

at the Hokyo-in Temple (宝筐院)
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I'd planned to post two shots from each place we visited yesterday, but
it seems that while playing around in Lightroom this shot of the same
temple building also got included...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/50 sec, f/11, ISO 1800 —
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Corner

We then moved next door to the much larger Seiryoji Temple (清涼時)...

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/25 sec, f/16, ISO 6400 —
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Covered Walkway

with rich wood ceiling beams

Seiryoji Temple (清涼時)
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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/250 sec, f/4.5, ISO 100 —
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Harsh Sunlight

makes for a challenge
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The Chicken Watches
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We then moved over to Heiankyo, which seems to be a private
residence/park-ish kind of place not normally open to the public except
during rare special openings, one of which was going on yesterday.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/200 sec, f/5.6, ISO 720 —
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Winding-ish

grounds at Heiankyo (平安郷)
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Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/800 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 —
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Tuft
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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/800 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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Tea Service

anyone who showed up got tea and sweet served by kimono-clad ladies

The next stop was the almost-impossible-to-find Enrian Temple (厭離庵) whose frontage on the street totals about four feet. A long narrow path connects the street to the temple grounds...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/50 sec, f/1.4, ISO 2800 —
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Path To The

Enrian Temple (厭離庵)
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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/160 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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Outlying Building
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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/50 sec, f/1.4, ISO 250 —
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Garden Photo Op

Finally we found our way to the Takiguchi-dera
Temple (滝口寺), next to the Gioji Temple that has
been on my blog so many times. I'd never actually taken the extra 10 steps up to the Takiguchi-dera
Temple, so today we did...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/50 sec, f/3.2, ISO 1250 —
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Narrow Path

Takiguchi-dera Temple (滝口寺)
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Slightly Jostled
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The Takiguchi-dera Temple, much less popular than Gioji just below it on
the mountain, was a quiet respite from the crowds.

Damien and Paul then went to Gioji and elsewhere, but I was feeling a
bit out of energy by this time so I called it a day. But it was a
photogenic day, to say the least, so there's much more to post when time
allows...