Japan Pictures

Walking through Kyoto, Japan, is unlike anything else. Everything is so clean and orderly. You wouldn't know it, but it was snowing earlier in the day when I took this photo. I would love to go back to Kyoto and spend more than a day there and take some proper photographs. This photo was actually taken on March 9th, 2011. I left on the 10th to stay with my wife's family just one day before the big earthquake and tsunami. Had I stayed another day like we had initially planned, I would have been stuck there because of the bullet trains being shut down. I guess getting stuck in Kyoto wouldn't be such a bad thing though.

Off the coast of Hiroshima, Miyajima is one of Japan's finest views. Miyajima means Shrine Island, and that's pretty much what this place is. Tame wild deer roam freely, and old Japanese Edo-era architecture is everywhere. It was founded sometime around 806 when a Buddhist monk, Kobo Daishi, established the site. The Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines are still well-kept and maintain a close relationship. 

I found these little guys when I was at a Nanzoin Temple in Sasaguri, Japan. They are the Seven Gods of Fortune, or Seven Lucky Gods, or Shichifukujin in Japanese.  The gold symbol behind them means treasure. The resident priest of this temple won the lottery and built the world's largest bronze statue at this site. The Reclining Buddha. This temple has become a hotspot for people who want good luck with money or to win the lottery.