Autumn Colors in Kansai

We purposely timed our visit to Kansai to coincide with its famous fall colors.  Thus many of the photos I have posted previously from this magnificent region will show you the breadth of beauty found this season of warm yellows, oranges, reds and browns.

Today I share a few more autumn photos from that trip to celebrate a season we don't really have at home in tropical Philippines.

I sure wasn't the only one reveling in the flaming colors of the maples!

Kansai, 2009

Extra:

Manila, 2011

I took this final photo last evening. This line of friendly pumpkins are on the street in front of our neighbor's house, waiting to greet the kids of the village coming by on Saturday for group "trick or treat" fun.

Halloween was not known in Finland where I spent most of my childhood, so the only time I got to dress up and go "trick or treat" was a couple of years in my early teens in Vancouver, BC. Fortunately I never did have much of a sweet tooth and I outgrew this pretty fast.

Do you celebrate this event in your corner of the world? Do you have any special memories?

Linking with other autumn images at Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday and (for the last image) to Pat's Thursday's Things in a Row.

J is for Jizō in Japan

Everywhere we went in Kansai we found, by the sides of roads or in temple gardens, small groups of stone statues, sometimes in mixed sizes, often dressed in bibs/aprons of red or white.

Kansai, 2009

I learned that these are common depictions of one of the most loved Mahayana Buddhist divinities, a bodhisattva named Ksitigarbha, venerated in Japan as guardian of children and travelers.

Parents leave offerings of caps or bibs, flowers, and stones, with these statues called Jizō (or more respectfully, O-Jizō-san), often as pleas to reduce the suffering of their children alive or dead.

The Jizō are believed to be responsive to sincere prayers of faith, so maybe that explains these coins tossed for good fortune.

J is the letter at ABC Wednesday. Go check out the other creative offers this week... or better yet, join the fun!

Japanese Pickles

I like trying new foods. I do have boundaries, but I will generally try anything offered in good faith at least once. 

I was intrigued by the specialty food sold in this store in a food mall in Kyoto. But I did not get to taste any of it. My guess is that these rolls right in front are some kind of vegetable in a mustard sauce, but I must call on my blogger friend Kaori from Shinjuku Daily Photo to set me straight.

Postscript: Thanks much, Kaori! Here we have one of numerous kinds of pickles - tsukemono - often served with a Japanese meal. This particular pickle delicacy originates from the Nara period over twelve hundred years ago. The famous kasuzuke, known as shiru-kasu-zuke or narazuke, was made for samurai by pickling fish or vegetables (typically melon, cucumber or eggplant) in a mix of sakekasu (sake lees, what remains after pressing sake mash), mirin, sugar and salt. The amazing part is that a great kasuzuke takes 1 to 3 years to make!  One more reason for me to return to the beautiful Kansai region of Japan.

Kyoto, 2009

The scene certainly fits right in with Mellow Yellow Monday.

How about you... how open are you to new taste experiences?

The Golden Pavillion

Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion Temple) is the only one of the original main structures remaining on the grounds of Rokuon-ji (Deer Park Temple) in Kyoto. And even this is not really the original. While the pavilion survived centuries of natural disasters, sadly in 1950 a misguided young arsonist monk razed it to the ground. Yet it is a true replica. And it IS grand.
 
In the 13th century this gold-leafed building was the not-so-humble villa of a shogun (general) until his death, when in accordance with his will it was turned into a Zen temple. 

Sitting on the edge of Kyoko-chi (Mirror Pond), it offers a perfect reflection for James' Weekend Reflections. This is a photo that's been taken by millions of admiring visitors over the years.

 Kyoto, 2009

As a bonus, I offer this less postcard perfect but more unique reflection of Kinkaku-ji as liquid gold with a purple water iris. 

This last photo is a closeup of the third floor with the gold-leafed bronze phoenix standing over one meter / nearly four feet tall. The bell-shaped windows are in the Chinese Song Dynasty style. The smallest of the three floors, this room was used for tea ceremonies and visits with close friends. 

Each floor was designed in a different style of architecture and had its own function. The ground floor was a reception hall used to welcome visitors and the second floor was for important meetings with honored guests. Simply put, the higher up you got into the building, the more intimate you were with your host, the shogun.

In 1994 this site joined the many historic monuments of ancient Kyoto inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage list.

Tempozan Ferris Wheel

Some months back I already introduced the imposing Tempozan Ferris Wheel standing between the Osaka Aquarium and a cable-stayed bridge (panorama better viewed enlarged).

Osaka, 2009

This ferris wheel stands 112.5 meters / 370 feet tall and measures 100 meters / 328 feet in diameter, making it one of the largest in the world. 

I still feel a tinge of regret that we did not have the time to take the 17-minute ride to enjoy (and capture!) the view of Osaka Bay, the city and the surrounding mountains, especially since a gray rainy morning had turned into brilliant blue-skied afternoon.

Today I link with Mellow Yellow Monday. Click on the link to find more interesting takes on the theme.

K is for Kobe Luminarie

Almost exactly one year ago, on December 10, 2009, we were walking on the streets of Kobe after dinner, looking for what I thought was just a well-lit cathedral I had seen on a poster in the train coming over from Osaka earlier, when all of a sudden we found ourselves joining first dozens, then hundreds, then certainly many tens of thousands of people, all silently walking in the same direction on streets emptied of vehicles. We didn't know what was going on, but we sensed we were in for something special. 

After several blocks, crowd movers asked us to stop; we waited a few minutes, then we were motioned to walk on. As we turned the corner, this is what we saw. I was moved.

Kobe, 2009

After slowly, almost solemnly,  walking several blocks under the illuminated arches, listening to beautiful piped classical Baroque music, we all ended here, at the Kobe Cathedral. [Images look better enlarged.]

And this is looking back at the street we had walked up, many thousands still following us. I'm normally not very fond of being in a large crowd, but this was one of a handful of crowd experiences I treasure.

We learned that we had serendipitously dropped in on Kobe Luminarie, in memory of the Great Hanshin Earthquake on January 17, 1995. The 200,000 lights were donated by the Italian government and the design/installation was by Valerio Festi and Hirokazu Imaoka.

I am linking with Jenny's Alphabe-Thursday, where the letter of the week is K.

The Bird Feeder

 Osaka, 2009

At Camera Critters you'll find links to animals of all kinds.

R is for Roof Tile

At ABC Wednesday, the letter for the day is R, and my contribution is roof tile - more specifically, ornate old Japanese kawara roof tiles. 

These black clay ceramic tiles were (and still are) used on traditional homes and temples and age beautifully. More elaborate structures would include ornamental figures.

A typical roof tile will have some kind of design feature that may or may not also serve as an amulet. The terminal decoration is called onigawara or ridge end tiles, One popular design is the swirling eddy, as it was believed to ward against fire. I've shown you the swirling eddy before and there are a few more here (2, 3, 4 and 6), as well as other designs (1, 5 and 7). 

 

 

 Kansai, 2009

These decorative roof details were all photographed in the Kansai region of Japan.

Holding Up the Sky

Kyoto, 2009

We were temple-hopping on foot in Kyoto and along the way I saw and snapped this golden sculpture. I now wish I'd stopped a bit longer to consider a better angle to take the photo, but still I think it is quite an imposing piece of public art. I also didn't get any information about it, so if anyone can fill us in, that would be super.

PS. Thanks to fellow blogger VP from Livorno Daily Photo for this link to some information about this sculpture.

Perhaps the folks at Mellow Yellow Monday would enjoy this. You'll find many links to blogs offering creative takes on mellow yellow.

Autumn Gold

The Kansai region of Japan may be more famous for its pink cherry blossoms in spring and red maple leaves in fall, and no one could possibly deny their stunning beauty. But I fell in love with the golden ginkgo tree.

 Osaka, 2009

The botanical name of this tree is ginkgo biloba. It is a unique species of tree with no close existing relatives, and but for a few possible locations in eastern China, it does not grow in the wild; it is an entirely cultivated tree. And yet it may be one of the oldest species of trees on earth. 

If you suffer from lapses of memory like I do, they say the extract of the nuts and leaves of ginkgo can help restore your powers of concentration. I've bought it before, but I never remember to take it.  In concentrated form ginkgo is also used to help people (yeah, me too) with blood circulatory issues.

Whatever its benefits, I just find it a beautiful tree with unique shaped leaves. This is the kind of gold I can get attached to.

I'm linking with the blogging communities at Mellow Yellow Monday and Mosaic Monday.

[SkyWatch] Blue Sky. Three Seasons?

Kyoto, 2009

On first glance, one could say there are three seasons represented here.  But in fact, the clear blue sky is the same in each image, as I captured these within 20 minutes of each other.

Posted for SkyWatch Friday where amazing skies from around the globe await you.

Not Just Any Old Roof

Osaka, 2009

I'm joining Wordless Wednesday and Sepia Scenes. 
Visit the sites for links to more takes on the themes.

L is for Lamps and Lanterns

Japan has an abundance of beautiful traditional lighting styles. These are just a few styles of lamps and lanterns I captured in Otowa-san Kiyomizu-dera, more simply known as Kiyomizu Temple.

 Kyoto, 2009

 

Kiyomizu Temple is a World Heritage Site in Kyoto. Dating back to 786, not a single nail was used to build the temple, the brown building you see on the right. The orange buildings on the left were added in 1633. 

ABC Wednesday is up to L and there you'll find more links to people's creative posts using the letter.

K is for Kimono

Are these middle-aged women I saw in full traditional garments - or kimono - former geisha or are they just dressed up for a photo op on a glorious Sunday at the temple in Kyoto? I didn't care; I thought they and their rich and colorful silk attire were simply fabulous!

 

 

 

Kyoto, 2009

At ABC Wednesday you'll find many more takes on the letter K.