I visited Hirano Shrine in Kyoto City, including taking a photo before the first festival. I hope I was able to enjoy spring with a little dress.

Illumination of Kitano 🍁 Tenmangu Shrine

I really love seeing these massive fireworks displays and this one is really incredible. Just comparing the height of the fireworks to the height of the builds in the city you can get an idea of just how large-scale this fireworks show is. I know the Minato Kobe Marine Fireworks Festival is in October but I'm hoping to see some fireworks this spring at least. I know summer is a little far off but there's definitely going to be fireworks then, that's for sure. I remember the one trip I went to Kobe I didn't get to see these amazing fireworks, but I was able to dry some delicious Kobe Beef burgers that were really just incredible. I would have liked to go to a steak restaurant but it didn't really fit our itinerary. It ended up working out though, as the burgers were great!

I was playing with Atami cherry.

Wow! I know Himeji has some awesome things like Himeji Castle of course, but to just find this while going for a walk, how cool is that! Speaking of Himeji Castle, I wish I could have see nthe projection mapping event they had there in 2015? I think it was. Hopefully they do something like that again because I'd love to go and see it for myself. I envy anyone who got to see it in person😂 I really like the stone lanterns and small Buddhist statues in this photo as well, it really gives that temple feel. I'll have to be on the lookout for this place when I visit Himeji!

This is Sakura, Hirakata City, Osaka Prefecture.

Deep in the mountains of Shiga with the Suzuka Mountains in the background, you can enjoy a relaxing spring later than on the flatlands.

Wow this is beautiful. If there's one thing I'm going to miss come spring it's going to be all of the beautiful winter photography that I've had the pleasure of seeing this year. That being said I'm sure spring will be just as beautiful thanks to all the greenery and cherry blossoms coming to life. This photo is really cool though. Before I zoomed in it looked like some historical castle townscape covered in snow but then upon closer inspection it's a modern area with modern homes. The river is cool too, it reminds me of a moat separating a castle from its town at this angle and probably because of the cobblestone. The mountain backdrop is really amazing too, I suppose that's maybe where the mine cart runs to? Guess I'll have to visit Asago to find out!

Asago City, Hyogo Prefecture, a post box in front of the coffee shop "Arajan".

Asago City, Hyogo Prefecture, snowy cityscape.

Asago City, Hyogo Prefecture, a trolley trail road covered with snow.

Asago City, Hyogo Prefecture, in front of Himemiya Shrine.

Snow piled up in Asago City, Hyogo Prefecture.

Winter valley Arashiyama in the back of the evening The Milky Way is already on earth Photo taken in Arashiyama, 31/12/2018 Caption by Takaoka san

This is the snowy scenery when I went to Kamikawa Town in Hyogo Prefecture. I filmed the moment my husband filmed me. It is one of my favorite photos of winter.

Todaiji Temple is so awesome. I remember the first time I went there. I had a professor in college awesome guy btw who told the class about his trip there when he was doing research and he told us how massive the temple was. He showed us a picture and pointed out how the people looked like ants in front of the temple. I believed him that it was large of course but I figured maybe it was just the photo's perspective making it look larger. Oh boy, was I in for a treat when I actually got to the temple. It was seriously MASSIVE and the incense burner that he mentioned was out front as well so it was cool that I got to experience all of the things that he was able to experience in the past. I guess that's one thing that makes historical places like this so extraordinary- being able to connect with the past without actually being there. I really loved all the small models there as well lol! I'll certainly never forget my trip to Todaiji and I'd love to visit Nara again when I get the chance.

Glossy day In Kyoto

This photo captures the essence of Kyoto so well in my opinion. Cherry blossoms and a yakatabune. It's so simple and yet so elegant at the same time. I like how the boat is just slightly obscured by the cherry blossoms and you can feel how the wood on the roof of the boat has aged just by looking at it. Kyoto has so many beautiful sights to see and experiences to try. I'm looking forward to one of these boat rides the next time I go, and I'm also planning on visiting a kawadoko because I've eaten by a river before so I know how refreshing it is, but I've never eaten OVER a river before inside a boat maybe but this is different so I'm looking forward to a new experience. Going to have to visit all the temples and shrines I didn't have the chance to visit before as well.

Just beautiful. There's so much happening in this photo when you really look at it. The paper lantern is really the cherry on the cake for me in this one. I read an article a little while ago about the funaya in Ine and thought it was really interesting. It's awesome getting to see fireworks happening there as well, it's like I've discovered a new side of the area that I didn't know about before. I really enjoy fireworks over water too, and there's plenty of great fireworks festivals in Japan that do just that. I was already looking forward to being able to see the boathouses in Ine one day but now I'm looking forward to it even more. Going to line it up with the Ine Fireworks Festival if I can. The reflection of the fireworks on the water looks really awesome as well.

We were blessed with good weather and were able to enjoy the beautiful snowy scenery. It was a happy moment to be enveloped in 360 degrees and frost! !️

I was 😁 able to see a superb scenery that made me feel tired from the hard climbing. The blue sky and frost go perfectly together! !️

This is a photo of a snowy day in "Naramachi" in Nara City, Nara Prefecture. Nara City does not have much snow, and it has snowed for the first time in several years, and the cityscape that I have loved from the beginning has become even more attractive due to the snowy scenery.

Man the autumn colors sure were beautiful this year. Hopefully they're just as nice this year. I have no doubt in my mind that they will be. It's been a while since I went to Nara, but I always love watching the videos of deer chasing people around for crackers 😂 I've yet to go to Hasedera Temple though, it seems like it's not as well known as some of the other ones. Not sure why though, as it looks absolutely beautiful with all the natural scenery surrounding it. The pagoda looks really cool as well. I'm a huge fan of pagodas for some reason though lol. The 3rd picture of the temple kind of makes it look like the common photo you see of Kiyomizudera, but mirrored on the left side instead of the right. Just an interesting observation I had.

As always Japan has amazing desserts. Went and dug up some old posts and found a lot of awesome photos. This one just kind of stuck out the most. I've personally never tried mochi and ice cream together but now that I think about it it actually sounds like it could be a pretty good combination. I'm curious as to what the sauce is as well. I've had different types of dango with different types of sauce before but this seems like a totally different experience. I'm considering getting some the next time I go shopping so I can try this. I'm trying to imagine a type of ice cream filled dango or dango filled ice cream but idk how well it would work if the dango are warm 😂. Either way it sounds really good and I don't think I've ever had a bad dessert in Japan so I'd love to try this out if I can manage a trip to Kyoto. When I went to Kyoto in the past I was only in Kawaramachi for a really short amount of time so I'd really like to explore it more next time!

It was the first sunrise of 2021 when I went to see it on a hill near my home. This is going to be a good year.

Man this is so cool! Leave it to Kyoto to have not only tons of amazing temples and shrines, but also some historic boat houses! Looking at this just gets me raring to go fishing lol. It's been so long since I've been. It'd probably be a good idea to get my own tackle and go for a fishing trip. I could even try making my own sushi although idk how great it would taste 😂The second picture in the article makes it look like paradise too. I'd love to visit the hot spring as well. I have a public bath near my place but I haven't been able to get out to an actual hot spring lately. Ine looks like a great place though, really rustic and detached from the every day hustle and bustle of the city. Just one more thing to add to my bucket list when I visit Kyoto again!