This is our last place, the silver pavilion temple. Unlike the golden temple, this one is not actually silver as construction of it never got completed. However, it is still a beautiful place. This photograph was taken using the HDR format too.
This cone that stands next to the temple is made from piled up sand.
Just like the golden temple, this one is surrounded in natural beauty.
This last picture is my favourite, you can see the nature and the old temple in the foreground and the modern city in the background.
To finish off the first day we with a performance of traditional Japanese customs. The show was only about an hour long but we got many different shows. Sometimes shows would be performed at the same time as others e.g. music and tea ceremony
This is the act of making and serving Japanese green tea and sweets. It's still a common hobby for women to practice today. It's taken very seriously and is a very formal activity. I took part when Yuuri performed one at her old High school. I recommend anyone who is interested in Japan to take part in this and try the tea.
During the tea ceremony we could hear the ancient 13 stringed instrument called a koto. The music was brought from China when they first settled in Japan and now has long been abandoned by other Asian countries but Japan kept this tradition. It sounds like a folk guitar with disjointed rhythms and twangy sounds. It's a gentle sound that can be enjoyed as you look on Japan's past.
Flower arrangement is also a performance which is still popular with women in Japan. It can be a serious art of mixing colours and species and also a hobby to keep alive.
This is another thing the Japanese have preserved, its gagku, a sort of imperial court music. It dates back to the 9th Century. A band plays music to the left of the stage on various instruments while a man in a red costume dances holding one chopstick. I found the performance strange but thoroughly enjoyed it.
We saw a short Japanese play which again was based on a traditional concept of theatre. The story of this performance goes: A farmer wants to go into town but he doesn't trust his servants so he ties them up.
Finally we saw a maiko show where two maiko dance on stage. Maiko is a female dancer who were the apprentice to a geisha. They wore kimono and full white make-up in a very traditional way. This is what so many come to Kyoto for, maiko and geisha have become widely famous here.
I have put together a video of the whole event here:
A shrine is easily identified by its red gateway, there are a vast amount of these all over Japan. They are usually very beautiful, this one is special because as you can see from the gate it's the biggest in Japan!
Shrines always have this red sort of design and usually host weddings and ceremonies as oppose to temples which usually host funerals.
In Kyoto I tried making HDR photos of some of the scenery, it's a little different but I hope it helps you enjoy the pictures. The one above is one of these HDR pictures, basically my camera takes 3 pictures, 1 letting light in and the next two less and less light. The result is over exposed and under exposed pictures which I put together to have grater control of contrast and brightness without losing colour.
Here is a video of a 360 degree view of the shrine. I took this video on my phone so the quality isn't great.
Recently I have been using Yuuri's credit card to send money home and as a result of it being a JAL (Japan Airlines) card we had racked up some air miles. Enough in fact for a cheap trip to Kyoto, the old capital of Japan.
For those who don't know Kyoto it is a major tourist attraction as an example of 'old' Japan. It was spared in WWII and has been preserved well. I don't think anyone could escape the modern architecture of Japan and even Kyoto is a bask of skyscrapers and modern buildings but that is Japan.Yuuri's sister, Arisa, joined Yuuri and myself on the trip and we set out to find some of Kyoto's beauty.
Geographically Kyoto is in southern Japan and I thought it would be warmer than it was, unfortunately I was very wrong. This was early February weather and it was cold and wet, much similar to December in northern England. However, being British I can't let a bit of rain stop me!
The first place we visited was Kiyomizu temple. A fantastic piece of craftsmanship, a huge temple made of wood. It has been preserved well and they say it has been made without the use of nails.
I am a British guy but I moved to Aomori in 2008 to work with Aeon.
I finished Aeon in 2010 and moved to Taiwan.
From 2011 I am working James English School in Tendo, Yamagata
