River crabs at Nigatsudo
2023-7-2 Last month, I visited Todaiji Nigatsudo to see fireflies at night. This time, visited the same place to see river crabs in the morning. The crabs were found easily along the road to Nigatsudo. As I concentrated on pointing my camera at the small creatures, tourists wondered if there was a crab in such […]
Fireflies near Todaiji Nigatsudo
2023-6-3 This is the season that flying fireflies can be seen at Todaiji, so I visited the backyard of the Temple. I saw them actually, but it was too dark for the SIGMA camera at the place. However, I could take photos of sunset of a clear day after a heavy rain from the stage […]
Manyo Botanical Garden in Kasuga Taisha Shrine
2023-5-30 I am eager to take photos of frogs these days. It was raining in this morning, then visited Manyo Botanical Garden next to the Kasuga Taisha Shrine to see if they are. I heard some frogs croaking (should not be so many), but I couldn’t see them. I gave up and took pictures of […]
Dorokyo Valley on the border of 3 prefectures
2023-5-18 I visited a valley called Dorokyo. It is located on the borders of three prefectures, Mie, Wakayama, and Nara, and in the Yoshino-Kumano National Park in south of Kii Peninsula. I was thinking it is not easy to access there, but it exactly deserved to get there. Unexpectedly, in addition, the National Route 169, […]
Wild grass flowers and dragonflies
2023-5-11 I eagered to take photis of frogs, then visited the Ueno Forest Park in Iga city, Mie Prefecture. It’s more like a wildlife reserve than calling a park. When I walked around the ponds in the park, I heard frogs croaking, but couldn’t see any of them due to overgrown grass covering the area. […]
Hasedera Temple Sakurai Nara prefecture
2023-4-28 I visited Hasedera Temple in Sakurai city Nara that is famous for peony flowers in this season. I’ve visited this place once almost 30 years ago, but the streets leading to the temple looked not changed much. Even though it was a weekday, there were many tourists. (All photos taken with SIGMA sd Quattro […]
Milk vetch flower fields around Asukadera Temple
2023-4-23 When I was a child, I used to lie down in the milk vetch fields on rice fields in my neighborhood. The milk vetch fields looked like a widely spread red-purple carpet, and were very comfortable. I wanted to see the milk vetch flower fields, so I visited Asuka village in Nara prefecture. However, […]
Cherry blossom season is now closing in Nara City
2023-4-7 The cherry blossoms along the Saho River Nara City had passed its peak last weekend, and fallen petals are covering the roads. Instead, a kind of cherry blossom called Yaezakura is in full bloom. It was raining today, so only few tourists came to see the cherry blossoms. I like a rainy day because […]
The thousand year cherry blossom tree at Butsuryuji Temple
2023-4-1 Yesterday, the owner of a souvenir shop at Tanzan Shrine told me that I must go Butsuryuji Temple in Uda City Nara if want to see cherry blossoms. I was curious about the story, and so visited the temple today. The reason for his recommendation seemed there is a large cherry blossom tree over […]
Tanzan Shrine in Sakurai City Nara
2023-3-31 As gotten warmer, I visited Tanzan Shrine in Tonomine, Sakurai City, Nara by motorcycle. Even though the shrine stands in the deep mountain forests, several couples of tourists were visiting from early morning. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom here also. Its website says that the current buildings were built in the 1600s […]