The beautiful scenery of Japan - 美しき日本景色

Salam everybody,

Ramadan has departed, the Eid is over, the Ma'mul is all gone and it's been one month since I returned from Japan. In other words, everything is back to normal.

But not quite yet; I still feel that my mind is travelling in Japan. I'm still thinking over the things I saw and did, sometimes with a smile, sometimes with a frown. After a wholesome meal, your body takes time to digest the food, much longer than the time it took to eat the meal. Likewise, I'm still digesting my experiences in Japan, one month later.

Anyways, enough sentimental talk and on to the post. I have a lot of ideas for interesting posts and don't know where to start, should I post about the Hiroshima peace memorial park? One free day in Tokyo? Food? Friends? Being a Muslim in Japan? Lots of things to talk about! So in the end, I figured, let me start by what the people want to see: pictures and more pictures.

This time it will be about the beautiful scenery of Japan. Lots of beauty, lots of pictures...

Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion Temple), Kyoto

Yes, I was there. Yes, I took this picture.
Yes, you can use it as a wallpaper.


The golden pavillion temple..

Koi (Japanese Carp).

Koi are pretty popular in Japan. One reason is that they have nice colours and patterns on them (ahem, like the one in the picture above) and another reason is that Koi also means 'love'. There are also those long, snake-like fish in the lake surrounding Kinkakuji. They are of a dark colour, so I couldn't take a good picture of them. Maybe you can see them in this picture (I can't).

This is a stone lantern. You will find a lot of them in Japan as they're a basic ingredient of Japanese gardens.

you will also find a lot of them in this blog.

Kiyomizudera, Kyoto

This is the main gate to Kiyomizu-dera. It looks out of proportion with it's huge top, but this only adds to its majesty.

They speak the truth.
Kyoto must be busy with visitors now as it is the 'kouyou' (autumn leaves) season.

This is just under the roof of one of the buildings. Notice that there is nothing holding the wooden beams together; no nails or adhesives. This is traditional Japanese architecture; beams are held together by snapping or locking them together.

Look at the fixtures under the roof. Very strange, almost evil colours.

All this time, I thought dragons breathed fire...
This must be the coolest water fountain ever concieved.

hmmm, cave = curiousity.

This explains the 'mizu' part of the name..


Apparently this is one tree...

In temples and shrines, you will find a lot of standalone gates called Toriis. This is one small and slim torii. Don't worry, in a moment you'll see a huge one.

Miyajima

On the way to Miyajima..

Now that's one huge Torii

This is the laziest pose I have ever seen.
Someone should find work for those deers.

It's nice to have animals around you for a change. In Jordan, birds and cats always run away (or fly away) from you (unless you have food with you). The stone lantern included in this picture was unintentional, I swear.

Back in Osaka..

This is taken from Osaka castle.
Notice how the reflections on the building are continuous with the scenery behind it, making it appear transparent.

Soredewa, See you next post!