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It's January which means the narcissus are beginning to bloom. I have several in my garden but it will take another week or two before I see any blooms. Meanwhile, the local shrine has blooms galore! (See below.) What's up with that?! (By the way, did you know that narcissus belong to the amaryllis family? I did not.) 
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Based on the Japanese zodiac, 2022 is the year of the tiger and so you can see tiger images everywhere this new year! My favorite so far is this one seen in a hotel lobby. Stubborn but cute! For a brief introduction to the Japanese zodiac, visit https://www.thoughtco.com/japanese-zodiac-overview-2028019  No time to chat but I've got time for 2 more orchids! Here you go! (For more information, see the previous post.)   Well, it's feast or famine, isn't it! I've sometimes gone for long periods without posting because I have little to offer. However, lately I've been taking photos like a mad woman but I have had almost no time at all to look at them, much less do anything with them! Sigh... Hopefully things will calm down towards the end of January. Fingers crossed! In the meantime, here's a orchid from the botanical garden on Awaji Shima. (I've seen it referred to by several different names but it's most commonly known as the Kiseki No Hoshi Greenhouse.) I believe the ownership has changed and the displays were somewhat different than before. Regardless, it was a a peaceful oasis of greenery and flowers and the orchids were especially gorgeous. We visit every chance we get. It's never enough... This information about the botanical garden is somewhat dated but it's still a good introduction to the location and what it has to offer: setouchifinder.com/en/detail/3710  For many years, some of the more famous temples and shrines in Japan have been featuring light up events as a way to encourage people to visit during the off season. These events have been especially popular in Kyoto and, prepandemic, brought in hordes of tourists. Well, times have changed and there are few tourists to be seen these days. However, light up events have continued to be popular and many smaller temples and shrines have started to offer light up events as well. It offers encouragement to the local community and draws in visitors from nearby. And since it's all outdoors, people feel relatively safe even during these uncertain times. One such light-up event was held this fall at Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine, on the very edge of Kyoto Prefecture. We arrived just as the blue hour was fading and I was surprised at how few people there were. (Of course, I shouldn't have been surprised since we were there on a weeknight and it was to be held over a long period of time.) We enjoyed the growing darkness and the magic of lighting. Ah, so lovely! For more about Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine: https://osaka-info.jp/en/discover-kansai/iwashimizu-hachimangu-yawata/ For more about light up events in Kyoto, 2021: https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/news/temples-and-shrines-in-kyoto-are-holding-evening-illuminations-this-autumn-101321 (There's a beautiful photo of the shrine during this light-up event.) Interesting fact: Thomas Edison used bamboo from this shrine in the course of making the first light bulb! For more about that, scroll to the bottom of this website: https://travel.gaijinpot.com/iwashimizu-hachimangu-shrine/      |
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I'm a photographer based in Osaka, Japan. I love to take photographs. I like to share.
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