A pair of pheonix on the roof, at Byodoin Temple, Kyoto

Light and shadow on the self-regulating moss, at Toshodaiji Temple in Nara

As is not known so much to travellers, this temple, Toshodaiji Temple, has a beautiful moss, stretching in the back of the main building. If you are tired of going and seeing famous sightseeing spots in Nara or Kyoto, the green and the light through trees in the temple make you feel relax!

A maiko and a man in Gion, Kyoto

Byodoin Temple, at Uji, near Kyoto city

If you happen to have Japanese 10 yen coin, you will see the same building on the coin as the photo. This is both elegant and complex. The outlook is just a phoenix, about to fly. I guess the building is one of the most beautiful Japanese architecture in Japan.

A stone basin in a garden for washing hands before tea ceremony

The skillful technique of cleaning and sweeping a garden, at Shisendo Temple, Kyoto

Well-trimmed pine leaves of Bonsai

The secred corridor, at Toshodaiji Temple, Nara

A clay wall, at Tosyodaiji Temple, Nara

Sweets in summer

These are jelly sweets, just like a golf ball in size. The left looks a flower on the pond and the right looks a swimming goldfish and some pebbles in the pond. The left tastes sweet and the right tastes both slightly sweet and sourish.

The clearness and sourness of the right sweet feel summer and the appearance make us feel cool.

Bonsai, a trimmed and well-shapened small pine tree in a pot

Zen garden part 2, at Daisen-in, Daitoku-ji Temple

A trademark of the shop in a classic style

The scenery seen through Sudare blind, barred lattice of bamboo

Zen garden, at Daisen-in, Daitoku-ji Temple

No more war

Excuse me for the photo taken not in Kyoto but in Prizren in Kosovo.

This is a Serbian church on the hill of Prizren in Kosovo and this photo was taken in August, 1999, just a few months after the end of NATO bombs.

Around the church were many destroyed houses, in which the Serbian probably used to live. The church might be the central and indispensable for them, I suppose. When I took the photo, KFOR, Kosovo Force, protected it and the soldier looks German, I suppose.

The city, Prizren, is said to be one of the oldest and most historic city in the Balkans, and just like Kyoto in Japan.

By the way, today, the 15th, August, is the day when the World War II ended in Japan. No more war, conflict, terror...

Furin, a wind bell

This is Furin, a small wind bell, and one of typical Japanese things in summer, hung under the eaves of the houses. The strip of paper or plastic below the bell receive the wind to ring the bell. This is made of glass and the apperance feel colder than the iron-made ones. ringing in high note.

We can also feel the wind, hearing the sound, and the sound makes us feel colder and relaxed.

One afternoon in summer

A calligraphy hung on a Tokonoma, the main alcove of the guest room

The beauty of Bonsai

By the way, the beauty of Bonsai, a tree that is grown so that it always stays very small, or the art of growing trees in this way, is consisted of the contrast of the old with the new and the memory of the terra...

These branches are pine's ones and the pine tree is planted in a small pot. The branches and leaves are usually trimmed as we like.

The white branches are almost dying and the newer ones grows along the olds. The extremely twisted branches tell the weathered environment where the tree used to grow before this was planted. The pine may seemingly be grown at the cliff.

The contrast of dying branch and living one. The winding branches made by the harsh climate. These add the unique beauty to the small pine tree.

A paved little path with a variety of stones at Katsura Imperial Villa

The beauty of papers

This photo is the enlarged one of the post

I hope you will enjoy the beauty of this paper:-)

Would you care for a cup of tea?

This cup was seemingly made during Edo era, in the Kyoto style. The style includes the ideal combination of decorativeness, simplicity and elegance. The surface is decorativeness but the form is rather simple, feeling elegant.

Looking at the cup closely, you will find the gold on the edge of the cup. In those days gold was often used for making up for a chip or crack on the edge. The chip or crack with gold, in turn, can add the other beauty to the cup.

Under the eaves at Katsura Imperial Villa

A quiet and peaceful villa close to a pond

An entrance of a Japanese restaurant

A glance of old architecture, at Toshodaiji Temple, Nara

Old telephone

This is black telephone and rather old type. When I was a little child, I can see it at some houses. But now I can see it only at museums. This is one of 20th-century's heritage.

A fan-shape dish

This is a fan-shape dish and might be used for putting small sweets at tea ceremony, I suppose.

It is hot and humid today and the shape goes well with this season.

Theme Day for the month of 1, August: Typical breakfast

This is the golden combination of typical traditional Japanese breakfast, consisting of boiled rice, miso soup, grilled piece of fish added with freshly grated Japanese radish, pickled or salted vegetable and some tasted vegetable. According to their preference, some people add natto, cut tofu, and others to this combination. Others add raw and stirred egg with some drop of soy sauce to boiled rice.

We usually drink hot green tea when we eat such breakfast and the tea is full of vitamin.

Such breakfast is well balanced when it comes to nutrition and contains carbohydrate, protein, some kinds of vitamins.

Anyway, good breakfast make the day happier and valuable.

To see what people in 100 cities around the world are enjoying for breakfast today, follow the links below.

Saint Paul (MN), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - New York City (NY), USA - Tel Aviv, Israel - Hyde, UK - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Mainz, Germany - Stockholm, Sweden - Paderborn, Germany - Singapore, Singapore - Haninge, Sweden - Nottingham, UK - Ampang (Selangor), Malaysia - Manila, Philippines - Boston (MA), USA - Seoul, Korea - Singapore, Singapore - Joplin (MO), USA - Chandler (AZ), USA - Paris, France - Sequim (WA), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Boston (MA), USA - Chennai, India - Madison (WI), USA - Baton Rouge (LA), USA - Toulouse, France - Seattle (WA), USA - Mexico (DF), Mexico - La Antigua, Guatemala - Selma (AL), USA - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Lubbock (TX), USA - Jakarta, Indonesia - Sheki, Azerbaijan - Sydney, Australia - Mumbai, India - Seoul, South Korea - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - Saarbrücken, Germany - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - New Orleans (LA), USA - Budapest, Hungary - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Austin (TX), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Villigen, Switzerland - Montréal (QC), Canada - Stayton (OR), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Moscow, Russia - Springfield (MO), USA - Inverness (IL), usa - Arlington (VA), USA - Cologne (NRW), Germany - Anderson (SC), USA - Oslo, Norway - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Manila, Philippines - Kajang (Selangor), Malaysia - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Bandung (West Java), Indonesia - Stavanger, Norway - Bastia, France - Hong Kong, China - Wailea (HI), USA - St. Louis (MO), USA - Chicago (IL), USA - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Sydney, Australia - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - Kansas City (MO), USA - Grenoble, France - Paris, France - Evry, France - Saigon, Vietnam - Prague, Czech Republic - Cape Town, South Africa - Brookville (OH), USA - Brussels, Belgium - San Diego (CA), USA - Wellington, New Zealand - Newcastle (NSW), Australia - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Sharon (CT), USA - Shanghai, China - Zurich, Switzerland - North Bay (ON), Canada - Lyon, France - Naples (FL), USA - Olympia (WA), USA