Assateague in the morning

I got up really early on Sunday morning on our trip to view the Sun rising on the beach. That morning was extremely chilly but worth the view. Assateague is really a wonderful park to walk on and view wildlife and recommend it to anyone who wants to get away from everything.

The Climb up Fushimi Inari Taisha - Kyoto, Japan

Fushimi Inari Taisha is a great place to visit in Kyoto and is always highly recommended as one of the places to go see. It is even seen "Lost in Translation". I had done a post about it previously with lots of information so I will just go on with what I did that visit. I arrived really early so I had a lot of time to hike up by myself which was amazing!

Have a Drink in Japan

I stopped in a bar to grab a drink and do some writing. If you have not had a chance to have a beer in Japan, go ahead and give it a try.
What I notice in America is that people here do not like a lot of head on the top of their draft beer, they want more liquid then foam to get their "moneys worth". In Japan when they poured it for me they lit it almost come to the top before they used another dispenser to add foam on top. I wonder if it has something to do with the Japanese enjoying the flavor of things as the foam has a rich flavor on it. Much like slurping their soup to get the flavor. I got a Kirin Ichiban  draft and it was quite refreshing!

Chilly Chincoteague Part 2

 

I wanted to swim but it was too cold and I know if I decide to go in the summer it will be super crowded. It was really peaceful out at the time no one in sight but it was already 35 degrees with 20 mph winds on the beach. I stood out there for a few pictures and got right back into my car!

Saisho-in of Nanzen-ji Kyoto, Japan

Saisho-in is a small temple within the Nanzen-ji complex. There is a small garden within the malls and I noticed these statues that I took pictures below. I didn't get anymore pictures then that must have been distracted. I twas built maybe around 8th century. 

Chilly in Chincoteague Part 1

It has been quite a while since I did a post on anything recently, just a lot of my photographs from Japan. I did go to Chincoteague and Assateague Islands back in February for Valentines day/weekend. My girlfriend booked a trip and we went for two nights and it was really enjoyable to get away for awhile. There were no crowds there but it was a little chilly and we even saw some snow. Anyways there was some wildlife that we saw and even ponies!

Sokusoin at Tofukuji Temple - Kyoto, Japan

I could not find much information about this garden but they were nice and it is part of the Tofukuji temple complex. They even put up some chairs next to the main building for viewing pleasure. 

Tamukeyama Hachimangu Shrine - Nara, Japan

So this shrine is easy to access from Todaiji temple as you just turn left when you exit it. It works its way up a hill in the forest. It was established in 749 to protect Todaiji temple. In the Meji period the temple and shine were separated because of the ban on Buddhism. These buildings up now have been there since 1250.