New Accommodation Tax in Kyoto: March 1, 2026

The streets of Tokyo are vibrant, modern, and fluid. For photographers and people watchers alike, Tokyo Streets 'r' Cinema Streets like an all-you-can-eat buffet of images to be made.

Japan has numerous abandoned shrines, or haikyo, as they’re referred to. Often found in rural areas and overgrown mountainsides, they are mostly the result of depopulation, modernization, or disaster. Abandoned Oiwa Shrine, Southeast of Kyoto is the example I’ve shared here.

Many think of Tokyo, being in Japan, and equate an architectural style more reminiscent of 'Old' Japan. The reality is that Tokyo is a modern city, rebuilt extensively after World War II. While Tokyo does still hold onto some it's Edo Period, pre-war heritage especially at Temples and Shrines for the most part it sets trends for modern design.

By late morning in Higashiyama, the transformation is already underway. Silk on the Sidewalk: Kyoto’s Kimono Rentals are marked by a row of sandals sat at the entrance of a kimono rental shop like punctuation marks.

High on the forested slopes of Mount Mitaki, northwest of central Hiroshima, stands Mitaki-dera: Hiroshima's Mountain Temple, and one of western Japan’s most atmospheric Buddhist temples.

This is The National Art Center, Tokyo (NACT), one of Japan’s largest exhibition spaces, and a very different kind of national museum.

Within Niigata Prefecture’s Chuetsu region, the Hoshitouge Terraced Rice Fields of Tokamachi unfold across steep hillsides like a mosaic art piece. With over 200 paddies carved into the slopes, these terraces are a testament to centuries of agricultural ingenuity and community resilience.

Welcome to Koi Waters. We invite you to explore and enjoy the world of Nishikigoi, delve into specialized koi...