English version If you want to travel in Okayama Prefecture, don't miss the Kurashiki Bikan historical quarter, where you can see daimyos' (feudal lords') white-walled warehouses, other beautiful streetscapes. Kurashiki is also famous for …

English version This is Bitchu Kokubunji-temple in Soja City, Okayama Prefecture. Given a tilt-shift effect, this photo looks like a miniature model, doesn't it? Oh, you are more concerned about the photo being overexposed? Yes, I can't ag…

English version This is a view from KUCHU TEIEN OBSERVATORY, literally meaning "garden in the air", of UMEDA SKY BUILDING in Osaka, Japan. KUCHU TEIEN OBSERVATORY is open from 9:30 to 22:30. The entrance fees are 1,500 yen for adults, 750 …

Click to enlarge (クリックすると大きくなります） English version The Akashi Channel Bridge, officially known as Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, is one of the world's longest suspension bridges according to the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Expressway Compan…

English version Hannya-ji Temple, which is famous for cosmos, is in Nara. I used to visit Nara when I lived in the Kansai region. I like seeing Buddha statues. Not that I'm a spiritual person, but that I appreciate them as art works. By th…

English version Kikuseidai, Mt. Maya, Kobe, is one of the three greatest nightscapes of Japan. Although "very accessible" may not be the best word to describe the place, you can at least go there by public transportation (a bus, a cable ca…

English version Continuing from the last blog post, we are in Yoshino, Nara. More specifically, this is Kinpusenji Temple, which its website says is a World Heritage site. I don't remember where I took this photo from. The angle shows it w…

English version Yoshino Town, Nara prefecture is famous for its cherry blossoms. Since I did not have a car, I went there by bus. The view on a fine day would be great, but this foggy view is not bad, is it? By the way, I took this photo w…

English version Beautiful blue sea, a stray horse and a stray cow (haha). These almost "unreal" sights gave me a strong impression when I first visit Taketomi Island. "Bucolic" was the very word for this island. Things may have changed sin…

English version This is a photo of a gorilla shouting at thin air, which I took in Kobe Oji Zoo. When you face something that you have no control over and nothing you do seems to help, it's only natural that you want to shout out loud, rig…

English version I remember I was stung by a honeybee when I was a child. That was not its fault but mine. I mean, it stung me when I caught it. You know, sometimes unexpected things do happen (such flexibility of the abdomen!). Here in Hok…

English version When I first bought PENTAX K100D, I was so happy that I brought it everywhere with me and took many photos. The above photo is one of them. Those days I was just trying to take photos of beautiful things, but somewhere alon…

English version This is Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium and people are watching at its ever popular star, yes, the whale shark. This photo is an old one and if my memory serves me right, I took this with a fish-eye lens and straightened using a …

English version I'm starting this blog to share my favorite photos with you, which include old ones like the above (I took this photo in Kyoto in 2009). L&H in the blog title comes from the initials of my beloved dogs. And I've chosen PHOT…