Last Day - Shinsaibashi

Before leaving for Kansai Airport, we did a last minute tour of the city. By this time I'm already sore from taking too many photos..

hohum

Kids in Japan

..are so adorable

Pure Forms

In the realm of architecture, no one tops the Japanese. Not even the new structures anywhere in the world can compare with what they have already built. And I have only seen a fraction of it. I would need to see more of Japan to fully appreciate its cultural obsession for design. Sure, European, Asian and Middle East cities boast of new developments each year, but the Japanese have always been steps ahead. Everywhere you look there is purity in form, stark contrasts and a near-perfect sense of proportion.

Night Two - Shinsaibashi Osaka

.
(shot taken using Canon EOS 400D)

After Kyoto, the group took the bullet train to Osaka. If we took the tour bus we'd travel for 1.5 hours; taking the bullet train only took us 15 minutes. It was still freezing in Osaka but the snow has subsided.


We had dinner at Shinsaibashi, Osaka's version of Orchard Road or Manila's Malate. Lots and lots of shops and food joints here.. Think of it as a preview to what Tokyo would be at night.


Good thing I brought my 50mm lens, managed to shoot quick night shots here without too much grain.

Day Two - Kyoto

.batman probably began on the Kiyomizu Temple

Kiyomizu Temple fortune documents ready for collection

My D40 was put to the test when snow started to fall.. At one point the camera didn't detect the lens! But the camera survived somehow (I was patient enough to wipe the lens and the camera body every two shots or so) and produced some really nice shots during our second day of the tour, in Kyoto. In the middle of the snow storm I decided to set the camera in high ISO to capture the snow itslef instead of the snow trails, and optimized most of the images in black and white to highlight the contrasts.

Kyoto being the old capital (?) is sprawling with traditional style houses and ancient castles and temples.. Being first timers of course, we visited the postcard-friendly ones..

entrance to the Kiyomizu Temple

dragon drool for everyone

snow..

..snow

..and more snow

..won't stop this guy from taking pics

..and won't stop tourists either

scene from the gutter

a real cat and her kitten.. not

Japanese schoolgirls (the real ones)

opening shop

Kyoto street scenes

footprints in the snow

and bike trails too

spot the golden pavilion?

umbrella party

entrance to the pavilion

my snow-capped umbrella

bell shrine

cat no. 3: "present ma'am"

:p