These macaques are cute, but before we visit the monkeys we must visit one of the most famous Shinto shrines in all of Japan, the Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto.  Inari is the patron God of business, prosperity, rice and sake.

Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine in Kyoto

This was a must-see for me from a photographic standpoint.  Arriving shortly after sunrise I was surprised how many people were already walking around and some already leaving, mostly other photographers.  We visited Japan during a religious period when the Japanese visit many different shrines, so it was extra crowded.  The photos I took were not so much based on composition, but rather taken when people were not walking through my frame.  Reviewing my photos upon my return, I’m disappointed I did not get a much lower angle of view.  For some reason, out of the over 50 or more photos taken, none are from a more unique low perspective.

Each gate is purchased by a patron in the hopes of bringing good fortune to their business.  They cost thousands of dollars each, depending upon the size.  The name of the donor is inscribed on one side of the gate.  There are also private shrines off to the sides of these walkways.

The further you walked into the shrine, the higher up Mount Inari you climbed, where there were considerably fewer people.  This is yet another visit to an active religious site where the members seem to get no break from the tourists and selfie seekers.  If the faithful are praying for some privacy, peace and quiet, it was not working this day..

When inside the shrine I was told it is considered poor form to walk in the middle of the path as that is reserved for God.

There are many fox statues scattered about and in the individual shrines.  They are thought to be messengers to the Gods.

In one section of the shrine there was a person kept very busy keeping walls of candles lit.  The massive colorful cord on the left in the photo below would be strongly pulled on, ringing some bells before praying and clapping twice.  Many elderly women could not pull hard enough to make the bells ring, try as they might.  More foxes are behind the candles, being good messengers to the Gods.  I was concentrating on getting the large cords on the left blurred and now see I covered a foxes face with a candle.  No wonder I’m not making a living at photography.  Too much to remember.

Shinto shrine abstract, shades of orange.

It might be time to leave.  How many photos of orange does one need?  My goal when visiting any place is to take a single, simple photo which best depicts the place being visited.  It seems to me anyone viewing the photo below would certainly know it was in Japan, somewhere.

 

Macaques at Iwatayama Monkey Park

It is not easy, but if you can get one of these monkeys to look right into your camera lens you can see some very expressive eyes.

These monkeys are not in cages and roam freely about the mountaintop.  It is actually the other way around.  If you wish to feed them, you must go inside of a house with fencing over the window openings to feed the monkeys.  They are mostly trained to eat and beg only at the caged house.  Almost 200 macaques are roaming freely.  It is a moderate hike to reach this mountaintop near Kyoto.  I could certainly have spent more time here, just hoping for some more of these expressive photos, but the heat, hunger and plumbing issues eventually required us to leave.  We spent almost $80 to get here by cab, but learned we could return by train for about $5.

Why is it some little boys will always make faces at the camera, especially when dad is not looking.

 

Hiroshima, Japan

There are two large museum buildings in the Hiroshima Peace Park related to the atomic bomb.  The park and museums are not billed as historical museums and for good reason.  Touring the many atomic bomb exhibits I found not a single reference to Pearl Harbor or the events which led up to World War II.

 

 

Time for us to move on to our final stop in Japan before getting on our cruise ship to take us home.