Kyoto for the Soul.

Home to cultural and spiritual Japan, Kyoto provides a quick escape from the realities of urban Japan. Perhaps more than any other place in the world, Japan displays two distant ends of the spectrum - frenetic futuristic cities alongside ancient spiritual and cultural treasures.

Exemplifying Japan's cultural heritage, the castles, imperial villas, and temples lack the gaudiness (or, bling-bling) of their European counterparts constructed near the same time. Instead, the beauty often lies in the craftsmanship, simplicity, and harmonious relationship with nature itself. The next several journal entries will be devoted to Kyoto...

Enchanted Mountainside.
Fushimi-Inari Taisha provides one of the most unusual and ethereal experiences in all of Kyoto. The complex consists of five shrines and four kilometers of trails covered by orange torii gates. The torii gates are placed closely enough so that the path oddly reads as one unified space that contracts and expands as one progresses through the sequence. Additionally, the varying distances between torri allow light to permeate in dynamically changing patterns, with the mood dramatically altering as the day progresses. Simply put, the effect is intense!

Torii Shadows.

Sylvan Apparitions.
As one moves through the forest, distant torii gates appear as glowing orange apparitions amongst amongst the thick vegetation.

T