Natural Framing - at Nanzenji 南禅寺

Yes….I was back at Nanzenji (my muse) AGAIN the other day. The Fall colours seemed to be at their peek, and the reds were quite radiant despite the Sun hiding stubbornly behind the clouds. I caught this view of one of the temple roofs framed by the branches of the maple trees. Shot with my 70-300mm zoom.

Yasaka Pagoda - 法観寺

Awata Shrine - 粟田神社

I've always found this shrine to be quite unremarkable, however the red maples transformed it into a place of beauty.

Autumn is definitely my favourite season here. The yellow Ginkos especially are simply spectacular. Here, the sunlight makes the fallen leaves appear as a vivid yellow carpet. It felt wrong to walk across it.

Nanzenji - 南禅寺

This temple, Nanzenji, is close to my apartment here in Kyoto and is one of my favorite spots. In Autumn, the city is spectacular with the turning leaves and this temple is no exception. I keep returning here again and again and never seem to tire of the place (so be prepared for multiple posts from here!) ;-)
I took this shot last Fall when the leaves were particularly good. This year the weather has been a little unusual - it got cooler then warmer then cooler again - and the maple trees don't seem to like it.

The Prisoner

Yasaka Pagoda - 法観寺

This is one of the iconic pagodas that Japan is famous for. This one is earthquake resistant. The buiders placed a long pole vertically up through the centre that the whole structure could swivel around in the event of a tremor. As it is still standing to this day it must really work.

well prepared

The squalls here in Japan can be quite devastating! If you're caught out when one starts you can be totally drenched in about 10 seconds. Luckily I'd found some shelter in the grounds of a temple near Kyoto when one of the temple helpers appeared.