BACKGROUND
This will be the section for Shrines, Temples, and related things. I hope you enjoy these, as this was the most highly requested topic on my Twerkee poll (thank you to both of the voters). There's just too many pictures to include the Gardens here, so I will split them up. Keep an eye out for that.
NOTE: I cannot distinguish between a shrine and a temple, so I may have them mislabeled. I apologize in advance, and want to say that I mean no offense. I'm simply ignorant.
As Mark says, "Let's 👍 ... Get Into It!"
Los Angeles
Formerly Koromo
Kyoto
My American co-worker and I were free to roam through Kyoto on a weekend. It was super interesting, and I have a lot of vivid memories from this trip. There is something magical about Kyoto.
 page, you might remember the "Bridge Over the River Koi" picture? Well, these guys were the Guardians of the River Koi (in my imagination at least). See how they camo themselves in the dense forest?](https://images.ecency.com/p/2dk2RRM2dZ8gKjXsrozapsD83FxL3Xbyyi5LFttAhrXxr16mCe4arfLJNBYnwfD257ZNt56ScBThvKCFCBqkByHTnzpxbJVXz5hCipq592e34TwNXPF4BVgPtGHCreQobYLMkHo6vjyMcNSWfwi6BQ5uxV5hbKAefDA7gtiC8n?format=match&mode=fit)
Kiyomizu-dera
We got to the entrance and were approached by two young women 💁🙋. My co-worker's eyes lit up, I became defensive because of this not being how Japanese 🇯🇵 people typically react to foreigners. They explained to us that they were studying English (and they had better English than a lot of Americans I know). They were at Kiyomizu-dera to walk around with native English speakers and practice, while giving free tours of the grounds. It was really awesome, and I'm glad we were lucky enough to be chosen.
Tagata / Oagata
You already saw a lot of Tagata-jinja in the Why Japan? section. But while I was in the area, I hitched a cab ride to another temple, which I believe to be Oagata-jinja. But I'm not sure the cab driver understood, and he took me to the next closest temple, out in the middle of nowhere, and then drove away. Thankfully it wasn't terribly far from the train station, so I could hike it.
Yakushi
(Temple of the Dog?)
Asakusa, Tokyo
I didn't shoot many pictures here. I think I was kind of entranced by the site. And my brother was with me, so we were talking a lot also. But on other trips, I get plenty of pictures at this site, so keep an eye out for those trips.
Zenki-ji, Nagano
Toward the end of my trip, 2005-Dec-mid, my American co-worker and I had gone our separate ways. So I ventured up to Tokyo for a weekend on my own, and thought, heck, let's take a day trip to Nagano. The Winter Olympics were there when I was a kid, and I thought it would be interesting to see. And wow was it snowing. Epic amounts. And I was not prepared, because I had packed for Tokyo only. Good thing it was only a day trip!
CONCLUSION
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