day 321 - let there be (bamboo) light...

[Thousands of people have emailed and begged me to post more bamboo images. Who am I to ignore the masses? - Rob]

Nothing says "Japan" like a traditional bamboo/ paper lantern...

Man-height traditional bamboo and paper lantern.

Ponticho district,

Kyoto.

Lanterns,

Gion, Kyoto

Lone lantern,

Aboshi.

Lantern festival.

Shinto Shrine,

Oshio.

Lanterns being disintegrated.

Aboshi Lantern Festival.

The bamboo-and-washi lamp in our apartment.

day 275 - washroom washi...

Toilet paper, Higashi Ryokan Hotel, Kinosaki.

Well D'uh! Where else ya gonna use it ?!

As well as having wood block prints all over Himeji, Ken Iwata is often commissioned to do stuff for schools, like text-book covers - and toilet paper!

day 82 - Mar 20 - Tsuwano

To get to the Taikodani Inari Shrine you have to walk up a hill through a tunnel of 1100 brilliant orange torii, some leaning at precarious angles. The shrine was originally built in 1773, but only the kami seem to be keeping some of the poles in an approximately vertical state.

It celebrates the fox-god Inari, seen here in all his cute stone and miniature porcelain forms (ready for dinner?)

From the shrine there's an excellent view of the town and valley below.

Later we saw washi (traditional hand-made paper) being made from the soaked bark of  the kouzo tree which was conveniently covered in yellow blossom just down the road...