Kyoto

I was waiting at a bus stop, then I noticed that the tree next to it is numbered.

Osaka Castle

View of the city from the top of the tower.

Moat and surrounding trees. Cherry, of course, though there are also plum and peach orchards.

Philosopher's Walk, Kyoto

It's really just a back alley path following a canal. Some Kyoto University professor took this walk everyday, and then it somehow got famous. Now it's swamped by tourists taking pictures of local residents' backyards.

Fushimi Inari Taisha Temple, Inari, outside Kyoto

It was just another shrine until Zhang Ziyi ran down the row of torii in Memoirs of a Geisha.

What I thought at first were streamers are folded paper cranes, strung up together.

Kuromon Market, Osaka

Namba, Osaka

A lot of tourists were doing the running man pose against this running man.

The National Museum of Art. Melbourne has its witch's hat. Osaka has a bird wing. Why does every museum seem seem to need some kind of external decorative structure?

Nara

Wild deer in the park -- which are fairly tame, especially when they think you are going to feed them.

There are deer crackers for sale, to feed the deer with. But C thought he'd try feeding orange peel (he ate the orange previously, and was carrying the peel about -- for such a clean litter-free country, there were few garbage bins on the streets)

It ate the peel. Probably didn't know better. But got smart pretty quick because it spat out the next piece and firmly turned away from the rest.

They definitely prefer deer crackers. When you hold one against your forehead, they will bow in thanks and anticipation. And then you'd better feed them, and be quick about it. Still, how very polite.