Kyoto

Last weekend I had the chance to visit Kyoto 京都 , one of the most beautiful cities in the world and the former capital of Japan until 1869, right after Bakumatsu or the final days of Edo period, a really interesting time where finally Japan ended its isolationist foreign policy.
I read somewhere that Kyoto was one of the main objectives of US goverment during WWII as the target of his infamous atomic bomb because it was the actual intellectual center of Japan and its population could better understand the significance of this weapon.  As we all know today, the bomb was drop in two other cities and today we can admire Kyoto's monuments almost as they were 800 years ago.
Here there are some pics I took during these 3 days, pics that show the most traditional face of this captivating and both lively city.

Okinawa

Few weeks ago I went to Okinawa to spend my summer vacations. For those who are not used to japanese geography, Okinawa is the southern most part of Japan, consists of hundreds of islands that extends more than 1000 km away from kyushu island.

Particularly we went to main Okinawa island, Tokashiki island (part of the kerama archipelago) and finally to Miyako-jima, only 400km away from Taiwan. Miyako is a paradise of white sand beaches and strong alcohol called awamori. These pictures are just a humble sample of what we saw during these 8 days in the paradise. Enjoy.

Hakone

Few weeks ago I went on a day trip to Hakone, one of the best places to sightsee mount Fujiyama, these are some of the best pics I took in that wonderful place.

Usually Fuji-san is surrounded by deep clouds but I was lucky enough to take some nice pictures. It's shape is completely mesmerizing when you see it, like a massive slender cone crowning a system of mountains, rivers and lakes. It's not surprising that japanese culture understands it as god it self.