Urn / Nonsuch Mansion Garden

Stone urn on plinth within the formal gardens of Nonsuch Mansion. Wisteria flowering in background. Nonsuch Park, Cheam, Epsom & Ewell Borough, Surrey, UK. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Nonsuch Mansion / V

Architect: Sir Jeffry Wyattville, 1806, in a Tudor Gothic Revival style, evoking Henry VIII's palace that was once in Nonsuch Park. Brick with 'Roman' cement render. Grade II* listed. Cheam, Epsom & Ewell Borough, Surrey, UK. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Cloud-shaped Pond / Spring

Spring blossom at the Cloud-shaped Pond in Hibiya Park, Chiyoda City, Tokyo, Japan. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Grand Fountain / Hibiya Park

Fountain in Hibiya Park, the first municipal park in Tokyo. Located in the Chiyoda-ku district, the centre of business and politics. Chiyoda City, Japan. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Yurakucho Direct / Ginza

Sales outlets under a railway bridge, selling food from the Yurakucho District, Ginza, Tokyo, Japan. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Kyoto Tower / 2024

Architect: Mamoru Yamada, 山田 守, 1964. Tallest structure in the height-regulated city at 131m (430 ft) including a 9 storey podium which includes a hotel. Kyoto, Japan. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Katsura Boats / Arashiyama

Boatmen punt flat-bottomed boats up and down the river at Arashiyama, while one couple enjoy a bento box lunch. Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Bamboo Forest / Arashiyama

Looking up towards the canopy of the bamboo grove at Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan.

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex) 

Bridge Tenryu-ji Precincts / 2024

At Arashiyama, Ukyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Togetsukyō Bridge Vista / 2024

View of the Katsura River from the west side of the 'Moon Crossing Bridge'. Arashiyama (lit. Storm Mountain) is a nationally designated Historic Site and Place of Scenic Beauty. Saga, Ukyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Kaito-ro Bridge / Kyoto

Wooden bridge of the C19 with traditional gabled centrepiece. Shosei-en Garden, Kyoto, Japan.

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Shinsetsu-kyo Bridge / Kyoto Tower

 

Arched wooden bridge over the Ingetsu-chi Pond, this view also including the Kyoto Tower, the city's tallest structure in the building-height restricted city. Shosei-en Garden, Kyoto, Japan. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Shinsetsu-kyo Bridge / Shosei-en

Arched wooden bridge over the Ingetsu-chi Pond, Shosei-en Garden, Kyoto, Japan. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Tekisui-ken Reception Hall / Shosei-en Garden

On the north side of the pond, this 1884 building is linked to the Rinchi-tei Reception Hall (on the left) by an open-sided roofed corridor. Shosei-en Garden, Kyoto, Japan.

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Paper Lantern / Kyoto

Kyoto, Japan.

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Takase River / Kyoto

Blossom-lined Takase river seen from the intersection of Kiyamachi-dori Street and Matsubara-dori Street. With the rear of traditional buildings on Nishi-Kiyamachi-dori. Kiyamachi, Kyoto, Japan.

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Matsue Castle / Shiroyama Park

Keep of Matsue Castle, much of it surviving from its original construction in 1607 to 1611. It remains of timber construction, which can be viewed inside over 6 floors. Listed as a national treasure. Shiroyama Park, Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Blossom / Matsue Castle

Tree in the grounds of Matsue Castle, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

San-in Godo Bank / Matsue

Tallest building in Matsue and headquarters of the San-in Godo Bank, a regional bank mainly operating in Shimane and Tottori Prefectures. Viewed over Lake Shinji. Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Kurashiki River / Night

Night view of part of the Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter where the river passes traditionally designed houses. Okayama Prefecture, Japan. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

No Uncaged Animals / Sign

Google translate produces "No Pets Allowed" which I expect is what is meant! Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Ohara Museum of Art / Annex

Art Gallery in Kurashiki established 1930. It was the first collection of Western art to be permanently exhibited in Japan. As well as a Greek Revival main gallery, there is this modernist annex gallery (believed to be by Shizutaro Urabe, 1961) set within a publicly accessible garden. Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, Japan.

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Kurashiki River / Parasols

View of the Kurashiki River as it passes through the Historical Quarter. The parasols are illuminated at night with beautiful effect. Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Denim Street / Kurashiki

Shop selling denim clothes and other denim articles. The area has a history of cotton farming, leading on to the weaving and dyeing industries, eventually including the production of denim jeans. Now designated an Important Preservation District for Groups of Historic Buildings in Japan. Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Lanterns / Ivy Square

Decorative, ground-standing lanterns in Ivy Square, Kurashiki, Japan. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Kurashiki / Ivy Square

Arched entrance to a hotel remodelled from the original Kurashiki spinning mill factory of the Meiji era (1868–1912). Honmachi, Kurashiki, Japan. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Okayama Korakuen / Tea House

Part of a private villa relocated to Korakuen gardens in 1888, although reconstructed in 1961 after WW2 destruction. Known now as Chaso-do Tea House. Korakuen Gardens, Okayama, Japan. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Torii Gate / Miyajima

Torii of the Itsukushima Shinto Shrine, this current one dating from 1875. The island is properly known as Itsukushima, but gets nicknamed Miyajima (shrine island). Nr Hiroshima, Japan.

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

慰靈 / Memorial Stone

Memorial stone near the Genbaku Dome (A-bomb Dome) inscribed with the characters "Consolation Spirit" (Solace). Hiroshima, Japan. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Black Rain / Hiroshima

The Genbaku Dome (A-bomb Dome), preserved as a solemn memorial to the horror of 6 August 1945. Originally an Exhibition Hall designed by Czech architect Jan Letzel, 1915. Part of the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

BBQ Sign / Osaka

I think this may be Chinese rather than Kanji, but the "BBQ" and the meat skewer works for Westerners! There are many restaurants in Osaka where you can cook meat at counter barbeques, sliced by a chef to order. The speciality is Kobe beef. Namba, Osaka. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)

Tombori River / Osaka

Night view from the Nihonbashi Bridge of Tombori River Walk, a bustling district in Namba with all kinds of street food and restaurants. Osaka, Japan. 

(CC BY-NC-ND - credit: Images George Rex)