Hello, wonderful and amazing readers, and welcome to another supremely spectacular Random Japan, your frankly fantastic look into the plain and ordinary and completely random from the Land of Pokemon Go.

Today, I visited a local shrine with my boy. Ready to visit with us? Good. Let’s get started. Let’s enter into…

Random Japan!

At first you may think shrine photos go against the purpose of this series, but I assure you shrines are at the very heart of Japan and it is tough to go through a single day without at least seeing one of them, making them very much ordinary and plain everyday sights. They are everywhere! Every neighborhood will have at least one, meaning you will see them every few blocks.

_{Waiting in Line}

Going to the shrine. Er… well, waiting in line. The photographer for this one was my son.

_{Going Up}

It seems like these steps have seen better days.

_{The Bamboo}

The bamboo is full and looking lovely as always.

_{Fierce Stare}

Wah! Look who’s waiting at the end of the bamboo to scare us.

_{Big Roar}

It’s my bamboo!

_{Old God Tree}

Or maybe this is what he’s guarding. This tree is over 600 years old. The rope means a kami (god or spirit) lives here. Well, technically a kodama. If you’ve ever seen Princess Mononoke, you know what those are. (and if you haven’t—go see it! Disney publishes it everywhere outside of Japan. Worth a watch)

_Mossy

Plenty of moss. With these super humid Japanese summers, this stuff pops up everywhere.

_{Again With the Moss}

More of the stuff. I like it. Wouldn’t feel like Japan without moss.

_Dragon?

So many mythological Japanese stories involve dragons flying up from sacred places to signify important events. Is that what happened here? I think our visit qualifies as an important event.

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That’s all, folks. Thank you for staying with me through today’s exploration. Any favorites? Let me know in the comments. And me sure to turn in next time when, if providence allows, I shall return for another Random Japan. See you then!

If you like this random photo from Japan, be sure to check out @kaliju’s great Random Korea series. The latest entry there is My Random Korea #49 - Samsung owns Korea.

Also be sure to follow @kafkanarchy84, @maxinpower, @boxcarblue, and @wllmdnnd for even more random Japan fun! @jrvacation and @mweich have the occasional randomjapan post too. Then over in China we have @nobyeni with her occasional randomchina post.

Are you a Japan-based or Asia-based photographer who posts somewhat random photos from the country? If so, use the tag #randomasia, #randomjapan or randomCOUNTRYYOUAREIN on your posts.

Missed a past Random Japan? I’ve got you covered!

Index Posts

• The First Dozen
• The Second Dozen
• The Third Dozen
• The Forth Dozen
• The Fifth Dozen

Recent Posts

61. A Walk Near the Train Station
62. It’s Time For
63. A Random Walk
64. A Random Walk, pt 2

	David LaSpina is an American photographer lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time. More?