Since a few people have been asking and must have missed my photo comment with what the tattoo is…it’s the Japanese kanji character for “Samurai”. And if you’re wondering why I got this particular kanji, you don’t know me very well at all.

Our fifth day in Japan was a busy one - we did our first full-day tour, which had six stops, including Nijo Castle, Kinkakuji Temple (also known as the Golden Pavilion), Kyoto Imperial Palace, Todai-ji temple, Deer Park, and the Kasuga Taisha Shinto Shrine. Many pictures were taken, and there’s a video showing several of the sites as well.

On a photographic note, I converted a few more of the photos in this set to a high-contrast black and white…I like the way they look, but I’m still trying to hone my own type of B&W look for post-processing.

(I’m writing this sitting on the floor of the Vancouver airport…back in Canada! Almost home…so sleepy.)