Decaying farm buildings

Textures and patterns

Gintengai Arcade glamour

The glamour of Italy at the Mitsukoshi Department Store Italian fair. Looks a bit sparse actually

The glamour of pop idols print club photo stickers for schoolgirls. Could the contrast be more stark...? Aspiration is a powerful thing...

War memorial

Bansuiso

Around Ishite

Shrine near Ishiteji Temple

Contributing the bizarre atmosphere of Ishiteji Temple are decaying concrete statues like this one, dotted about in the grounds and the hills around. They are an unintentional Buddhist reminder of constant change and impermanence.

A walk through the tunnel behind Ishiteji brings you to another temple complex on the hill. This one features a large statue of the Buddha in his self-mortification phase. The cockerels that live in the precincts do not practice self-mortification.

Giant statue of Kūkai, posthumously known as Kōbō-Daishi.

Cat in the grounds of Ishiteji.