While I don’t consider myself a photographer of any kind, I think I’ve taken some great shots over the years, guided by the principles of design and composition I use when drawing. Below are some of the best shots I’ve taken while in Japan, either while living there or as a visitor. Click the thumbnails for a bigger view. You can leave comments on individual photographs by scrolling down while in the carousel view. If you want, that is. : )

The plaque reads “Nihonbashi”, the name of the bridge. Though I should clarify Nihonbashi is the bridge these statues are on, not the overpasses above. (May 2016)

The nearby railing has a simplified version of the kirin statue on it. (May 2016)

Close-up! (May 2016)

It’s hard to get the whole thing in a photo though. (May 2016)

And in the center are the two kirin. These are easily the most awe-inspiring kirin statues I’ve ever seen. (May 2016)

The outer lion guardian from the front. (May 2016)

I learned of this beautiful bridge, or its current form rather, thanks to Higashino Keigo’s novel “Kirin no Tsubasa” (“Wings of the Kirin”). On the outer ends, it’s got these lion guardians. (May 2016)

Tsuki no Matsu, the “Moon Pine” in Ueno Park. I don’t know if this is the same tree ukiyo-e artist Utagawa Hiroshige depicted in his “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo” prints, or if it’s that the nearby temple has been grooming different pines into this shape for hundreds of years. (May 2016)

The faithful dog Hachi-ko guarding some cats at his spot in Shibuya. (May 2016)

Umegaemochi, a kind of mochi with sweet bean paste inside and a plum mark grilled onto the outside. A specialty of Dazaifu, there are several shops on the sandō that sell it. Yum! (April 2016)

A tunnel on the grounds of Dazaifu Tenmangū Shrine. Beyond it is the mountain road up to Kamado Shrine. (April 2016)

Koinobori (carp streamers) fly over the grounds of Dazaifu Tenmangū in anticipation of Children’s Day. (April 2016)

From an ice cream stand on the 参道 (sandō, the road leading up to a temple or shrine) to Dazaifu Tenmangū. They sell normal flavors & unusual flavors. Black sesame isn’t that unusual, but I recommend their tofu flavored ice cream and corn flavored ice cream too. (April 2016)

A large scroll of Neo Queen Serenity hanging inside the Sailor Moon Exhibit in Roppongi Hills reflected beautifully in the windows, making it look as if she were the moon over Tokyo. (April 2016)

Sakitsu Church in Amakusa (July 2013)

Ōe Church in Amakusa (July 2013)

A blue dragonfly alights on the stone bowl in the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes on the grounds of Ōe Church in Amakusa (July 2013)

The final float in the Hakata Yamakasa festival (July 2013)

Looking toward the dock where you get on the canoes that ply the canals in Yanagawa (May 2013)

A home along a canal in Yanagawa with a beautiful dock deck (May 2013)

The neighbor’s cat would sometimes get out and come into my apartment through the verandah (May 2013)

The last of the plum blossoms on the grounds of Dazaifu Tenmangū (March 2013)

Shooting into the Light at Dazaifu Tenmangū (March 2013)

At this point my camera’s shutter was stuck, but I think the malfunction kinda works here (Yokohama, February 2013)

From within the ferris wheel in Yokohama (February 2013)

松月城 (matsugekki = pine moon castle) is a word I made up in the style of other such compounds, like 雪月花 (setsugekka = snow moon flowers, a combination which calls to mind the beautiful things of all seasons); the castle here is Nagoya Castle (November 2012)

A streetlight takes the sun’s place on these fall leaves in Nagoya (November 2012)

English Speaking Society students carving a pumpkin for the first time (October 2012)

Balloon Seph needs to make a phone call (October 2012)

The Thousand Sunny docked at Huis Ten Bosch in Nagasaki (August 2012)

A manor on the grounds of the theme park Huis Ten Bosch (August 2012)

On the grounds of Huis Ten Bosch (August 2012)

A large white bird stops to deep its feet in this stream that goes through Murasaki in Chikushino City (March 2012)

A still life I put together for an over the top GACKT viewing party that I called “Les Fleurs du Mal” (July 2011)

Wisteria finally in full bloom in Kurogi (May 2011)

Enjoying a foot bath in Beppu, at the Lake of Blood Hell Hot Springs (May 2011)

The wisteria in Kurogi, right before it hit its peek (April 2011)

The “ōfuji,” or “big wisteria,” in Kurogi, before fully blooming (April 2011)

A peaceful canal in the theme park Huis Ten Bosch in Nagasaki (November 2010)

A replica of the De Liefde, the first Dutch ship to arrive in Japan, back in 1600, docked at Huis Ten Bosch (November 2010)

All of Huis Ten Bosch is a replica of a Dutch town (November 2010)

On the grounds between Dazaifu Tenmangū and Kōmyōzenji (November 2010)

Fallen leaves fill the grooves of the sand garden in Kōmyōzenji (November 2010)

Kōmyōzenji fills up every fall with crowds admiring the blazing foliage (November 2010)

Sephiroth uses Masamune to carve pumpkins (October 2010)

Another Halloween still life (October 2010)

Hitoyoshi Station in Kumamoto Prefecture (August 2010)

A canoe docked in Hitoyoshi, its owner nowhere to be seen (August 2010)

Steam Locomotive Hitoyoshi runs in the summers between Kumamoto Station and Hitoyoshi Station (August 2010)

The Reclining Buddha at Nanzōin, which is the first stop in the 88 temple pilgrimage of Sasaguri & Shikoku. This is the largest bronze reclining Buddha in the world (August 2010)

The coil in the foreground is the same size as the coils of hair on this Buddha’s head (August 2010)

Kido no Taki Fudōdō, the 45th stop on the 88 temple pilgrimage of Sasaguri & Shikoku. It’s part of the same complex as Nanzōin (August 2010)

A Buddha ponders the Universe on the grounds of Nanzōin (August 2010)

Two monks keep watch over the path up to Nanzōin (August 2010)

The Jizō who protects the souls of babies who were stillborn, miscarried, or aborted (Nanzōin, August 2010)

On the grounds of Nanzōin’s compound, a bridge labelled the “[people who] get along well bridge” (August 2010)

A rickshaw awaits a rider in Moji Retro (June 2010)

Famed swordsmen Sasaki Kojirō (left) and Miyamoto Musashi duel it out for all eternity on Ganryū Island (June 2010)

Fukuoka Tower (May 2010)

A view of Fukuoka City from atop the ACROS Building that I took in May of 2010, eight years after GACKT’s Live House Tour stopped there.

The flag unfurls over a stone lantern on the grounds of Dazaifu Tenmangū (May 2010)

Flowers bloom near the pond on the grounds of Dazaifu Tenmangū (May 2010)

Celebrating the victory of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks over the Tohoku Rakuten Eagles at Yahoo! Dome (April 2010)

Looking down the hill of the first high school I worked at in Fukuoka (April 2010)

A “princess” sits down to participate in Kyokusui no En, an annual festival first popular in the Heian Era (794-1185), hence the style of her kimono (March 2010)

At Kyokusui no En, participants write poems and drink from sake cups that come floating down the stream (March 2010)

A spray of plum flowers caressing an umegaemochi shop on the grounds of Dazaifu Tenmangū (February 2010)

The gate to the State Guesthouse (迎賓館) in Tokyo (January 2010)

American cars stick out as much as their human counterparts, even in Tokyo (December 2009)

The first year students of my first school climbing Mt. Shiōji (October 2009)

Stelae marking the ancient grounds of the government of Dazaifu (October 2009)

Two large canaries watch over patrons entering the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum (October 2009)