Japan Day 2, Part 2: Shoren-in

My favorite part of Shoren-in temple was the pair of massive and elegantly gnarled camphor trees out front. 

There were some other great things about the temple itself. The paintings that kept the wooden walls as the background, for example. 

The gardens were as beautiful and peaceful as one might expect. 

Dragon flies were all over, but they rarely landed where I could photograph them. 

I always enjoy when old wooden buildings are unpainted. I find the weathered panels of wood beautiful. Such buildings have a dignity that only comes with existing for more than a century.

This arched entryway is awesome. You don't see decorative curves like that in western architecture until much later on in history.

I spent several more minutes absorbing the view of the arboreal giants before moving onward.