It's been two weeks since I last took a morning walk in my neighborhood and in the two weeks, things have changed, such as the beach vitex (Vitex rotundifolia) starting to flower.
 |
| Beach vitex ハマゴウ |
 |
| Vitex rotundifolia 浜拷 |
Beach Vitex (Vitex Rotundifolia) ハマゴウ（浜拷）
Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。
Two Types of Stink Bugs - Green Stink Bug and Yellow-Spotted Stink Bug チャバネアオカメムシ＆キマダラカメムシ
Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。
The stink bug season has come😅! I found these two bugs this morning, i.e., a green stink bug (Plautia crossota) and a yellow-spotted stink bug (Erthesina fullo). The green bug (by a one yen coin) started running when I started to photograph it, which was so adorable!! Ten minutes later, I found the yellow-spotted stink bug on a leaf of the Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera). I know stink bugs are stink and harmful to some plants, but still, stink bugs, especially the small green one, are so adorable!
 |
| A green stink bug 茶羽根青亀虫 |
 |
| A yellow-spotted stink bug 黄斑亀虫 |
Sacred Lotus (Nelumbo Nucifera) ハス（蓮）
Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。
I posted photos of lotus flowers when writing about Saidaiji temple and Hasedera temple, but today's focus is the flower, especially the receptacle and the black and green things in the receptacle, i.e., lotus fruits! The fruits are edible, like nuts, and they go well with beer according to a lotus farmer, but they're not known much in Japan. Lotus flowers are pretty, their roots are delicious and the fruits are funnily cute! I love lotuses!
I posted photos of lotus flowers when writing about Saidaiji temple and Hasedera temple, but today's focus is the flower, especially the receptacle and the black and green things in the receptacle, i.e., lotus fruits! The fruits are edible, like nuts, and they go well with beer according to a lotus farmer, but they're not known much in Japan. Lotus flowers are pretty, their roots are delicious and the fruits are funnily cute! I love lotuses!
 |
| Lotus receptacles ハスの花托 |
Saidaiji Temple and Lotus Flowers 西大寺と蓮の花
Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。
Saidaiji temple was founded in the eighth century by Empress Shotoku, a daughter of Emperor Shotoku, who founded Todaiji temple. Saidaiji temple, which means a great temple in the west in Japanese, and Todaiji, which means a great temple in the east, were once considered kind of twins and between the two temples stood the Imperial Palace of Heijo (i.e., the then capital) from 710 to 784. But after that, Saidaiji temple started to decline, underwent a series of natural disasters, and ultimately lost its power and influence. Actually, most Japanese must have heard of or been to Todaiji but not Saidaiji.
This is Saidaiji temple and lotus flowers there. The lotus season was almost over, but the temple still had beautiful white and pink flowers despite its sad history.
Saidaiji temple was founded in the eighth century by Empress Shotoku, a daughter of Emperor Shotoku, who founded Todaiji temple. Saidaiji temple, which means a great temple in the west in Japanese, and Todaiji, which means a great temple in the east, were once considered kind of twins and between the two temples stood the Imperial Palace of Heijo (i.e., the then capital) from 710 to 784. But after that, Saidaiji temple started to decline, underwent a series of natural disasters, and ultimately lost its power and influence. Actually, most Japanese must have heard of or been to Todaiji but not Saidaiji.
As this history suggests, its premises are far smaller than Todaiji's and there were almost none in the temple when I was there. The twin temples made me think about people and their lives 1,300 years ago.
 |
| Saidaiji temple 西大寺 |
Hasedera Temple and Sacred Lotus Flowers 長谷寺と蓮の花
Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。
This is Hasedera temple. The temple is in a mountainous area in the Nara prefecture, so to reach the main hall, you need to climb up 399 stairs (1st and 2nd photos), but it's worthwhile. Stunning views are waiting for you (5th photo)!
The temple is known for various flowers. The lotus season was almost over but it still had several white and pink lotus flowers (Nelumbo nucifera), which made me forget about the heat for a while.
 |
| 399 stairs from below 階段の下から |
 |
| 399 stairs from above 階段の上から |
 |
| A lotus flower and stairs in the back 蓮の花と階段 |
A Rainbow View from Nigatsudo, Todaiji Temple 東大寺二月堂から見た虹
Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。
This is a view from the balcony of Nigatsudo or the February Hall of Todaiji temple in Nara. You can also see the Nara city over there. That day, I woke up at around 4 a.m. (as usual) and decided to walk to the temple to see the sunrise. Unfortunately, the sunrise wasn't visible from there, but instead I saw this rainbow🌈!
If you have a chance to come to Nara, I recommend visiting the temple in the early morning. You may have this view (and the Great South Gate) all to yourself.
 |
| A rainbow from the February Hall of Todaiji temple 二月堂から見た虹 |
Kofukuji Temple and Sarusawa Pond 興福寺と猿沢池
Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。
These are photos of Sarusawa pond and Kofukuji temple in the Nara prefecture, Japan at sunrise (1st photo) and sunset (2nd photo). The five storied pagoda (last photo) of the temple is currently undergoing large-scale repairs, so I gave up on seeing it but I was able to see the pagoda in a nearly perfect form (although the first story was covered by a fence).
Kofukuji temple is one of Japan’s oldest and most famous Buddhist temples with a history of more than 1,300 years and I definitely recommend visiting the temple, especially to see the pagoda, which the temple once auctioned for 25 yen then or 100,000 yen (930 US dollars) currently😲. If you're interested in why the temple did such a stupid thing, read this post!
These are photos of Sarusawa pond and Kofukuji temple in the Nara prefecture, Japan at sunrise (1st photo) and sunset (2nd photo). The five storied pagoda (last photo) of the temple is currently undergoing large-scale repairs, so I gave up on seeing it but I was able to see the pagoda in a nearly perfect form (although the first story was covered by a fence).
Kofukuji temple is one of Japan’s oldest and most famous Buddhist temples with a history of more than 1,300 years and I definitely recommend visiting the temple, especially to see the pagoda, which the temple once auctioned for 25 yen then or 100,000 yen (930 US dollars) currently😲. If you're interested in why the temple did such a stupid thing, read this post!
 |
| Sarusawa pond at sunrise 日の出の猿沢池 |
 |
| Sarusawa pond and 5-story pagoda of Kofukuji temple at sunset 日の入りの猿沢池と興福寺五重塔 |
Japanese Fruit Beetle (Mimela Splendens) 黄金虫（コガネムシ）
Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。
They're Japanese fruit beetles (Mimela splendens). I noticed at first one of them, then found many hiding in the back behind the leaves.
They'are so beautiful that their Japanese name means golden bugs, but they're harmful, damaging everything around them. You can see the leaves around them being eaten.
 |
| Japanese fruit beetle (Mimela splendens) 黄金虫（コガネムシ） |
 |
| This one is chinning up 懸垂中 |
Swamp Rose-Mallow (Hibiscus Moscheutos) アメリカ芙蓉（アメリカフヨウ）
英語の後に日本語が続きます。
Swamp rose-mallows (Hibiscus moscheutos) are large flowers, some reaching 20 cm in diameter. They produce white, pink, and red flowers one after another from April to September, however blooming for only one day. Swamp rose-mallows resemble Confederate roses but the former are single flowered and don't change color while the latter generally double flowered, changing from white to pink.
Swamp rose-mallows (Hibiscus moscheutos) are large flowers, some reaching 20 cm in diameter. They produce white, pink, and red flowers one after another from April to September, however blooming for only one day. Swamp rose-mallows resemble Confederate roses but the former are single flowered and don't change color while the latter generally double flowered, changing from white to pink.
They're beautiful but sometimes make me chuckle with too many (last photo) of such large flowers.
.jpg) |
| 2022/7/7 |
 |
| 2022/7/7 |
 |
| 2021/7/7 |
 |
| 2021/7/7 |
 |
| 2023/7/26 |
Kadsura Vine (Kadsura Japonica) 実葛（サネカズラ）
Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。
These are flowers of the kadsura vine (Kadsura japonica). I saw the fruits last November at the Institute for Nature Study, i.e., a park or forest in the heart of Central Tokyo, but didn't expect to see the vine in my neighborhood on a guard fence.
 |
| Kadsura japonica サネカズラ |
 |
| Kadsura vine 実葛 |
A Caterpillar's Moving アオムシのお引越し
英語の後に日本語が続きます。
I found this caterpillar🐛 after jump roping in a nearby park! Usually, I can't take clear photos of bugs, but it was walking (or running?), I was able to see and take clear pictures of its face (last photo). The caterpillar was moving toward a bush to maybe avoid the heat.
I found this caterpillar🐛 after jump roping in a nearby park! Usually, I can't take clear photos of bugs, but it was walking (or running?), I was able to see and take clear pictures of its face (last photo). The caterpillar was moving toward a bush to maybe avoid the heat.
 |
| A caterpillar's moving アオムシのお引越し |
登録:
投稿 (Atom)
Beef Jerky at Midnight 真夜中のビーフジャーキー
英語の後に日本語が続きます。 On a weekday afternoon, I was in the office talking with a colleague of mine. He loves steak—in particular, grilled beef st...
-
英語の後に日本語が続きます。 I read A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro about ten years ago. The book was my second Ishiguro novel after Never Let Me ...
-
Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。 These are flowers of Akebia quinata or commonly known as chocolate vine. The shades ranging from pa...