Day 39

Atomic bomb dome and the city of Hiroshima.

Day 38

Enjoying a nice little picnic on the ferry between Naoshima and Hiroshima!

Day 37

Opening in an opening with perspective-confusing painted walls...just the beginning of the unreal spaces on Teshima Island.

Day 36

An amazing glass staircase at Go'o Shrine on Naoshima (aka "the art island").

Day 35

One more temple visit to Kiyomizu-dera on the last day in Kyoto.

Day 34

Final review day! Done with studio and leaving Kyoto soon.

Day 33

A delicious bento lunch made by my new friend, Etsuko-san!

Day 32

Sunset over the temple roofs!

Day 30/31

Lots of time in "studio" with an amazing break spent wandering through the spectacular moss garden at Saiho-ji.

Day 29

A Romanesque aqueduct a midst the traditional temples of Kyoto!

Day 28

After a nice hike through the hills of Kyoto, swimming here really helped to satisfy my craving for some summer river time!

Day 27

Perfectly pruned bushes and raked rocks at Shunko-in where we watercolored and learned about Zazen meditation.

Day 26

Gates and gates and gates all over the mountain!

Day 25

Today started with a fire drill at the temple, complete with sirens, trucks, and hosing down the buildings! Then we spent the afternoon at a temple under construction getting a new roof for the first time in 200 years. A nice break from being tourists!

Day 24

Moss and maples at Koto-in.

Day 23

The lovely, simple, elegant rock garden at Ryoanji!

Day 22

At the end of a day of amazing coffee (in Japan?!), dramatic thunderstorms, and never-ending temples and shrines, happening upon this little modern house was a fun surprise.

Day 21

In Osaka, rather than the seventh-inning stretch, the crowd releases squealing colored balloons into the stadium. The home team lost, but being at the game was so much fun! Go Tigers!

Day 20

After studio midterm review in the morning, dinner was spent at a funky little neighborhood restaurant with Akira, a great chef and UofO admirer.

Day 19

Bedroom turned design studio! After many days of fun and sightseeing, tonight is the night for working on  our term project-redesign of a downtown Kyoto bus/train station.

Day 18

Strolling along the stone shoreline at Sento Imperial Gardens. It is carefully constructed of thousands and thousands of beautifully flat, symmetrical rocks!

Day 17

A great day spent riding bikes around in the blazing hot sun to all corners of Kyoto to see the wonderful gardens, scenery, and interesting architecture of the Imperial Gardens.

Day 16

Looking out from a little hilltop in the neighborhood of our temple home. Despite the intense Kyoto heat, the view was worth it and made for a nice place for a watercolor!

Day 15

A little Shinto shrine, stumbled upon on a lazy Sunday afternoon!

Day 14

Saturday night on the Pontocho in Kyoto. Lights, people, and food!

Day 13

Amazing inside and out at Ando's Water Temple!

Day 12

Japan's largest rock garden at Kongobuji. Cool breezes, the sound of rain, and beautiful scenery!

Day 11

After hours of walking through the stone gravestones and Cryptomeria forest at Okunion Cemetary, I arrived at a temple filled with lanterns, the smell of incense, and the sound of a monk chanting. Amazing!

Day 10

Watercolor in the morning (top), nap at lunch, and watercolor no. 2 in the afternoon (bottom right). A wonderful, relaxing day at Jinko-in!

Day 9

Hillside temples, dear, and tourists in the beautiful city of Nara.