Asia Images / John Lander Photography

  • Portfolio
  • About
  • Contact
  • Archive
    • All Galleries
    • Search
    • Cart
    • Lightbox
    • Client Area
  • Books
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
x

Search Results

Refine Search
Match all words
Match any word
Prints
Personal Use
Royalty-Free
Rights-Managed
(leave unchecked to
search all images)
Next
343 images found
twitterlinkedinfacebook

Loading ()...

  • Rakan statues represent the 500 disciples of Buddha. Although many Buddhist sculptures are carved to represent exquisite beauty or terrifying ferociousness, rakan almost always seem to be carved in the spirit of humour and good fun
    rakan-zentsuji-4.jpg
  • Glico Man - Dotombori is a district of Osaka famous for its neon and mechanized signs, most famously for the sign of the candy manufacturer Glico.  The Glico Man sign shows a giant electronic display of a runner crossing a finish line.  Along the streets, to advertise their products and menus visitors are amazed at the moving giant crabs, puffed out blowfish, smoking dragons and other dramatic kitsch.  Dotombori is a district has always been known for its historic theaters, night life, shops and restaurants and in modern times its many neon and mechanized signs,
    dotombori-signs-23.jpg
  • Dotombori Blowfish Restaurant - Dotombori is a district of Osaka famous for its neon and mechanized signs, most famously for the sign of the candy manufacturer Glico.  The Glico Man sign shows a giant electronic display of a runner crossing a finish line.  Along the streets, to advertise their products and menus visitors are amazed at the moving giant crabs, puffed out blowfish, smoking dragons and other dramatic kitsch.  Dotombori is a district has always been known for its historic theaters, night life, shops and restaurants and in modern times its many neon and mechanized signs,
    dotombori-signs-11.jpg
  • One of the quirkiest, yet most interesting attractions in Vientiane would have to be Xieng Khuan, commonly called "Buddha Park". Xieng Khuan or "Spirit City" is just as much a monument to one man's eccentric and bizarre ambition as it is an impressive collection of massive ferro-concrete sculptures dotted around a riverside meadow. Although the brontosaurian reclining Buddha and strange edifice resembling a pumpkin - there are statues of every conceivable deity in the Buddhist/Hindu pantheon. Even if you are not up on your Buddhist/Hindu deities you will enjoy strolling around some of the more fantastic shapes.  Xieng Khuan was designed and built in 1958 by Louang Pou Bunleua Sulilat a self style holy man who took Hinduism and Buddhism and merged them into his own iconography. After the revolution in 1975, he fled from Laos to Thailand where he built another sculpture park, Sala Keoku in Nong Khai.. He fled because his anti-Communist beliefs conflicted with the views of the Pathet Lao.
    xieng-khuan-1.jpg
  • The popular symbolism associated with Daruma as a good luck charm comes from the founder of Daruma-Dera that New Year’s charms depicting Bodhidharma would bring happiness and prosperity and ward off accidents and misfortune. The charms were always given with an effectiveness of one year, so the people required new ones every year.
    daruma-statue.jpg
  • Lantau Island, also Lantao, is the largest island in Hong Kong, located at the mouth of the Pearl River.  Originally the site of sleepy fishing villages, in recent years has been increasingly developed.
    lantau-5.jpg
  • Kanamara Matsuri or Festival of the Phallus is an annual Shinto fertility festival held in Kawasaki in spring. The penis forms the central theme of the event that is reflected everywhere: candy, carved vegetables, decorations, sake bottles and a parade. The Kanamara Matsuri is centered around a local penis venerating shrine once popular among prostitutes who wished to pray for protection against sexual problems and diseases.
    kanamara-shrine-2.jpg
  • Sanrio Puroland is an indoor theme park located in Tama Center, Tokyo that attracts over 1.5 million visitors per year and hosts various musicals, restaurants, attractions, and theme rides using popular characters such as Hello Kitty, Pochacco, Keroppi, and many more. While many of the shows are only in Japanese, Puroland nevertheless attracts many visitors from overseas as well as Japan because of the worldwide popularity of these characters.   Puroland has become one of Japan's most popular attractions.
    sanrio-puroland-10.jpg
  • Jiji Elderly Man at Mengake Kamakura - Mengake or Masked Parade at Goryo Jinja shrine.  At this festival held in September a group of ten people take part in this annual ritual: 8 men and 2 women. Wearing comical or grotesque masks that signify different demons, legends and dieties  leave the shrine and parade through the nearby streets accompanied by portable shrine and festival music.
    mengake-kamakura-22.jpg
  • Drummers at Mengake Kamakura - Mengake or Masked Parade at Goryo Jinja shrine.  At this festival held in September a group of ten people take part in this annual ritual: 8 men and 2 women. Wearing comical or grotesque masks that signify different demons, legends and dieties  leave the shrine and parade through the nearby streets accompanied by portable shrine and festival music.
    mengake-kamakura-07.jpg
  • Dotombori Crab Restaurant - Dotombori is a district of Osaka famous for its neon and mechanized signs, most famously for the sign of the candy manufacturer Glico.  The Glico Man sign shows a giant electronic display of a runner crossing a finish line.  Along the streets, to advertise their products and menus visitors are amazed at the moving giant crabs, puffed out blowfish, smoking dragons and other dramatic kitsch.  Dotombori is a district has always been known for its historic theaters, night life, shops and restaurants and in modern times its many neon and mechanized signs,
    dotombori-signs-28.jpg
  • Glico Man - Dotombori is a district of Osaka famous for its neon and mechanized signs, most famously for the sign of the candy manufacturer Glico.  The Glico Man sign shows a giant electronic display of a runner crossing a finish line.  Along the streets, to advertise their products and menus visitors are amazed at the moving giant crabs, puffed out blowfish, smoking dragons and other dramatic kitsch.  Dotombori is a district has always been known for its historic theaters, night life, shops and restaurants and in modern times its many neon and mechanized signs,
    dotombori-signs-22.jpg
  • Takeshima Fantasy Museum displays a magical world created from over 50,000 shells from 110 different countries. Admire the creations of coral reefs, mermaids, tunnels, shipwrecks, puffing dragons, and even the story of Urashima Taro. Each sculpture is made completely out of shells.
    Takeshima-Fantasy-Museum-11.jpg
  • Reversible Destiny at Yoro Park is an “experiential” place where you are supposed to encounter the unexpected. The park’s creation was a collaboration of two artists: Madeline Gins and Shusaku Arakawa.  Everything feels a bit off at Reversible Destiny because of all the angles so as to adjust your senses if not your destiny. The park is a combination of domes, steep hills, trails and holes with trees in them. Critical Resemblance House is part maze, part house - the roof is in the shape of a map of Gifu Prefecture.  Inside are desks, ovens, refrigerators, toilets, beds sticking out of walls and the ceiling.   Insect Mountain Range is a group of rocks - meaning humans don’t have to be confined to the natural world and can choose alternatives.  Exactitude Ridge is a bridge sticking out of the ground that stops and goes nowhere.
    reversible-destiny-4.jpg
  • Haw Par Villa is a one-of-a-kind theme park in Singapore with over a thousand statues and a hundred dioramas depicting scenes from Chinese mythology,  Confucian stories, folklore and legends.  Originally called Tiger Balm Gardens, the park was built by the Burmese-Chinese brothers Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par  who were the developers of Tiger Balm ointment. They created the park in 1937 for teaching the public traditional Chinese values. The most renowned attraction at Haw Par Villa is the Ten Courts of Hell featuring gruesome depictions of hell in  Buddhism and Chinese mythology.
    haw-par-villa-5.jpg
  • Phuket Fantasea is cultural and entertainment theme park at Kamala Beach Phuket.  The park features various attractions with a focus on Thai culture and myths. Classical dances from Thailand’s regions play a prominent part in the theme park's signature show.  Some have described Phuket Fantasea as a Las-Vegas-style spectacle blending Thai culture with 4-D effects, acrobatics, pyrotechnics, special effects, elephant performances all in one unique theatrical show.  Fantasea adds a whole new spin on theme park entertainment, with attractions not found elsewhere in the world
    phuket-fantasea-3.jpg
  • A Balinese togog is a decorative sculpted head, often decorated with flowers.  The faces and expressions taking form from Balinese folk tales and legends.
    balinese-togog-3.jpg
  • Teruhisa Kitahara's collection of 3,000 tin toys produced from the 1890's to the 1960's is displayed here. Christmas goods can be purchased at any time of the year at 'Christmas Toys'.
    kitahara-toy-museum-5.jpg
  • Faces at Dotonbori Hotel in Osaka with an amazing entrance featuring four huge columns with faces depicting the special qualities in human beings. The face columns act as a landmark and define the hotel's traditional architecture.
    Dotombori-Hotel-1.jpg
  • The Snake Temple in Penang was build in the memory of Chor Soo Kong by a Buddhist monk who had immigrated to Penang. Chor Soo Kong had healing powers and had given shelter to snakes when he lived in the jungle. As the story goes, snakes entered the temple after completing and have never left to pay respect to Chor Soo Kong. The Snake Temple original name was the "Temple of the Azure Cloud" in honor of the beauty of Penang's sky. The temple is dedicated to a deity called Cheng Swee Chor Soo.
    snake-temple-01.jpg
  • The post-industrial era of Japan has brought new cultural products and thus new associations to Japan, including karaoke, Tamagotchi, Pokemon, Aibo, and Hello Kitty and countless other forms of kitsch.
    japanese-kitsch-2.jpg
  • Puerto Galera is well known by diving enthusiasts for its coral reefs and professionally run diving operations.; Asia Divers is one of the originals that not only set up dives but offer PADI instruction; and certification.
    diving-equipment.jpg
  • Reptile wine, root wines and plum wines are all good for what ails you. According to the Vietnamese they "make you strong".   Each street in Hanoi's old quarter has merchants and artisans specialized in a particular trade such as silk, jewellery, coffee and herbalists. The street names reflect these specializations, although few of them remain exclusively in their original commerce.
    vietnamese-herbalist.jpg
  • Calaveras Candles - Day of the Dead "Dia de los Muertos". The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is celebrated in Mexico and Mexican communities where it attains the quality of a National Holiday. The celebration takes place on November 1st and 2nd, in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saints' Day  and All Souls' Day. Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts.
    calaveras-candles.jpg
  • Midwife at Mengake Kamakura - Mengake or Masked Parade at Goryo Jinja shrine.  At this festival held in September a group of ten people take part in this annual ritual: 8 men and 2 women. Wearing comical or grotesque masks that signify different demons, legends and dieties  leave the shrine and parade through the nearby streets accompanied by portable shrine and festival music.
    mengake-kamakura-23.jpg
  • Lion at Mengake Kamakura Procession - Mengake or Masked Parade at Goryo Jinja shrine.  At this festival held in September a group of ten people take part in this annual ritual: 8 men and 2 women. Wearing comical or grotesque masks that signify different demons, legends and dieties  leave the shrine and parade through the nearby streets accompanied by portable shrine and festival music.
    mengake-kamakura-24.jpg
  • Dotombori Dragon - Dotombori is a district of Osaka famous for its neon and mechanized signs, most famously for the sign of the candy manufacturer Glico.  The Glico Man sign shows a giant electronic display of a runner crossing a finish line.  Along the streets, to advertise their products and menus visitors are amazed at the moving giant crabs, puffed out blowfish, smoking dragons and other dramatic kitsch.  Dotombori is a district has always been known for its historic theaters, night life, shops and restaurants and in modern times its many neon and mechanized signs,
    dotombori-signs-15.jpg
  • Dotombori Crab Restaurant - Dotombori is a district of Osaka famous for its neon and mechanized signs, most famously for the sign of the candy manufacturer Glico.  The Glico Man sign shows a giant electronic display of a runner crossing a finish line.  Along the streets, to advertise their products and menus visitors are amazed at the moving giant crabs, puffed out blowfish, smoking dragons and other dramatic kitsch.  Dotombori is a district has always been known for its historic theaters, night life, shops and restaurants and in modern times its many neon and mechanized signs,
    dotombori-signs-7.jpg
  • Takeshima Fantasy Museum displays a magical world created from over 50,000 shells from 110 different countries. Admire the creations of coral reefs, mermaids, tunnels, shipwrecks, puffing dragons, and even the story of Urashima Taro. Each sculpture is made completely out of shells.
    Takeshima-Fantasy-Museum-1.jpg
  • Reversible Destiny at Yoro Park is an “experiential” place where you are supposed to encounter the unexpected. The park’s creation was a collaboration of two artists: Madeline Gins and Shusaku Arakawa.  Everything feels a bit off at Reversible Destiny because of all the angles so as to adjust your senses if not your destiny. The park is a combination of domes, steep hills, trails and holes with trees in them. Critical Resemblance House is part maze, part house - the roof is in the shape of a map of Gifu Prefecture.  Inside are desks, ovens, refrigerators, toilets, beds sticking out of walls and the ceiling.   Insect Mountain Range is a group of rocks - meaning humans don’t have to be confined to the natural world and can choose alternatives.  Exactitude Ridge is a bridge sticking out of the ground that stops and goes nowhere.
    reversible-destiny-15.jpg
  • Reversible Destiny at Yoro Park is an “experiential” place where you are supposed to encounter the unexpected. The park’s creation was a collaboration of two artists: Madeline Gins and Shusaku Arakawa.  Everything feels a bit off at Reversible Destiny because of all the angles so as to adjust your senses if not your destiny. The park is a combination of domes, steep hills, trails and holes with trees in them. Critical Resemblance House is part maze, part house - the roof is in the shape of a map of Gifu Prefecture.  Inside are desks, ovens, refrigerators, toilets, beds sticking out of walls and the ceiling.   Insect Mountain Range is a group of rocks - meaning humans don’t have to be confined to the natural world and can choose alternatives.  Exactitude Ridge is a bridge sticking out of the ground that stops and goes nowhere.
    reversible-destiny-9.jpg
  • Tiger car at Haw Par Villa - a one-of-a-kind theme park in Singapore with over a thousand statues and a hundred dioramas depicting scenes from Chinese mythology,  Confucian stories, folklore and legends.  Originally called Tiger Balm Gardens, the park was built by the Burmese-Chinese brothers Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par  who were the developers of Tiger Balm ointment. They created the park in 1937 for teaching the public traditional Chinese values. The most renowned attraction at Haw Par Villa is the Ten Courts of Hell featuring gruesome depictions of hell in  Buddhism and Chinese mythology.
    haw-par-tiger-car-1.jpg
  • Phuket Fantasea is cultural and entertainment theme park at Kamala Beach Phuket.  The park features various attractions with a focus on Thai culture and myths. Classical dances from Thailand’s regions play a prominent part in the theme park's signature show.  Some have described Phuket Fantasea as a Las-Vegas-style spectacle blending Thai culture with 4-D effects, acrobatics, pyrotechnics, special effects, elephant performances all in one unique theatrical show.  Fantasea adds a whole new spin on theme park entertainment, with attractions not found elsewhere in the world
    phuket-fantasea-2.jpg
  • Every Easter Sunday, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, San Francisco's beloved sect of cross-dressing nuns, host The Hunky Jesus Competition in Dolores Park - celebrating people who take the look of "our lord and savior" and transform it into "our lord and sexy."  The sisters believe all people have a right to express their unique joy and beauty and we use humor and irreverent wit to expose bigotry and ignorance.  The Hunky Jesus Competition is the highlight of the Sisters' free Easter party that's been going on in the Mission's premiere public space for over three decades. These events bring all all the drag queens and even a few designers in the city because of features such as a bonnet contest and drag performances..  One of those only-in-San-Francisco events.
    hunky-jesus-contest-12.jpg
  • The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence is a protest and street performance organization that uses drag and religious imagery to call attention to sexual intolerance and satirize issues of gender and morality.  At their inception in 1979, a small group of gay men in San Francisco began wearing nun attire in visible situations using high camp to draw attention to social conflicts and problems in the Castro District.The Sisters have grown throughout the U.S. and are currently organized as an international network of orders, which are mostly non-profit charity organizations that raise money for AIDS, LGBT-related causes, and mainstream community service organizations, while promoting safer sex and educating others about the harmful effects of drug use and other risky behaviors. In San Francisco alone where they continue to be the most active, between 1979 and 2007 the Sisters are credited with raising over $1 million for various causes.
    sisters-of-perpetual-indulgence-4.jpg
  • Ginza is known as an upscale area of Tokyo with numerous department stores, boutiques, restaurants and is recognized as one of the most luxurious shopping districts in the world. Many upscale fashion flagship stores are located here, including Chanel, Dior, Gucci, Louis Vuitton....  In recent years extraordinary architecture has gone up including the De Beers Building, Mikimoto Building among others.  Ginza is named after the silver-coin mint established there in 1612 during the Edo period..
    mikimoto-ginza-2.jpg
  • Savan Vegas Hotel and Casino has 499 hotel rooms and 5000 square meters of gaming and entertainment space. Savan Vegas regularly hosts gaming tournaments and other events. The facility attracts an average of 4000 visitors per day.  The resort facility employs a staff of nearly 2000 people, 90% of which are Lao citizens.  Savan Vegas provides housing, meals, clothing, medical care, and language instruction to many of its employees at no cost.  Savan Vegas provides complementary shuttle service for all guests arriving at Savannakhet Airport and the nearby Thai border.
    savan-vegas-casino-6.jpg
  • Statue of a locally prominent politician Datuk Wira Gan Boon Leong. He was once possessed the title of 'Mr. Universe', 'Mr. Asia' and 'Mr. Malaysia' in body building. This statue is located just in front of his body building academy in Malacca Chinatown.
    gan-boon-leong-1.jpg
  • Taking a trishaw ride through Melaka seems to be the thing to do for every visitor.  There are dozens of them offering this service and the price is fixed these days at 40 Malaysian Ringgit per hour. Unlike other towns where rickshaws still ply the streets, the fixed rate ensures a reasonable fare for passengers and an equitable income for the driver. The trishaws in Melaka are colorful with lots of decorations, each with their own individual design and add flambouyant colors to the streets of Melaka..
    malacca-rickshaw-1.jpg
  • One of the quirkiest, yet most interesting attractions in Vientiane would have to be Xieng Khuan, commonly called "Buddha Park". Xieng Khuan or "Spirit City" is just as much a monument to one man's eccentric and bizarre ambition as it is an impressive collection of massive ferro-concrete sculptures dotted around a riverside meadow. Although the brontosaurian reclining Buddha and strange edifice resembling a pumpkin - there are statues of every conceivable deity in the Buddhist/Hindu pantheon. Even if you are not up on your Buddhist/Hindu deities you will enjoy strolling around some of the more fantastic shapes.  Xieng Khuan was designed and built in 1958 by Louang Pou Bunleua Sulilat a self style holy man who took Hinduism and Buddhism and merged them into his own iconography. After the revolution in 1975, he fled from Laos to Thailand where he built another sculpture park, Sala Keoku in Nong Khai.. He fled because his anti-Communist beliefs conflicted with the views of the Pathet Lao.
    xieng-khuan-2.jpg
  • Literally hundreds of penises or rather phallus statue or statuettes from small wooden carvings to big stone sculptures that stand ten feet tall and decorated with ribbons - make this shrine quite unique. It honors Chao Mae Tubtim, a female fertility spirit. Women visit this shrine when they are trying to conceive, leaving offerings of lotus and jasmine.
    tuptim-shrine-5.jpg
  • Goa Gajah is commonly known as the Elephant Cave, is located in a steep valley just outside of Ubud near the village of Bedulu.  Built at least 700 years ago the cave was rediscovered in the 1920s.
    goa-gajah-04.jpg
  • The Christmas House is a one-of-a-kind institution designed by Dr. Rico Absin, an anesthesiologist in the city of Dumaguete.  All the young and the young-at-heart flock to the nutty Spanish mansion of  Dr. Absin, a practicing anesthesiologist  who has successfully created an institution out of a genuine passion for art and decoration and a flair for the dramatic. .
    christmas-house-dumaguete-01.jpg
  • Costume Play Maids - A wide variety of "costume play" getups are shown here: goths, cartoon characters from Japanese manga, anime,  the sweet-and-innocent frilly look or combinations in between (goth lolly)  Every Sunday, these cosplay characters converge on Harajuku, Tokyo's fashion quarter. Most casual observers say that cosplay is a reaction to the rigid rules of Japanese society. But since so many cosplay girls congregate in Harajuku and Aoyama - Tokyo headquarters of Fendi, Hanae Mori and Issey Miyake, others consider it is a reaction to high fashion. Whatever the cause, cosplay aficionados put a tremendous amount of effort into their costumes every Sunday. One wonders what they wear on Monday morning...
    costume-play-maid-2.jpg
  • The post-industrial era of Japan has brought new cultural products and thus new associations to Japan, including karaoke, Tamagotchi, Pokemon, Aibo, and Hello Kitty.
    japanese-kitsch-1.jpg
  • Coloful, cheerful balloons at the previously grim All Russia Exhibition Center in Moscow.
    all-russia-exhibition-3.jpg
  • Mengake Mask Procession - Mengake or Masked Parade at Goryo Jinja shrine.  At this festival a group of ten people take part in this annual ritual: 8 men and 2 women. Wearing grotesque or comical masks  leave the shrine and parade through the nearby streets accompanied by portable shrine and festival music.
    mengake-3.jpg
  • At various festivals around the Japanese Islands, shishimai dances are performed to consecrate the festival ground and open the festival. A wooden lion mask and wooly-looking costume of woven and dyed banana/choma strips is worn, and the dance is performed to loud music featuring gongs, drums, bells, flutes, sanshin, and various other instruments. Some lion dances feature two or more dancers.
    shishimai-6.jpg
  • Harajuku Goth Lollies - A combination of Goths and Lolitas blending a bit of innocence with a tad of mysterious evil.  Every Sunday cosplay characters meet in Harajuku Tokyo's fashion area to show their latest creations.  It makes you wonder what they wear on Monday mornings to work...
    costume-play-goths-1.jpg
  • Tokyo Street Fashion - A wide variety of costume play getups can be seen every Sunday in Harajuku - Tokyo's fashion quarter.  Since so many cos-plaers congregate near Tokyo headquarters of Fendi, Hanae Mori and Issey Miyake, some consider this phenomenon to be a reaction to high fashion. Others, such as these girls, appear to be making a statement on fashion itself.
    costume-play-2.jpg
  • Sand Bath at Beppu - A group of friends or family can enjoy being immersed in the hot sand bath together. A distinctly unique experience, having to have a bath after your sand bath to get rid of the sand.  Still, the experience will ease the muscles by sinking in the warm sand while gazing over the vast, blue ocean
    beppu-sand-bath-2.jpg
  • Beach Toy, Izu Islands
    inflatable-beach-toy-image.jpg
  • Bay to Breakers is an annual footrace which takes place in San Francisco. The name reflects the fact that the race starts a few blocks from San Francisco Bay and runs west through the city to finish at the Pacific coast, where breakers crash onto Ocean Beach. The race is 12 kilometers long and takes place on the third Sunday in May and more of a costume party than a real marathon.
    bay-to-breakers-2.jpg
  • Rakan statues represent the 500 disciples of Buddha. Although many Buddhist sculptures are carved to represent exquisite beauty or terrifying ferociousness, rakan almost always seem to be carved in the spirit of humour and good fun
    rakan-zentsuji-1.jpg
  • Rakan at Eirinji - Rakan and Arhat statues represent the 500 disciples of Buddha. Although many Buddhist sculptures are carved to represent exquisite beauty or terrifying ferociousness, rakan often seem to be carved in the spirit of humour and good fun, or at least they usually appear to have comical faces, even though their message or what they represent may be dead serioues.
    eirinji-rakan-2.jpg
  • Rakan at Eirinji - Rakan and Arhat statues represent the 500 disciples of Buddha. Although many Buddhist sculptures are carved to represent exquisite beauty or terrifying ferociousness, rakan often seem to be carved in the spirit of humour and good fun, or at least they usually appear to have comical faces, even though their message or what they represent may be dead serious.
    eirinji-disciples-2.jpg
  • Rakan at Eirinji - Rakan and Arhat statues represent the 500 disciples of Buddha. Although many Buddhist sculptures are carved to represent exquisite beauty or terrifying ferociousness, rakan often seem to be carved in the spirit of humour and good fun, or at least they usually appear to have comical faces, even though their message or what they represent may be dead serioues.
    eirinji-disciples-1.jpg
  • Rakan at Eirinji - Rakan and Arhat statues represent the 500 disciples of Buddha. Although many Buddhist sculptures are carved to represent exquisite beauty or terrifying ferociousness, rakan often seem to be carved in the spirit of humour and good fun, or at least they usually appear to have comical faces, even though their message or what they represent may be dead serioues.
    eirinji-disciples-3.jpg
  • Oni Demon at Mengake Procession Kamakura- Mengake or Masked Parade at Goryo Jinja shrine.  At this festival held in September a group of ten people take part in this annual ritual: 8 men and 2 women. Wearing comical or grotesque masks that signify different demons, legends and dieties  leave the shrine and parade through the nearby streets accompanied by portable shrine and festival music.
    mengake-kamakura-27.jpg
  • Lions at Mengake Kamakura Procession - Mengake or Masked Parade at Goryo Jinja shrine.  At this festival held in September a group of ten people take part in this annual ritual: 8 men and 2 women. Wearing comical or grotesque masks that signify different demons, legends and dieties  leave the shrine and parade through the nearby streets accompanied by portable shrine and festival music.
    mengake-kamakura-26.jpg
  • Jiji Elderly Man at Mengake Kamakura - Mengake or Masked Parade at Goryo Jinja shrine.  At this festival held in September a group of ten people take part in this annual ritual: 8 men and 2 women. Wearing comical or grotesque masks that signify different demons, legends and dieties  leave the shrine and parade through the nearby streets accompanied by portable shrine and festival music.
    mengake-kamakura-20.jpg
  • Karasu Tengu Crow Goblin at Mengake Kamakura - Mengake or Masked Parade at Goryo Jinja shrine.  At this festival held in September a group of ten people take part in this annual ritual: 8 men and 2 women. Wearing comical or grotesque masks that signify different demons, legends and dieties  leave the shrine and parade through the nearby streets accompanied by portable shrine and festival music.
    mengake-kamakura-18.jpg
  • Okame Fat Faced Woman and Midwife at Mengake Kamakura - Mengake or Masked Parade at Goryo Jinja shrine.  At this festival held in September a group of ten people take part in this annual ritual: 8 men and 2 women. Wearing comical or grotesque masks that signify different demons, legends and dieties  leave the shrine and parade through the nearby streets accompanied by portable shrine and festival music.
    mengake-kamakura-17.jpg
  • Hananago Long Nose Mask at Mengake Procession - Mengake or Masked Parade at Goryo Jinja shrine.  At this festival held in September a group of ten people take part in this annual ritual: 8 men and 2 women. Wearing comical or grotesque masks that signify different demons, legends and dieties  leave the shrine and parade through the nearby streets accompanied by portable shrine and festival music.
    mengake-kamakura-15.jpg
  • Midwife at Mengake Kamakura - Mengake or Masked Parade at Goryo Jinja shrine.  At this festival held in September a group of ten people take part in this annual ritual: 8 men and 2 women. Wearing comical or grotesque masks that signify different demons, legends and dieties  leave the shrine and parade through the nearby streets accompanied by portable shrine and festival music.
    mengake-kamakura-16.jpg
  • Hananago Long Nose Mask at Mengake Procession - Mengake or Masked Parade at Goryo Jinja shrine.  At this festival held in September a group of ten people take part in this annual ritual: 8 men and 2 women. Wearing comical or grotesque masks that signify different demons, legends and dieties  leave the shrine and parade through the nearby streets accompanied by portable shrine and festival music.
    mengake-kamakura-14.jpg
  • Japanese Musicians at Mengake Kamakura - Mengake or Masked Parade at Goryo Jinja shrine.  At this festival held in September a group of ten people take part in this annual ritual: 8 men and 2 women. Wearing comical or grotesque masks that signify different demons, legends and dieties  leave the shrine and parade through the nearby streets accompanied by portable shrine and festival music.
    mengake-kamakura-11.jpg
  • Japanese Musicians at Mengake Kamakura - Mengake or Masked Parade at Goryo Jinja shrine.  At this festival held in September a group of ten people take part in this annual ritual: 8 men and 2 women. Wearing comical or grotesque masks that signify different demons, legends and dieties  leave the shrine and parade through the nearby streets accompanied by portable shrine and festival music.
    mengake-kamakura-10.jpg
  • Drummers at Mengake Kamakura - Mengake or Masked Parade at Goryo Jinja shrine.  At this festival held in September a group of ten people take part in this annual ritual: 8 men and 2 women. Wearing comical or grotesque masks that signify different demons, legends and dieties  leave the shrine and parade through the nearby streets accompanied by portable shrine and festival music.
    mengake-kamakura-06.jpg
  • Drummer at Mengake Kamakura - Mengake or Masked Parade at Goryo Jinja shrine.  At this festival held in September a group of ten people take part in this annual ritual: 8 men and 2 women. Wearing comical or grotesque masks that signify different demons, legends and dieties  leave the shrine and parade through the nearby streets accompanied by portable shrine and festival music.
    mengake-kamakura-05.jpg
  • Shinto Priests at Mengake Procession - Mengake or Masked Parade at Goryo Jinja shrine.  At this festival held in September a group of ten people take part in this annual ritual: 8 men and 2 women. Wearing comical or grotesque masks that signify different demons, legends and dieties  leave the shrine and parade through the nearby streets accompanied by portable shrine and festival music.
    mengake-kamakura-04.jpg
  • Mengake Procession - Mengake or Masked Parade at Goryo Jinja shrine.  At this festival held in September a group of ten people take part in this annual ritual: 8 men and 2 women. Wearing comical or grotesque masks that signify different demons, legends and dieties  leave the shrine and parade through the nearby streets accompanied by portable shrine and festival music.
    mengake-kamakura-01.jpg
  • 52.6 Okunoin 奥の院 is the place where Kobo Daishi - the founder of Shingon Buddhism and one of the most revered persons in the history of Japan, rests in eternal meditation.  Okunoin is considered one of the most sacred places in Japan and is surrounded by Japan's largest graveyard. People from all over Japan lie buried here, including former feudal lords, politicians and other prominent personalities.
    52.6.KII-KOYASAN-09.jpg
  • Glico Man - Dotombori is a district of Osaka famous for its neon and mechanized signs, most famously for the sign of the candy manufacturer Glico.  The Glico Man sign shows a giant electronic display of a runner crossing a finish line.  Along the streets, to advertise their products and menus visitors are amazed at the moving giant crabs, puffed out blowfish, smoking dragons and other dramatic kitsch.  Dotombori is a district has always been known for its historic theaters, night life, shops and restaurants and in modern times its many neon and mechanized signs,
    dotombori-signs-30.jpg
  • Dotombori Signs - Dotombori is a district of Osaka famous for its neon and mechanized signs, most famously for the sign of the candy manufacturer Glico.  The Glico Man sign shows a giant electronic display of a runner crossing a finish line.  Along the streets, to advertise their products and menus visitors are amazed at the moving giant crabs, puffed out blowfish, smoking dragons and other dramatic kitsch.  Dotombori is a district has always been known for its historic theaters, night life, shops and restaurants and in modern times its many neon and mechanized signs,
    dotombori-signs-21.jpg
  • Dotombori Dragon - Dotombori is a district of Osaka famous for its neon and mechanized signs, most famously for the sign of the candy manufacturer Glico.  The Glico Man sign shows a giant electronic display of a runner crossing a finish line.  Along the streets, to advertise their products and menus visitors are amazed at the moving giant crabs, puffed out blowfish, smoking dragons and other dramatic kitsch.  Dotombori is a district has always been known for its historic theaters, night life, shops and restaurants and in modern times its many neon and mechanized signs,
    dotombori-signs-16.jpg
  • Dotombori Dragon - Dotombori is a district of Osaka famous for its neon and mechanized signs, most famously for the sign of the candy manufacturer Glico.  The Glico Man sign shows a giant electronic display of a runner crossing a finish line.  Along the streets, to advertise their products and menus visitors are amazed at the moving giant crabs, puffed out blowfish, smoking dragons and other dramatic kitsch.  Dotombori is a district has always been known for its historic theaters, night life, shops and restaurants and in modern times its many neon and mechanized signs,
    dotombori-signs-18.jpg
  • Dotombori Signs - Dotombori is a district of Osaka famous for its neon and mechanized signs, most famously for the sign of the candy manufacturer Glico.  The Glico Man sign shows a giant electronic display of a runner crossing a finish line.  Along the streets, to advertise their products and menus visitors are amazed at the moving giant crabs, puffed out blowfish, smoking dragons and other dramatic kitsch.  Dotombori is a district has always been known for its historic theaters, night life, shops and restaurants and in modern times its many neon and mechanized signs,
    dotombori-signs-13.jpg
  • Dotombori Squid Takoyaki Restaurant - Dotombori is a district of Osaka famous for its neon and mechanized signs, most famously for the sign of the candy manufacturer Glico.  The Glico Man sign shows a giant electronic display of a runner crossing a finish line.  Along the streets, to advertise their products and menus visitors are amazed at the moving giant crabs, puffed out blowfish, smoking dragons and other dramatic kitsch.  Dotombori is a district has always been known for its historic theaters, night life, shops and restaurants and in modern times its many neon and mechanized signs,
    dotombori-signs-8.jpg
  • Don Quijote Dotombori Branch - Dotombori is a district of Osaka famous for its neon and mechanized signs, most famously for the sign of the candy manufacturer Glico.  The Glico Man sign shows a giant electronic display of a runner crossing a finish line.  Along the streets, to advertise their products and menus visitors are amazed at the moving giant crabs, puffed out blowfish, smoking dragons and other dramatic kitsch.  Dotombori is a district has always been known for its historic theaters, night life, shops and restaurants and in modern times its many neon and mechanized signs,
    dotombori-signs-2.jpg
  • Anime Sign in Dotombori is a district of Osaka famous for its neon and mechanized signs, most famously for the sign of the candy manufacturer Glico.  The Glico Man sign shows a giant electronic display of a runner crossing a finish line.  Along the streets, to advertise their products and menus visitors are amazed at the moving giant crabs, puffed out blowfish, smoking dragons and other dramatic kitsch.  Dotombori is a district has always been known for its historic theaters, night life, shops and restaurants and in modern times its many neon and mechanized signs,
    dotombori-signs-1.jpg
  • Faces at Dotonbori Hotel -The Dotonbori Hotel in Osaka welcomes guests with an amazing entrance featuring four huge columns with faces depicting the special qualities in human beings. The face columns act as a landmark and define the hotel's unique architecture.
    dotombori-hotel-6.jpg
  • Faces at Dotonbori Hotel -The Dotonbori Hotel in Osaka welcomes guests with an amazing entrance featuring four huge columns with faces depicting the special qualities in human beings. The face columns act as a landmark and define the hotel's unique architecture.
    dotombori-hotel-3.jpg
  • Faces at Dotonbori Hotel -The Dotonbori Hotel in Osaka welcomes guests with an amazing entrance featuring four huge columns with faces depicting the special qualities in human beings. The face columns act as a landmark and define the hotel's unique architecture.
    dotombori-hotel-2.jpg
  • Faces at Dotonbori Hotel -The Dotonbori Hotel in Osaka welcomes guests with an amazing entrance featuring four huge columns with faces depicting the special qualities in human beings. The face columns act as a landmark and define the hotel's unique architecture.
    dotombori-hotel-1.jpg
  • Takeshima Fantasy Museum displays a magical world created from over 50,000 shells from 110 different countries. Admire the creations of coral reefs, mermaids, tunnels, shipwrecks, puffing dragons, and even the story of Urashima Taro. Each sculpture is made completely out of shells.
    Takeshima-Fantasy-Museum-18.jpg
  • Takeshima Fantasy Museum displays a magical world created from over 50,000 shells from 110 different countries. Admire the creations of coral reefs, mermaids, tunnels, shipwrecks, puffing dragons, and even the story of Urashima Taro. Each sculpture is made completely out of shells.
    Takeshima-Fantasy-Museum-17.jpg
  • Takeshima Fantasy Museum displays a magical world created from over 50,000 shells from 110 different countries. Admire the creations of coral reefs, mermaids, tunnels, shipwrecks, puffing dragons, and even the story of Urashima Taro. Urashima Taro is a Japanese legend about a young fisherman who rescues a turtle and is rewarded with a visit to the palace of Ryujin the Dragon God under the sea. He stays there for a few days and on his return finds that he has aged 300 years. Each sculpture is made completely out of shells.
    Takeshima-Fantasy-Museum-15.jpg
  • Takeshima Fantasy Museum displays a magical world created from over 50,000 shells from 110 different countries. Admire the creations of coral reefs, mermaids, tunnels, shipwrecks, puffing dragons, and even the story of Urashima Taro. Each sculpture is made completely out of shells.
    Takeshima-Fantasy-Museum-12.jpg
  • Takeshima Fantasy Museum displays a magical world created from over 50,000 shells from 110 different countries. Admire the creations of coral reefs, mermaids, tunnels, shipwrecks, puffing dragons, and even the story of Urashima Taro. Each sculpture is made completely out of shells.
    Takeshima-Fantasy-Museum-10.jpg
  • Takeshima Fantasy Museum displays a magical world created from over 50,000 shells from 110 different countries. Admire the creations of coral reefs, mermaids, tunnels, shipwrecks, puffing dragons, and even the story of Urashima Taro. Each sculpture is made completely out of shells.
    Takeshima-Fantasy-Museum-8.jpg
  • Takeshima Fantasy Museum displays a magical world created from over 50,000 shells from 110 different countries. Admire the creations of coral reefs, mermaids, tunnels, shipwrecks, puffing dragons, and even the story of Urashima Taro. Each sculpture is made completely out of shells.
    Takeshima-Fantasy-Museum-6.jpg
  • Takeshima Fantasy Museum displays a magical world created from over 50,000 shells from 110 different countries. Admire the creations of coral reefs, mermaids, tunnels, shipwrecks, puffing dragons, and even the story of Urashima Taro. Each sculpture is made completely out of shells.
    Takeshima-Fantasy-Museum-7.jpg
  • Takeshima Fantasy Museum displays a magical world created from over 50,000 shells from 110 different countries. Admire the creations of coral reefs, mermaids, tunnels, shipwrecks, puffing dragons, and even the story of Urashima Taro. Each sculpture is made completely out of shells.
    Takeshima-Fantasy-Museum-3.jpg
  • Takeshima Fantasy Museum displays a magical world created from over 50,000 shells from 110 different countries. Admire the creations of coral reefs, mermaids, tunnels, shipwrecks, puffing dragons, and even the story of Urashima Taro. Urashima Taro is a Japanese legend about a young fisherman who rescues a turtle and is rewarded with a visit to the palace of Ryujin the Dragon God under the sea. He stays there for a few days and on his return finds that he has aged 300 years. Each sculpture is made completely out of shells.
    Takeshima-Fantasy-Museum-2.jpg
  • Reversible Destiny at Yoro Park is an “experiential” place where you are supposed to encounter the unexpected. The park’s creation was a collaboration of two artists: Madeline Gins and Shusaku Arakawa.  Everything feels a bit off at Reversible Destiny because of all the angles so as to adjust your senses if not your destiny. The park is a combination of domes, steep hills, trails and holes with trees in them. Critical Resemblance House is part maze, part house - the roof is in the shape of a map of Gifu Prefecture.  Inside are desks, ovens, refrigerators, toilets, beds sticking out of walls and the ceiling.   Insect Mountain Range is a group of rocks - meaning humans don’t have to be confined to the natural world and can choose alternatives.  Exactitude Ridge is a bridge sticking out of the ground that stops and goes nowhere.
    reversible-destiny-17.jpg
  • Reversible Destiny at Yoro Park is an “experiential” place where you are supposed to encounter the unexpected. The park’s creation was a collaboration of two artists: Madeline Gins and Shusaku Arakawa.  Everything feels a bit off at Reversible Destiny because of all the angles so as to adjust your senses if not your destiny. The park is a combination of domes, steep hills, trails and holes with trees in them. Critical Resemblance House is part maze, part house - the roof is in the shape of a map of Gifu Prefecture.  Inside are desks, ovens, refrigerators, toilets, beds sticking out of walls and the ceiling.   Insect Mountain Range is a group of rocks - meaning humans don’t have to be confined to the natural world and can choose alternatives.  Exactitude Ridge is a bridge sticking out of the ground that stops and goes nowhere.
    reversible-destiny-16.jpg
  • Reversible Destiny at Yoro Park is an “experiential” place where you are supposed to encounter the unexpected. The park’s creation was a collaboration of two artists: Madeline Gins and Shusaku Arakawa.  Everything feels a bit off at Reversible Destiny because of all the angles so as to adjust your senses if not your destiny. The park is a combination of domes, steep hills, trails and holes with trees in them. Critical Resemblance House is part maze, part house - the roof is in the shape of a map of Gifu Prefecture.  Inside are desks, ovens, refrigerators, toilets, beds sticking out of walls and the ceiling.   Insect Mountain Range is a group of rocks - meaning humans don’t have to be confined to the natural world and can choose alternatives.  Exactitude Ridge is a bridge sticking out of the ground that stops and goes nowhere.
    reversible-destiny-13.jpg
  • Reversible Destiny at Yoro Park is an “experiential” place where you are supposed to encounter the unexpected. The park’s creation was a collaboration of two artists: Madeline Gins and Shusaku Arakawa.  Everything feels a bit off at Reversible Destiny because of all the angles so as to adjust your senses if not your destiny. The park is a combination of domes, steep hills, trails and holes with trees in them. Critical Resemblance House is part maze, part house - the roof is in the shape of a map of Gifu Prefecture.  Inside are desks, ovens, refrigerators, toilets, beds sticking out of walls and the ceiling.   Insect Mountain Range is a group of rocks - meaning humans don’t have to be confined to the natural world and can choose alternatives.  Exactitude Ridge is a bridge sticking out of the ground that stops and goes nowhere.
    reversible-destiny-8.jpg
  • Reversible Destiny at Yoro Park is an “experiential” place where you are supposed to encounter the unexpected. The park’s creation was a collaboration of two artists: Madeline Gins and Shusaku Arakawa.  Everything feels a bit off at Reversible Destiny because of all the angles so as to adjust your senses if not your destiny. The park is a combination of domes, steep hills, trails and holes with trees in them. Critical Resemblance House is part maze, part house - the roof is in the shape of a map of Gifu Prefecture.  Inside are desks, ovens, refrigerators, toilets, beds sticking out of walls and the ceiling.   Insect Mountain Range is a group of rocks - meaning humans don’t have to be confined to the natural world and can choose alternatives.  Exactitude Ridge is a bridge sticking out of the ground that stops and goes nowhere.
    reversible-destiny-6.jpg
Next