Photos

Always look for the red umbrella. Red umbrellas are used to cover the abbot as he (or in some cases, she) comes and goes to the temple. This picture was taken at Naritasan Shinshoji (Narita Temple) in Narita, Japan. A monk was exiting to lead the procession of the abbot and monks at the end of morning prayer. The abbot was just behind him.

One of the really nice things about Narita City and the temple is that it is located very close to Narita Airport. It is the first stop on the train as you head in to Tokyo. If you have a long layover at the airport, it is fairly simple to go through immigration, spend the day in Narita, and be back in plenty of time for your flight. For more informaiton on how to do that, take a look at the site that Mike Newman, a friend of mine in Saipan, put up. Narita Layover Page

This picture was taken handheld and has no adjustments other than a minor tweek with the levels control in Photoshop.