The traditional thatched “praying hands”-style roofs of Shirakawa-go in Gifu Prefecture

A bit of respite from Tokyo’s concrete jungle: Shinjuku-Gyoen National Garden.

The enchanting terraced tea fields of Wazuka, top producer of green tea and matcha.

More Wazuka tea fields

Sunset at Nigatsu-do Temple, overlooking Nara Park.

Deer butts in Nara

Posing with my model

She’s checking my work!

Lanterns of Kasuga Taisha, Nara

The astounding 17 meter/55 foot snow tunnel of the Kurobe Alpine Route

The breathtaking Japan Alps as seen from Toyama

View of Okinawa’s Kabira Bay

Adorable mangrove in Iriomote, Okinawa

Osaka Castle with plum blossoms

Adorable plum bonsai at a shrine in Osaka

Lake Biwa’s Ukimido Pavillion, Shiga Prefecture

Lake Biwa’s Ukimido Pavillion, Shiga Prefecture