Beautiful, Clear Water at Beppu Benten Ike (別府弁天池) in Mine

For my 25th birthday, I went on a trip around Yamaguchi Prefecture. I’m already well into my third year here in Waki, and I still hadn’t gotten around to visiting most of the places Yamaguchi is known for (besides the Kintai Bridge, which is practically next door). My friend Kaoru flew down from Shizuoka, rented a car, and we went on a road trip!

This place was right in the middle of our trip, but I’m going to start here at the Beuppu Benten Ike (pond) because every picture is so good I hardly know which ones to pick :) It’s in Mine, pronounced mee-nay, in western Yamaguchi. There’s very little English information available about this place, although there is this site that just says it’s not famous yet–but all you really need to find it in the end is a map, right?

Red, White, Green, and Blue: Colors of Hiroshima Prefecture

[Pictures taken Nov. 30, 2013 in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.]

Miyajima in the Fall (2013)

Last year when I came to Miyajima on Nov. 26, the leaves had already mostly fallen to the ground, and I wished I could have come earlier. This year, using a momiji-scouting website, I tried to come a bit earlier, and it seems like I was too late for some trees and too early for others >.< Nature is complicated. However, I have work during the day, and the days end earlier here because there’s no daylight savings time, so the only time to go is on weekends. [Pictures taken Nov. 17, 2013]

There it is, the best picture. You can go home now.