Beautiful year-round, Iwakuni is particularly attractive during the cherry blossom season. This post presents a selection of 10 photos that I took there during that very time of the year.

(1) Bucharest

I was lucky to be shown around the center of Bucharest, Romania’s capital, by some photographer friends. The captions below the photos indicate the respective location/site names.

Inside the Biserica Sfantul Anton, built 1545-1554, considered Bucharest's oldest building

Fountain at Piața Unirii, one of the largest squares in central Bucharest

The Romanian Athenaeum (Ateneul Român), an ornate Concert Hall opened in 1888

Business at an Antique Shop in the Old Town

(2) Horezu Monastery

Horezu Monastery is located in the town of Horezu, Wallachia. Founded in 1690, it is famous for its architectural purity and balance, the richness of its sculptural detail, the treatment of its religious compositions, its votive portraits and its painted decorative works. The school of mural and icon painting established at the monastery in the 18th century was famous throughout the Balkan region. The monastery has been inscribed by UNESCO on its list of World Heritage Sites.

(3) Berca Mud Volcanoes

The third very interesting place that I was able to see during my Romania visit was the Berca Mud Volcanoes, located in Buzău County, close to the Carpathian Mountains. Mud volcanoes are small volcano-shaped structures caused by the eruption of mud and natural gases, and are a few meters in height. Due to the salty environment, vegetation is scarce, resulting in the impression of a “lunar landscape”.

The park is especially popular with visitors during the autumn season, when leaves are changing color.

At a height of 110 meters and a width of 20 meters, Kamba Falls is the largest waterfall in Western Japan, and is designated as one of Japan’s “top 100 waterfalls”.

The falls are reached on an easy and scenic 15-minute walk, and delight visitors of all ages.

The park is also the habitat of some 200 wild monkeys, creating a lively diversion in the majestic natural setting.

The monkeys go about a variety of pastimes, such as contemplating in the creek, …

… or delivering impromptu speeches.

The monkeys are quite used to the presence of humans, and roam about without reservations.

More than 100,000 people visit the park every year. It is open year-round, except on New Year’s Day.

Bizen-yaki (備前焼) is a type of Japanese pottery most identifiable by its ironlike hardness, reddish brown color, absence of glaze, and markings resulting from wood-burning kiln firing. It is Japan’s oldest pottery making technique, introduced in the Heian period (794-1185). Because of the clay composition, Bizen wares are fired slowly over a long period of time. Firings take place only once or twice a year, requiring the wood fire to be kept burning for 10-14 days at a temperature of about 1,300°C.

Emerging from JR Imbe Station, dancers were just getting ready for their act.

An engaging group consisting of very young performers …

… and still-young performers  -

dressed in colorful costumes, and …

… showing a rather elaborate sequence of dance moves.

After that, it was time to look around the tents and stands, where local potters presented their works of Bizen pottery. A myriad of beautifully shaped and colored tea cups, sake bottles, beer mugs, dishes, vases and decorative items.

The level of interest in those pottery items appeared to be proportional to the visitors’ age,

but many a bargain was to be found upon a closer look.

Imbe is also home to a lovely small shrine, Amatsu Jinja (天津神社).

As one would expect at this location, the shrine features a unique set of decorative elements and ornate details made from Bizen-yaki.

On my way to the Piazza del Duomo in the city center, I passed through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, a beautiful mid-19th century double arcade that is home to elegant shops, galleries and restaurants, as well as some genuinely interesting characters.

Emerging from the Galleria, I saw the Duomo di Milano, the city’s Gothic cathedral, rise in front of me. It is the fourth-largest cathedral in the world, and the largest on Italian territory. First, I took a look inside the nave, which is a dazzling 45 meters high. Everything looked neat and polished, and it didn’t take long before I spotted one of the reasons for this.

The truly impressive part of the visit was to go up to the Duomo’s roof though. After waiting in line with other visitors,

I emerged amidst the famous “forest” of openwork pinnacles and spires, set upon delicate flying buttresses. It is a stunning and quite unique sight.

Elaborate detail is to be found in the figures and structures on the rooftop,

as well as some interesting reflections from the gently bending stained-glass windows.

Soon afterwards, I had to return to the business meeting. On the bright side though, there was an ongoing supply of sweets available in the meeting room

This post shows some photos taken during such a “Light-Up” at the gardens of Tenju-an (天授庵), a sub-temple of Nanzen-ji in eastern Kyoto.

Please also visit my full gallery of 50 Kyoto photos.