Some Flora and Fauna Shots In Kyoto Part 2

Continue from my last blog post.

We headed to the eastern part of Kyoto on 19 June and Ginkakuji (銀閣寺) was our first Zen temple we visited. The garden design and the landscape architecture of many temples in Kyoto are very artistic and unique.

After an early lunch we headed south strolling along the Philosopher's Path towards the Nanzen-ji (南禅寺). The 30-minute or more slow walk on the paved path lined with shrubs and flowers on both sides of a canal provided us with some surprises.

Once again I met a rather pristine Small Copper feeding on some wild flowers.

There was another small lycaenid  feeding on the same type of  flowers nearby - is this Maculinea arionides or a Zizeeria species ?

Thanks to KY who spotted this damselfly who rested in a shade.

This bird was rather tame and oblivious to my presence. It allowed to take some shots when approached closer to its perch.

We visited the Kinkaku-ji Temple (金閣寺) and Sanjūsangendō (三十三間堂) on 20 June. There is a beautiful pond at the Kinkaku-ji Temple.

Apart from the attraction of  being one of  the UNESCO world heritage sites in southern Kyoto, the Toji Temple (東寺) is host to a large and popular flea market on the 21st of each month. You can find all sorts of things on sale here.

On 22 June morning, about an hour train ride from Kyoto brought us to Nara - an capital city of ancient Japan. We visited more temples at Nara such as the Toshodaiji (唐招提寺) and Toda-ji (東大寺). At Toda-ji, I saw some attractive pink flowers in the garden.

A lycaenid also loved the flowers but I am not sure if this is the Celastrina argiolus. 

Sika deer were everywhere roaming the ground freely in the temple and the nearby Nara park. Tame and unafraid of our presence, these deer mingled around with tourists and created some excitement for photographs.

On 23 June, we visited the bamboo forests in Arashiyama, at the western outskirt of Kyoto.

We wandered the surrounding area and encountered a brown skipper enjoying itself on the nectar.

Around noon, while we were walking on the main street, KY spotted a Potanthus skipper resting on a leaf outside a shop.

This was another perch.

In my next blog post, I will feature more flora and fauna shots take at the Kyoto Botanical Garden.