Meiji Shrine

This was the entrance to the Shrine. There was a place to wash your hands and face to purify yourself before you entered the temple. When we arrived here, we were so happy to realize that there was a spring festival or "matsuri" going on that day at the shrine! There were perfomances including traditional music and dance. I was lucky to catch one of the particapants wearing traditional clothes walking towards the temple. It was rainy that day so everyone was carrying an umbrella. That just added more to the composition of this photo, I think.

Here's the inside plaza area directly past the gate... probably exactly where the guy with the umbrella was standing in the previous picture. There were beautiful flower arrangements on the tables in the back... you can barely see them in this photo.

Here's another performer running towards the other side of the shrine. I barely caught him on camera... he was running pretty fast. I had great luck that day snapping the perfect moment. I'm glad he didn't look straight at the camera either. I don't think he even saw me saw me. I love getting those candid shots.

This is a photo of a dance performance. He was doing a traditional Japanese dance with two fans. It was really cool to watch and there were also musicians playing on the floor next to him... though I didn't catch them in this frame. I love how there's another guy in the background too. This photo almost seems like it came straight out of a movie... so dramatic! Like the movie "Hero". Let me know what you guys think?