Travel Photography, Togakushi shrine, Nagano, Japan.

Whilst on holiday in Hakuba we took a drive through the mountains to Togakushi Shrine. We did a walk through through the area and as always I took a few photos along the way. It’s a beautiful Forested area in the mountains with a series of Shinto shrines. dotted throughout the area. The area was originally Buddhist temples but the government made it Shinto in 1868 in what was called a Buddhist/Shinto separation initiative. Some people believe that the upper shrine was first constructed in 210 BC.
It is truly beautiful forest and setting for the temples and I can see why Buddhist monks would have gone there on pilgrimage.
I wasn’t there at the best time to photograph the areas but I hope to return some day at sunrise when I can capture a beautiful mist in the forest. Also I think wintertime when snow is covering the trees and forest floor will be a beautiful time to photograph the temples as well.