This is one of the guard houses, or lookouts in the Imperial Gardens in Tokyo.  The accessible areas of the Imperial Gardens aren’t really that spectacular in the winter, but this was one view that seemed to be worthy of a snapshot.

Lighting was a bit tricky on this one, as the sun was just out of frame to the right.  A little localized reduction in exposure and a little post-crop vignetting was done to tame the sun and bright sky.

Tokyo is a very old and historic city. Scenes like this are not uncommon in this city. Here, one of the Imperial Palace’s guard houses sits in contrast with the modern city’s skyscrapers. Traditional rule by the monarchy versus today’s importance of the economy and capitalization.

Due to the Allied bombing in World War II, much of the city has been rebuilt in the last 50-60 years. This makes Tokyo a fantasticly modern city, but at the expense of its historic roots, even despite the preserved temples and gardens that tourists tend to flock to.

Such an ornate structure to hold a bell… The locals sit in the parking lot and sell souvenirs and local produce to the tourists.

One of the major temples in the Gyeongju region is Seokguram where a large statue of Buddha is carved from a single piece of stone. Photography is prohibited inside the temple, but the intricate roof details shown here were quite interesting.  I just love all the colour they put into everything!  The attention to detail is incredible and I can only imagine how much effort they must have put in to construct these temples, and even modern structures.

This ancient Korean observatory is apparently the oldest in Eastern Asia. I’m not entirely sure why they needed to build a massive stone structure to sit approximately ten to fifteen feet off the ground (couldn’t they make a treehouse of sorts and save a lot of effort?) but they did.

An historic graveyard in Boston, MA. A number of the USA’s founding fathers are buried here, including John Hancock and Samuel Adams.

A look up through the stairwell of the Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown, MA.

The old lifesaving station at the tip of Cape Cod, MA.

An apartment building located across the street from El Capitolio, Cuba’s old seat of government. I found it surprising how dilapidated the buidings were across from such a popular tourist attraction.

Valves on an old fire water pump at the distillery district, Toronto.