Close up on Shimogamo Shrine, Kyoto

An early morning visit in late December to one of Japan's oldest shrines, Shimogamo Jinja, was cold and beautiful. The sun had not yet shown its face, and so the sky was still black, and the shrine grounds were virtually empty. We stayed for an hour or so, enjoying seeing how different everything looked once the sun rose up over the horizon. The early morning light was warm and penetrating, creating fog, and melting the frost that had formed at night.