Stone Lantern With Snow On Top
I call this a "Chicken Cordon Bleu" shot - take something cool and put in in the foreground (but not in the center) and then add something else cool and use it to fill the background. If you don't like the chicken, maybe you will like the ham.
Knitted Hat On Jizo
The saturation on this hat was so extreme I had to under expose by three stops to not loose the detail. Matrix metering doesn't solve every scene.
Gate Breaking Down
Torri rarely fall to this level of disrepair. I really like the moss growing on top of the posts. The stones on top of the cross bar is a common theme in Japan - often you get a reward (luck, a child etc) if you can throw a rock and have it land on the cross bar. Often there are additional requirements - off hand, stand behind the line, etc.