People visiting the Heian Jingu Shrine in Kyoto City are enjoying Japanese irises in full bloom.
About 2,000 white, blue and purple irises, which are called hana-shobu in Japanese, are blooming in the shrine's garden.
In order to enter the garden, visitors normally have to pay an entrance fee, but the site was open to the public free of charge on Friday.
Visitors walked over a temporary bridge that is usually installed across a pond around this time of year.
A woman from neighboring Hyogo Prefecture said she was visiting the shrine for the first time. She said the flowers were beautiful and soothing.
A man from Tokyo said the reflections of the irises on the water were impressive. He also said that he had never seen such a large number of irises in bloom.
The iris season at the shrine will continue until around June 20.