Japan is very popular among tourists because of its wondrous natural beauty. There are hundreds if not thousands of gardens filled with mesmerizing flowers. There's no doubt you'd definitely feel reluctant to leave once you visit this adventurous land.
The people, flowers, and even nature have a unique flavor, and many people who visit this eastern part of Asia fall in love with its beauty at once.
Here, we've got some breathtaking photos of such landscapes, and the specialty of these pics is that they're all adorned by a cute dog.
Japanese photographer Masayo Ishizuki, popularly known as ISSY-RIDER, captures the beauty of Hitachi Seaside Park in Tsukuba, Ibaraki prefecture, through her artistic muse – Hachi, a Shiba dog.
With her lens, she snaps photos of adorable Hachi posing against gorgeous floral backdrops of the millions of flowers that bloom in the park.
Shiba Inu is a symbolic dog breed in Japan. It's the smallest of the six original Japanese dogs (Akita Inu, Shikoku Inu, Kishu Inu, Hokkaido, and Kai Ken) and were all bred before the 19th century.
Masayo revealed in a media interview that she got into pet photography back in 2012 and started posting the shots on Hachi's own Instagram page. She added that she did it because "he looks really sharp in flowers and is ridiculously cute."
And she's not the only one who thinks so. The Shiba Inu has nearly 20,000 followers on social media, and you can see why. He's adorable, and his happy face makes you happy too.
Hachi is a rescue dog, and since Masayo got him from a shelter, she has been teaching him to interact with other dogs.
It was scary for him at first because he was quite skittish. However, things have improved, and he's a lot happier now. Masayo said:
"He was very scared of dogs, but now he is very friendly with everyone."
Shiba Inus are so ingrained in Japanese culture that they've three different words to describe their "essence."
The first is kan-i, which means bravery and alertness. The second is ryosei, meaning loyalty, kindness, and obedience, while the third is soboku, meaning their natural good looks and cuteness.
According to the American Kennel Club, this Shiba Inus' personalities make them the number one companion dogs in Japan.
Photoshoots with Hachi are set at Hitachi Seaside Park, which is home to a wide variety of colorful flowers and grasses that blossom throughout the seasons.
The park houses an estimate of 4.5 million nemophila plants, which (when in season) make the fields look as blue as the sky above them.
Other flower varieties that can be found here include are tulips, sunflowers, narcissi, poppies, and Kochia, which turn the fields red in the autumn.
