Gift

A friend and I visited a castle recently, and the nice people manning the entrance gave us each these cute origami ornaments! How cool is that?

Tateyama Castle

Old castles are as plentiful as shrines and temples. They are beautiful and very old. This one sat at the top of a big hill and they had turned the whole hill into a park. There are walking trails, cherry blossom orchards, flowers everywhere, a playground for kids, and a large enclosure with monkeys, peacocks, and cockatoos. There is a small shrine at the top by the castle. The view from the top floor was outstanding!

Cool Shrine

Found a really cool shrine the other day. This is the first one I've seen that had a fertility shrine inside of it! It was super neat. My favorite feature was the komainu. They had a really old pair that has eroded so badly you could barely tell what they originally were. They had a much newer pair beside them.

Very old Komainu (Lion-dog)

New Komainu

Crossings

I've mentioned before that Japan has interesting animal crossing signs because, well, they have different wildlife than little ol' Kentucky! I try to get pics of them, but it's pretty hard from a car. Here are a couple!

Tanuki Crossing

Snow Monkey Crossing

Beaches

Checked out some beaches on a neighboring peninsula and a neat light house. Light houses are so common here. It makes sense since Japan is just islands, but they are so plentiful sometimes I feel like I'm in Maine! Fuji always likes to peak out when she wants to, and she showed her silhouette as the sun went down.

Fresh Milk

Sometimes Japan makes me think of America in the '50s. Charming, and such a much better way to get milk!

Corn Soup

The vending machines here also have food in with the drinks. They serve stews and soups in cans and they come out piping hot. I'd always eyeballed the corn soup, and I finally gave it a go. It is really good! All it is is hot creamed corn in a can! It hits the spot on a cold day!

Veggie Stand

I saw this veggie stand while I was out walking around. There wasn't anyone around, and they had a place where you could drop your money. Pretty decorative!

Exploring!

A friend and I were on our way to a Buddhism class the other day, and we got lost. By the time we found the place, the class was half over, so we didn't bother. However, that did not ruin our day! We trekked all over the surrounding hills and found some cool shrines and a cemetery.

More Flowers

One amazing thing about Japan is that flowers bloom all year around. The winters (at least in our area) are short and mild, so something is always blooming.