My sister Megi planned to visit with as many relatives as possible, so that Chad and I could meet them during our visit. We went a lot of places, saw a lot of things, and did tons and tons of walking, all good for our trip. The only one we didn’t get the opportunity to see was our cousin Naoki, and I’m hoping we will be able to connect again some day. Anyway, the last day we were in Tsu, in the Mie Prefecture visiting our aunt and uncle, we got to spend the day with our cousin, Tomoki and his lovely wife. We went into Kyoto, and visited 3 different temples and shrines. It was fun.
In case you missed my first four, here are the links:
The above picture depicts 2 guardians. The one on the right is Aah, like the 1st “letter” of the hiragana alphabet. The one on the right is Nn, the last “letter” of the hiragana alphabet. Both are stating their letter as Aah!!! and nnn!!! And here we are, from left to right, yours truly, my cousin’s wife Tomono, my cousin Tomoki, and my son, Chad. At that moment, we were perfectly protected, right? Well. Obviously, we made it back.
Here are some of the things we got to see while going through these various parks. Very neat things going on, here.
One of the temple entrances.
Aah, the first guardian.
Nn, the last guardian.
One of the ancient temples. If you look close, the roofing tiles almost resemble dragon scales. Neat, aren't they?
A wooden boat in the mote. You can't tell I like water bodies, do you?
Chad, got to bang a gong. But did not get it on. Just bang a gong.
The grounds are kept pristine, and nature is always appreciated.
There were some of the places where we were not allowed to take pictures, and others where we had to take our shoes off. It was also raining this day, but, even getting drenched (it’s difficult to use umbrellas when I need 2 walking sticks), we had a great day anyway. One of the places was the shrine of 1000 statues, and if you looked close enough to each one, you would be able to find the one that looks like yourself. I guess I wasn’t looking hard enough. I was also surprised to learn that many of the Buddhist deities are carry-overs from Hindu. Actually, that is a slight misrepresentation. There is one “God”, and the different aspects of this deity are individually represented as sub-deities. I guess I thought that Buddhism preceded Hinduism, but, maybe it’s because both religions originated in India, and therefore, some overlap.
Here are some more pictures of where we visited, as well as being able to show how rainy it was the whole day.
Looking up, is a shrine to honor those who are held high in regard.
A replica of buildings and other structures of yore, maybe a part of a bigger complex of a leader.
Someone coming through from the outside of this post to inside the structure, representing a spiritual rebirth.
A walking path on the outer perimeter of one building, with a space and another building which was not open to the public.
Megi, myself, and Chad, Posing in front of a castle.
Another group picture in front of a gate, with the crysanthemum code of armor.
A Buddhist cemetary, where Chad and I are looking for what? A spirit or a sign? Or maybe where did our group go?
The three cousins... My sister is so weird.
So, if you’re remembering our other cousins, we had Izumo, our oldest cousin in Japan, and our cousin Macomo, who is Izumo’s cousin, and Tomoki is their youngest brother. I think he is the only normal one of this group pictured... But, oh. Sorry. Anyway, after walking through 3 places, we went to lunch at his favorite ramen noodle shop, which gets busy, so obviously, this place is a favorite for many.
The 3 Amigas. We could order what we liked, and get 2 complimentary toppings, which are in the small plates on the table.
Enjoying our food. The hot meal was nice, after staying in the cold rain.
It's a sign! Well, no duh. I forget what this was for.
This one is one that the broth has been thickend with pork bone or something? Interesting, isn't it?
Anyway, this is all the good parts of this blog series, so thank you for obliging again.
But wait. This isn’t the last one. The final wrap up will be the next one, where I will go through all of the miscellaneous items of the whole trip. I almost think a Veggie Tale song can be made for my next blog, but, there will be enough silliness in the blog, so, it won’t be necessary.
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