Omihachiman
Amanda climbs the bamboo forest-lined stone stairway to
Chomei-ji.
View from Chomei-ji's hillside perch - the temple blends
into the mountain.
Amanda enjoys the view shown above.
Plant pot dolls and flowers at Sasaki Jinja, an
out-of-the-way family shrine that Justin showed us.
Amanda and Justin on the main grounds of Sasaki Jinja.
Justin and his reflection, carp and turtles, with large
gate (home to pigeons) in the background.
They had statues of every Chinese zodiac animal - here are
the boars.
On a plaque below one of the zodiac statues, a little
green frog was hanging around.
Purple flowers and a moss-draped stone at Sasaki Jinja.
View from the castle ruins at Azuchi.
Amanda observes the wonder of a tableside water tap at a conveyor belt
sushi restaurant in Omihachiman (click image to play video).
Justin and Amanda rack up empty plates at the conveyor
belt sushi restaurant.
Justin's friend outfits him for the neighborhood festival.
The neighborhood men, having prepared with hours of
drinking, hoist the enormous ceremonial drum.
Shrine attendants lit huge stacks of dried brush - some
contained lots of firecrackers.
Amanda takes in the lake view from Hachiman mountain.
Cherry blossoms spring out over the canal in Omihachiman.