Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Nikko

Happy New Year! Well back in October, we went to Nikko with two other couples. It is a scenic town in the mountains a few hours drive from our house. It's known for its cool weather, fall colors, shrines, and temples. These photos from my camera give a nice summary of our trip.

The river right by our bed & breakfast. It had a private sauna with windows overlooking the river.


Several stone lanterns in front of a shrine.


The tallest pagoda in Nikko.


The famous "Here no evil, speak no evil, see no evil" monkeys carved into a shrine.


Mimicry at it's best.


Another shrine (or maybe it's a temple?). You can see the tall cedars as well.


In a Japanese garden. The Japanese maples produce the most unbelievably red leaves.


Orange, green, yellow...


The view from an old emperor's summer home.


An abandoned bus, which is a rare site in Japan as they keep things really clean.


Buddas galore. Looks like they're ready for some ribs with all their bibs.


A waterfall in the mountains. The trees here already lost all their leaves.


A bridge that is a union of two serpents that allowed a priest to cross the river.


The gingko. The best yellow of all the trees.


A Japanese garden. They often have a stone water container for cleansing one's hands. I like the chain link rain gutter.