Day 3 - at Temple #13

This is the main hall at Temple #13. The grounds were about average in size, about three or four times what you can see in this picture. There may have also been some space for the priests to live behind the buildings but I could not be sure.
On the grounds there were some interesting sculptures. This dragon was very nice and the praying hands behind it contained a surprise that you can see in the next picture.
This is apparently Amida, but it may be a different Buddha. In any case it was the only thing like this that we saw on the Pilgrimage. After looking around the grounds, we called a taxi to take us to the nearest railroad station from where we planned to catch a train back to our hotel. The taxi company said that it would take a while. Temple #13 is not in a particularly built up area. So we went out to the front gate and waited. While standing there, we realized that there was a Shinto shrine across the narrow street.
I took this from the steps leading to the gate of Temple #13. The shrine is suprisingly large and contains a number of buildings. If we had not already called a cab, we would have gone over and explored it.
Inside the shrine there were a pair of statues of horses. They were quite well done but I have no idea what they symbolize. Obviously the shrine was well supported and has a good source of income.

Eventually the taxi came and we told the driver that we wanted to go to the nearest train station. It is really interesting how preconceived ideas can cause confusion. The taxi drive insisted on telling us about temples #14 to #17. It did not matter how many times we told him. He just could not process the fact that we were going backwards. It was a bit frustrating but in the end a very funny conversation and a good memory.

When we reached the station, there was a train at the platform - going in the direction we wanted to go. Ian and I were resigned to missing it and having to wait about 45 minutes for the next one. However, the driver would have none of it. He jumped out of the cab and ran into the station, through the wickets and out onto the platform where he grabbed the conductor and told (not asked) him to hold the train for us. He then returned to the cab and casually took the fare from us and then escorted us to the ticket machines, made sure we bought the correct tickets, and then escorted us onto the train, which the conductor was still holding for us. As the train pulled out the driver stood on the platform (without a ticket) waving good bye to us. Ian and I appologized to the conductor and the other passengers around us. The amazing thing was that not a soul looked upset about it. I told Ian (British) that in the US someone would have gotten really angry and we would have risked being beaten or shot.

When we got back to our hotel we rested a bit and then went out to eat. The only thing we could find was a 'family restaurant'. It was not very good but it was filling. On the way back we stopped at a bread shop and bought a couple of cakes each, which we ate with the free coffee in the hotel.