Day 14 - Entering Temple #26

As we neared the top of the mountain and the temple, we had to cross the temple parking lot (for people who came up the paved road in cars). On the opposite side there was a railroad car but not tracks. It turned out that this was a coffee shop. Of course, in keeping with our usual practice we immediately entered and settled down to a cup of coffee. We had two cups each and then someone came in and ordered an ice cream cone. It looked so good that Ian and I both had one. I bought a souvenir and, as we left, we stopped to play with the cat which obviously thought that it owned the place.

The cat sleeping on the front steps.
This replica of a Buddhist walking stick was in the middle of the bottom of the stairs up to the temple grounds. It was the only place we saw anything like this. You can see the size by comparing it to Ian's hand.
The main gate was at the top of the flight of stairs, although there were more stairs inside the grounds. The objects inside each space on the sides of the gate are straw sandals that are almost three meters tall. Sandals or warrior gods are quite usual as decorations in the temple gates through out Japan, not just at the Pilgrimage temples.
It is hard to see in the picture, but the tree in the middle had been cut so that one trunk was waist high and the other about head high. It was growing fine and had been carefully trimmed by the gardeners.