As I mentioned in my last post, I wanted to visit the shrine, Yamamkami Jinja, that was shown on my map but I could not find it. I wander around for a long time and finally decided to give up. But as I started up a road that would take me toward home, I found a sign.

 This sign was on the side of a fence and referred to the shrine. However, the fence paralleled what appeared to be a driveway. At the end was a flight of stairs. When I climbed the stairs I found a locked gate, but over the top I could see the shrine in the distance. It was obvious that the gate led to private property because there was another gateless fence in front of the shrine.

Finally, I realized that it was possible to go around the left side of that private property on a very narrow and overgrown path. This is a picture looking back down the path toward the road.

 I finally reached the torii and could see the small shrine building just behind it.

 On the right side there was a small model shrine that appeared to be very old. Inside the door was a small statue of a god, who probably has something to do with mountains since the name of the shrine, Yamakami, means mountain god.

Looking closer at the god inside the shrine, it appeared to be a fox, which is a common representation of a god at Japanese shrines.

 I next looked inside the main building. The building enshrined a large stone. I wished that there was someone around who could tell me the story of this rock, but there was no one there and there was no place for a priest to live.

 On the left side it was possible to see some gravestones and part of the graveyard at the temple, Zen'oji. Even further to the left there was a small stone stele.

After a very long walk, getting lost, and searching for the shrine, I was very tired so I decided that it was time to head for home. Since I now knew where I was, I looked at my map to determine the best route. I decided that I would head northwest and go to a subway station and ride part way home. However, the best laid plans of mice and men ...........