Hachiman Jingu

 Here is another view of the decorations up under the roof where the rafters come out.

 Here is the golden decorations at the front under the ridgepole. The birds seem to be cranes.

 This is a covered walk way with shoe boxes at the entrance to a hall of some kind.

 This is called a mikoshi and the long handles sticking out the front are used during matsuri, festivals, to carry the mikoshi around the neighborhood. This one is probably carried by eight to twelve men. The frequent pattern is to carry the mikoshi for a short ways and then stop and drink sake or beer and the go another short ways and then drink some more. This pattern is continued throughout the whole trip. The first time I carried a mikoshi during a festival, I got terribly drunk. All over the neighborhood at about 50 meter intervals, people had tables set up with food and drink. At each one some one would give me a tea cup full of sake and push me to drink it.

 This little structure set up around a tree carries people's wishes for the gods.

The light colored one in front is a which from someone to win a badminton tournament.