Almost home

 This is the back side of the museum. It is a very strange looking building.

I had been walking in the next town, Kasuga, but was now almost home. My town, Nakagawa, is at the end of this tunnel under the shinkansen tracks. Every time I walk through this tunnel, I am reminded of the tunnels we walked through while on the Ohenro Pilgrimage. My apartment is only a few hundred meters from the end of the tunnel.

 

This is at the intersection at the end of the tunnel. Apparently there was a traffic accident in which someone was killed. The flowers and drinks are offerings, probably placed there by family members. I've mentioned it before but I still find it interesting so I will repeat it. When I first came to Japan, drinks that were left as offerings were always left with the caps on. However, as the number of homeless increased and other social changes took place, some people starting taking the unopened drinks and drinking them. The reaction to this was what we now see. The drinks are opened and they are seldom taken now.