More interesting things along the way

 This crane looked at me when I stopped to take its picture, but it did not fly away. It must have understood the fence and the three meter drop between the road I was on and the riverbed.

I arrived at one of the main east/west roads and found a man watering the plants along the roadside. Typically in Japan when they build roads they place plants and trees between the sidewalk and the road, but they do not budget any upkeep so they soon die. Here as in many other places, the local people use the little plots of land for flower gardens.