Ryuhoji

 We walked into the grounds, passed the pagoda and saw the fountain where you are supposed to purify yourself before going further.

 As usual the water came out of the mouth of a dragon.

 It was a very ferocious looking dragon, so I was sure that the water would be pure.

 After washing our hands, we proceeded deeper into the grounds and found this Buddha, or maybe a Bodhisattva. There was an offering of an orange and some water. Someone had placed a red cloth hat and bib on the statue but it had long since been bleached almost white by the sun.

 This round stone statue was quite impressive. The plaque says "pile of flowers" or something like that. As often happens I have no idea what it refers to.

Just before arriving at what appeared to be the main building there was another group of stonework. I know that the objects that the Buddha/Bodhisattva carries tell us who he is but I do not know much of the symbolism.

Yamadera

 Another narrow place in the path, This one is marked with a stone latern.

 This is an incense burner. Again someone has left slats with names written on them as requests for favors. Although it is not part of the ultimate levels of Buddhism, many lay members make wishes at the altars and other special places.

 Back down the mountain we turned right and walk along a path that we had not been on earlier. There were workmen taking a break in the shade of the gate. You can see them on the left of the pillars. They told us that this work was just normal periodic repairs and had nothing to do with the tremors.

 Inside the gate I found this rather nice statue, probably of a Bodhisattva. By the way a Bodhisattva is someone who has almost reach enlightenment but who stays connected with society in order to assist others toward that goal.

 Passed the statue, we found another temple. This one had a very interesting bell tower(?) outside. It was the smallest temple bell that I have ever seen.

Here is the same entrance from the other side.

Rin'oji

 Still going up the entrance stairs, I found this stone model of a temple, or maybe a shrine, off to the side.

 I also found this much more formal stupa at the side of the stairs.

 The craftsmanship was surprisingly detailed. The little drainage ditch at the side of the stairs was decorated with little round stones stuck into the concrete. Larger stones separated the drainage ditch from the stairs.

 At the top of the stairs, I could see the main building directly in front of me.

 This Bodhisattva was standing among the trees on the left side of the main building. There was also a smaller stele with a figure on it.

I also found this large stele, a bit taller than me. I could not read the inscription, or I should say I did not attempt to read it. Sometimes I can make sense out of them. Most of the time they contain an introduction with some historical information and then a list of people who donated funds to the temple.