Ian's photos 6

I really liked this gate with tree. I will probably use it for a picture when I have time.
The road up to the gate was also interesting. Japanese gardeners do some very strange things to trees but the overall effect is quite nice.
This temple had some very picturesque locales. I wanted to spend more time there and take a lot of pictures but as usual we could not.
This is a wider view of the same pond and buildings. Another thing that I wish I had been able to do was enter the building and do a couple of hours of meditation.
I think that this is the entrance into the ground floor of a pagoda, but I am not sure. Sometimes Ian and I wandered off in different directions, so that we saw different things.

Ian's photos 5

This picture, which continues from the last post, was taken just a few meters beyond the place where the previous picture was shot. It shows the temple buildings. As I said, we approached from the back of the temple, so the path runs along what is the left wall when viewed from the main gate.
This is me standing at the actual entrance to the temple grounds. I think that I was probably taking a picture when Ian took this one.
Both Ian and I found the wall just below the roof of this building to be extremely intriguing. None of our photos show it very well but you can see some of the detail work - both horizontal and vertical boards and some other details right under the end of the ridge pole.
This is the bell tower in against the brighter sky. The weather was not very good but also it was not raining.
A hexagonal mediation building. This sort of building is very common in Japanese temples. There are both hexagonal and octagonal buildings and I am sure that there is meant to be some reference to a specific Buddhist teaching, but I do not know what.

Ian's photos 4

Again, I do not remember these specific locations and it would take a lot more work than I have time for to figure out where they are. I believe that this is somewhere one the first day which means that it was probably one of the first seven temples we visited.
I remember walking up to the next main gate, because it was so bright and garish, but again I do not recall the number of the temple. I am pretty sure that it was one we went to on the first day.
We did not see many animals during the pilgrimage. We saw cats a couple of time and this very relaxed dog. When we were in the woods we saw and heard lots of birds, but I am sure that we saw more people than any other kind of animal. Notice the giant straw sandal on the left side of the gate. They will probably have to replace it in a few more years.
This is the entrance to Temple #11. We arrived here in the late afternoon and then immediately left and went back the way we came. We stayed in a hotel for two days while we waited for a room to be free in Temple #12, which is on the top of a 740 foot mountain. The temple lodging is the only place to stay.
This was a few days later. We came over a hill and the temple is below us on the left. We actually first arrived at the back of the temple and had to walk around the outside of the grounds to reach the gate. The flowers on the trees are plum blossoms.

Ian's photos 3

This is on the grounds of Temple #1. We did not look around very much because we had to find the store to buy the rest of our outfit and then find the place where we could get our book stamped.
This was very interesting, but as usual we did not have time to track down answers to our questions. This was on the path between the temple store and the grounds of the temple. However it is shaped like the torii that you find at the entrance to a Shinto shrine. The characters at the top read hasshin, which is Buddhist term meaning 'religious awakening' or a non-religious term meaning 'new intention'. I think that both are meant to apply. In this picture I finally have my entire outfit and will official begin the pilgrimage when I walk through this gate, at least according to a nearby sign.
This is the priest putting the first calligraphy in my book.
This statue was on the grounds of Temple #1 and represents a musician but I do not know the significance. Also, notice that someone has placed a bib around his neck.
To be completely honest, I do not remember this pagoda. It was probably on the grounds of Temple #1 but I am not sure.