We heard voices outside and the priest decided that it was time for him to get back to his office. Ian and I struggled back into our shoes and then looked back toward the path on which we had entered the grounds. We saw a group of people beginning to filter in. Another look revealed that they were the people we had passed on the way in.
We decided that it was time for us to go - all the people would spoil the atmosphere. So we went back to the administrative building and, through the window, said goodbye to the priest. I took one last picture of a small building with a strange structure in front of it. In some ways, it looked like a Shinto torii, but it was different: only one crossbar and it was all square timber. We could probably spend 20 years in any one of these temples and still not unravel all of the mysteries.
Since we had come up the 'short' path, we decided to take the long path back. This path, according to the sign we had seen earlier, was the original path up the mountain to the temple. We found that it was paved with round stones that required careful attention, deep awareness of the present, to avoid twisting an ankle. I am sure that it was deliberate.
A little further on, we found a flight a stairs with stone risers and dirt steps. There was also a rope railing in the middle to help those who need a little support. The hill was quite steep but nowhere near the steepest we have encounter on a temple path.
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