Kasuga Shrine

 Kasuga Shrine is very small and it is squeezed in between a parking lot and a home. The only things there are a cherry tree, a torii, and the shrine building.

Kasuga is the name of the next town to the east of here and I believe that at various times in the past the town lines were in different places. Actually I am not sure when Nakagawa came into existence or what it was before it became Nakagawa.

Kasuga is a very common place name throughout Japan. There was a Kasuga nearby when I lived in Sendai at the opposite end of Japan. The kanji, Chinese characters, used for the name mean 'spring' and 'day', but the pronunciation is not the same as it would be if one were talking about "a spring day in May", for example.

Contrasting corners.

 I crossed the river by the bridge at the end of the park. Immediately on the other side of the river is an intersection and on the far left corner is this Shinto stele. Someone has left flowers as an offering.

On the far right corner, however, I found this. The yellow had is what first graders have to wear when going to and from school. So, I assume that this sign is warning drivers that young children may suddenly run out into the street. The raised hand is something that they learn to do in school. They are supposed to raise their hand to make themselves more visible to drivers. I'm not sure it actually does this, but it certainly makes the children more aware of traffic, which is a good thing in itseld.

Along the riverbank

 These trees are all cherry trees. They are extremely beautiful for about a week in the spring, just trees during the summer, and almost nothing now.

They have cut the grass in the riverbed and I was surprised to see these short flights of stairs leading down to the water. There are stairs like this every 50 meters or so for quite a long way. What was surprising about them is that there is no way to get to the other side without wading through the water. In the old days, before the cities put in water systems, people got their water from the rivers and streams. They also washed their clothes and food in the water, so this type of stairway has an old fashion, nostalgic sort of feeling to it. I guess they, along with the old fashion looking stone banking, were put there as part of the decorations in the park.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

Happy New Year