Weekend in Japan - Part 1

This past weekend, Johnnie had to work (boo!) so I decided to take a short trip to Japan by myself.  It was a quick flight, just over 2 hours, and relatively inexpensive.  I flew on Japan Airlines into the Narita International Airport near Tokyo and stayed in the small town of Narita for two nights.  Johnnie and I are planning to do a longer trip to Japan later this year and see much more of the country.

The town of Narita a relaxing, easy-paced place to spend some time.  My favorite part was strolling down Omotesando Street.  This street is "the main pathway" to the Naritasan Shinshoji Temple.  The street starts in front of the JR and Keisei stations and is a 1/2 mile walk to the temple.  There is a walking/biking path on both sides of the one-way street that is lined with shops, restaurants, and inns.

The Daihonzan Naritasan Shinshoji Temple was a large area made up of many temple buildings, statues, fountains, and gardens.  The temple was founded in 940 AD and attracts about 10 million visitors a year!

  

This dragon fountain was outside of the entrance to the temple area. People were using the water from the fountain mainly to cleanse their hands but some were drinking it as well.

A turtle-shaped rock covered with turtles :)

Before going up to the temple, people stopped at this giant incense burner.  They put a few sticks of incense onto the burning pile and then wafted the smoke toward themselves with their hands.

This temple was rather plain (compared to the Korean temples I've visited) but it was HUGE!

There is one highly decorated pagoda in the temple area - more pictures of that tomorrow :)

I assume that this is a memorial wall.  I loved the flower engravings.

There was a section of smaller and much older-looking wooden temples.  The wood carvings were amazingly detailed.

Related Posts:
Weekend in Japan - Part 2
Treats from Japan

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"The world is a book, and those who 

do not travel read only a page."

~St. Augustine