I’m pretty certain my English is getting worse from disuse here in Japan, as well as from having to speak in slow one-syllable words. So, I’m going to try to not type much today.

Instead, a photo journey of the shrine/temple-viewing walk I did on a chilly, foggy, atmospheric day in Koyasan in the mountains outside of Osaka (and where I partied for the Super Bowl).

Most temples I’ve seen are right in the dense part of the city. The cities generally grew up around them, but they always isolated them in their own park, etc. Not tiny Koyasan – the temples are right there, and you can drive right up, park, and worship!

Side note: I’m telling you, smokers follow the rules no matter what

The reward for going in close:

Why did I take this pic? I think it’s because there are no pumps, and the attendant just pulls on the rope to lower the hose:

If you’ve made it this far, the reward is my fave pic of the day:

What you don’t see is that I had no idea if you could take pics of the monks, so I tried to quickly sneak this one in after he walked passed me. He must have been tapped into some sort of cosmic energy, because he then instantly turned right around and monk-stared at me. A chilly day indeed.