tori gate...

at the foot of mt haguro

boiled angle fish liver...

to my surprise was absolutely delicious, the most creamy non-diary food i have ever eaten...

perspective...

i can't say how peaceful it was walking through these giant trees in the snow..

top of haguro...

busy with people making prayers for the new year...am always impressed by the huge bell in it's own little house..

nearly at the top...

of mt haguro...lucky for us the rain, snow and hail stopped and the sky turned blue : )

じじ様木 old man tree..

5 tier pagoda at mt haguro, another of the holy mountains in this area, pagoda is made in traditional style using no nails...pretty impressive...it is big, as are the trees surrounding it....this one wearing the rope is about 1100 years old!

persimmon trees..

jizo-san...

on the very top of mt zao, the gaurdian of travellers...

Hapy New Year..

started off this one very nicely on the mountain.. : ) hope you all have a wonderful year ☆

gassan - moon mountain - 月山

love the way this mountain peeks out in the distance, bright white, it's one of three holy mountains in this area.

looking down...

from mt zao, how little snow there is for this time of year...

man makes mountains....

42 story apartment block in a valley of low mountains, the sales point is the great views....

mt gando

just love this white peak poking out on the horizon..the highest mountain in the area..

Merry Christmas!

Japanese style...with strawberry cream cake and fried chicken...although this year, i did a full english dinner...phew...

no white christmas....

very unusual, but am sure the cats don't mind!

only in japan....

import the guiness flat and then make the bubbles with ultrasonic waves....really!!!

exactly...

359.2 kms to yamagata from tokyo...

weekend in tokyo..

so many huge name brand flagshops in tokyo....really love their luxury brands in this country!

peeking out...

from the clouds..

what a colour!

continue on the food thing.....beetroot soup...yumm

strange collection for dinner...

it was a dinner of slimey mushroom soup, steamed bok choy, vegetable curry, brown rice with black rice, veg pickles, blowfish rice topping, roast lamb and mustard sandwich, and a cuppa tea!

more mountains..

from yesterday..

kahoku town..

these shiney...copper/bronze? roofs on mini shrines caught my eye..

kaki .. persimmon tree

bamboo...

bending under the weight of the snow..first big dump of the year...earlier than usual..

mt chitose

the city mountain 'chitose' dusted with a little snow..

orange tree caught my eye..

with a peek of distant mountains...

a peek of blue...

and first snow on the mountains...

black eared kites..

i found out the name of those birds...

a lot of these...

swooping around these last few days, not sure what kind of bird, a kite or hawk perhaps...anyone know?

two

space amongst the trees...

temple dweller..

same temple...

visit to a temple...

on my way home from work, a beautiful wooded area in town..