art college sunset....

art school festival..

cakes, aren't they cute!!

taiko drumming..

tohoku university of art and design..

beautiful building, reflecting the shape of the surrounding mountains..nearly full moon! they even have a funky painted bus that does the college route..

kannon sama

the bodhisattva of complassion, in sanskrit her name is Avalokitesvara, and this particular version only comes out every 12 years, in the year of the rat...so i was lucky to see her, and when i did there was a group of ladies chanting, under all those ribbons in the picture below..

inside the temple..

so simple, but colourful, most of it was open ... no glass, i guess it's shuttered up in rain and snow....loved the ribbons leading to the altar and the paintings on the ceiling..

and came upon...

a temple on the side of a mountain....

found a little bridge...

and followed it...

ikebana...

japanese flower arrangment....loved the way the leaves were folded and creased..

feast for the crows!

crows were everywhere, not sure if they were eating the rice or the insects...?

heavy skies....

and the rice is ready to be harvested....

old corner shop...

which is sadly being pulled down as i type...i see beautiful old wooden buildings disappear all the time, to be replaced with new plastic looking unsightly apartments.... why does progress have to be so ugly...?

nishi zao..

end of yoga in the morning on the west side of mt zao...getting cold now, i wonder how long we can continue....the air is so tasty up there!

yamaboushi...

japanese flowering dogwood, they are quite sweet, but pretty non descript so am making jam with them now ; ) i just love free food..

a really scarey crow!!!

the farmer next door had hung a real dead crow up! i guess that would definitely scare the crows away!!!

scare crow..

protecting the pears, yamagata is famous for it's huge sweet fruit

rice harvest..

tree bark..

buddha rides elephant..

an unsual figure in a japanese temple..

sendai city...

morning yoga practice in a temple at the top of a hill..

shinto water cleansing.....

An old Japanese ritual...really was fascinating to watch!

night before the festival...

walked out of my house, to find laterns stung across the road and a big full moon ☆

sunrise...

after the fireworks...

700,000 people attended this fireworks, display, the biggest in Japan, and it was absolutely amazing, sadly i didn't take my big camera, due to rain....so no firework shots : (

a string of kids...

they looked so funny being led along on a rope, good way to walk en masse though!

camp fire..

on the beach

waiting..

for soba, in a traditional farmhouse, restaurant ; )

butterfly blending in with...

my bikes mudgaurd...

praying for...

ancestors at obon... most japanese return to their hometowns where all the family gathers for the holiday...

o'bon

making..

sour plums... the red really shone out in this pretty little garden..

morning practice...

yoga in the mist ★

vegetarian sushi...

aloe vera....delicious!

parched...

seaside fun...

with star fish and sea urchins...