We hike Mt Takao with some friends. It's definately different than most of our hikes that we've done. It's a very popular hime near us and includes many shrines along the way. The mountain itself is considered sacred, and I would have to agree that there is divinity in nature. God left his fingerprints and they are beatiful. Mt Takao's views were somewhat obscured by an abundance of trees and the hazy, humid air, but I think the beauty was in the hike that day. The shrines were new to us and the nature was in full end of summer glory. Here's some highlights.
This was my favorite shrine with it's colorful banners and ornate decoration
It was raining blossoms on us near the parking lot
Riding the cable car up (it went up part of the way)
Our first view, I didn't take any good pictures, but you could see a lot of Tokyo
The octopus tree
Protectors of the temple
A lovely bridge on the hike down
Riding the chair lift down
We also took a long day tour out to Matsumoto to visit the castle there. It was a fortress designed to protect the valley. The kids loved climbing the very steep stairs and peaking out all the windows. They also loved all the fish in the moat around it.
Those fish!
Real samuri outfit
In other news, Louis has started a playschool. He is very excited to be going to school himself, and really can't wait until he is going to the same school as his brothers.
Also, our friend is a fireman and he let us play in the firetruck. Louis now always asks to go in, and does not like my response that we have to be invited in
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