but I took a day off and explored around in Shimanto - a small town, probably smaller than Townsville but still plenty of streets to get lost in. it had a feeling of being a bit empty - a lot of the shops were closed and there seemed to be more older people than young - tho there were plenty of school kids that are always happy to call out "Konichiwa" then giggle away amongst themselves!
I eventually found the castle - is obvious, being stuck up on the hill, but finding the actual road to it was a tad tricky!
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| Shimanto street scene - a bit quiet |
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| Found a temple and paid my respect - and wised for Eternal Peace |
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| This looked like a fairly old one - ie hadn't been burnt down recently and replaced with a replica |
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| another smaller temple in the same grounds |
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| always lots of steps |
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| from the top floor of the Shimanto Castle |
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| a fierce dragon protecting the Castle |
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| The farmlands are not that far away - view from the Castle |
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| Here is the Castle - it has a small museum inside but the strong smell of formaldehyde spoilt the experience!! |
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| Am getting to like this Japanese food - beer, nuts and doritos - :) |
Glad to see you are embracing 'traditional' Japanese food ;) Must be good cycling food as you are doing well on that diet.
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