Free Day
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Higashikawa Shinto Shrine, Great Architecture
I found myself Sunday with something that I don’t get frequently nowadays, and that is a free day with no plans, so to make the best of it, me and my oldest son went for a long bike ride into Higashikawa along the bike trails, or bike highway as they call it here. The bike highways here span miles and miles, are paved and only bicycles are allowed. The bike highway does not make it all of the way to Shibinai since we are such a rural area, although it is a very short ride to reach where it starts.
Shrine Entrance
We decided to explore Higashikawa on bike and rode along the Chubetsu river for about 5 miles until we reached Downtown Higashikawa and then took a turn for the central part of the town. As we were riding we noticed a lot of people walking along the streets and many cars lining the road, Oops looks like we ran into another festival. After parking our bikes and walking around the festival grounds, we didn’t really see anything interesting but apparently the person on stage singing was popular, because there was tons of people gathered.
Tori Entrance to the Shrine
We hopped back on our bikes and stopped by the local store to get some snacks and drinks, then made our way to the local Shinto shrine to sit under the trees and enjoy our goodies we just bought at the store. The Shinto shrine that we stopped at has been a place that I have been wanting to stop at and get some pictures, so now was a good chance, and I just happened to bring my camera, (as always).
Stone fence with Kanji characters
After taking some pictures we rode around the town a bit just exploring and then made our way back to our village of Shibinai. It was a fun day with just father and son, and we had a good time just hanging out together. Hope you all enjoy the photos. I just love visiting the many different shrines and taking pictures, I have a lot more on my photo list that I must stop at, as I do I will post the pictures for you all to see. Take Care all!
Purifying station before entering shrine
Take a sip or wash your hands before you enter the Shrine
metal lantern hanging from all four corners of the Shrine
fu dog guarding the entrance to the shrine
A shot of the inside of the Shrine through an opening in the front door
A Stone lantern on the outside of the Shrine
Write your wish on a piece of paper hang it here and then pray for it to come true
A statue outside the gates of the shrine
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Something about japanese shrines and statues leaves me speechless. During meditation, I have discovered historic connections with japanese culture which go beyond my recent visits to Kyoto and Osaka. I am grateful for the way you present your own perspectives. This enables your readers to expand on their own impressions.