Japan September 28-October 7, 2007 Part 3

Our second day in Nagano was spent exploring the downtown core. We visited a gift shop run by a retired Japanese engineer, whose home and beautiful garden was located behind the shop.























Can't explain what this is...decoration outside a restaurant?





















Congratulatory flowers denoting the opening of a new shop.















Below are pictures of the famous Zenkoji Temple in downtown Nagano. It is believed to have been founded in the 7th Century and is the home of Ikko-Sanzon, the first Buddhist image to arrive in Japan in 552 from Korea. However, you can only see a copy of the image and then only every seven years! There were some renovations at the entrance gate but that didn’t deter the crowds of Japanese (and other) tourists. Along the little street leading to the temple were many shops selling pickles (of course!), ice cream, and various souvenirs.































Entrance to Zenkoji-it's immense popularity comes partly from the fact that it welcomes believers from all Buddhists sects, including women. Its chief officiants are both a priest and a priestess.






































































The beautiful park surrounding the temple was a wonderful place to wander about. We eventually found some benches on which to relax and enjoy the warm autumn sunshine. Below are some pictures of this peaceful area.
































How many turtles can you spot below?















After visiting the temple, we headed to a local museum nearby to see a Leonardo da Vinci exhibit, which was, of course, all in Japanese, and a little difficult to figure out! However, another exhibit featured beautiful landscapes by a local artist, which were quite lovely. We walked back to out hotel past some pretty sidestreets. We had a fabulous dinner that evening at Diaxara Botchi near our hotel with various yakatori brochettes, veggies, salad, etc. The staff were very friendly and intrigued that we came from Canada via Malaysia!
















Downtown Nagano by the railway station: the crosswalks there always placed the tune "Coming Through the Rye" when the walk light turned green! We thought perhaps it was for the benefit of those people who are visually impaired?