Mount Shosha and 1000 jizo statues

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The first half of the day was a rest day with alight lunch at home. Then we took the bikes for a 30minute bike ride through the suburbs to the ropeway for Mount Shosha. It cost about $5 each for the ropeway up and another $5 each to enter the temple walk at the top of the mountain. This is certainly a must see...we had no idea how magnificent this temple was going to be! The buildings were built around 966 but all have been rebuilt or restored over the years. There were many beautiful Buddha statues along the way but the most significant surprise was the 1000 or more tiny jizo statues along the way. These statues are said to be the protectors of children. We spent a few hours wandering in and out of the many temples and taking photos of beautiful ancient artifacts hidden along the paths. Then we started the 45 minute descent to the bikepark. The track down was just as beautiful with tiny waterfalls and Buddha statues along the way. We rode home, very tired and very satisfied with our last adventure in Himeji. Dinner at the local family restaurant, the sushi train , was a hoot! This train had two tracks the lower one with over the30 types of sushi and an upper track, we called the shinkansen, that took personal orders to each table. We ordered tempora and chocolate cake! The order would zoom along the track and stop above your table, a bell sounded and you had to pick it up quickly. There was also a plate chute that counted your plates, and a competition on the tv screen for every 5 plates eaten. The girls won two prizes! Between 6 of us we ate 60 plates of sushi! Full and tired...back to the Coopers to pack our bags as we leave for Tokyo and Kokubunji tomorrow .

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