There is something special about old Japan that continues to amaze me every time I go, and the more Ms Buddha and I have been to Japan, the more we look for things to look at that is off the beaten path even when we are in a tourist town.
Kitsuki was home to many many Samurai families at its peak, now it is known more for its surroundings and also the fact that for about 3,000 yen you can rent a traditional kimono and take pictures around town. When we first arrived, we were a bit lost since that there weren’t a whole lot of signage for parking available, but in the end, we parked what looked like free public parking and used the best tool for exploration, our feet.
We walked along the road from the Tanmachi area towards the Kitsuki City Office, on the way there were a few small stalls along with a visitor center where we managed to get ourselves a map of the area.
Being also the day where I was being a vegetarian (why? You can read here Gen Restaurant Breakfast Review), we decided to go on a bit of a temple roam around the area. All the temples we visited were not far from the Kitsuki City Office along the strip highlighted.
There are about 5 temples along the road, each with their own character and given how fantastic the weather was on the day, it proved to be an incredibly relaxing walk. Ms Buddha and I bumped into almost no one (apart from one little old lady who was cleaning her front door).
Apart from how tranquil some of the temples are, it’s also amazing to see that these temples normally have conjoining housing connected to them, which means that the people looking after the place treats it like their home, and the dedication definitely shows.
Another thing that I always like to see and it is quite cute is that they treat their buddha statues like little people, and when it gets cold, they always put a little scarf on them!
After a bit more temple roaming, we decided to head back towards the main road and see more of the more transitional places around the area. Unlike Hong Kong where everything old somehow needs to be destroyed or discarded, Japan tends to do a great job in maintaining and restoring the place – even down to using traditional building methods.
We walked up the hill further and then spotted a very sweet couple walking down the path in their traditional clothing, Ms Buddha aren’t really the most romantic people, but I still love it when I see young couples because they are so full of love and it makes me wonder what’s in store in their life!
Buddha Explores 
1 Comment