A Shrine in Owariseto: Nagoya, Japan

It's Lotus Flower season! When I was here it was just beginning, but now they should be in bloom!

I'm always impressed by the detail that goes into designing a shrine. Of course, each shrine has some differences so all the more reason to pay attention!

Mini figurines all in a line!

I'm curious who put the manga picture on one of these wooden plaques. Is there are a reason behind it? Or was it just for fun?

A Park in OwariSeto; Nagoya, Japan

When walking up to the park I was greeted with this view.

There was this really old style house at the top of the stairs. I couldn't go inside, but the roof was interesting. I hadn't seen this type of roofing before.

There were some tiles on the ground, but most of them were cracked like this or the colors were all gone.

I'm not sure how to describe what I found inside this building, a statue? an obelisk? maybe a stone pillar? I will show you what I am talking about a little further in this post.

I walked up to the top of the building and found this view of the city, of course when I looked down I saw...

this. As you can see it was a beautiful day...I should probably invest in a hat if I am going to be out in the sun like this.

Here is what I found inside the building. It's a pillar with a whole lot of Kanji characters on it. I have no clue what it says, but there were some designs on it that I wish I could have seen when it was new.

A lot of detail was put into the artwork, but now the color has disappeared and...

most of the carvings have fallen off or disintegrated. Only the shadows remain.

Nagoya, Japan: Owariseto's Old Houses

There were many dilapidated homes in this area. I wasn't expecting it, but it is in an area where mostly elderly people live. The even more surprising thing was that people still lived in some of the homes. Maybe they stay for nostalgia or maybe they have no where else to go, I can only guess as to why.

There was a distinct contrast between the beautiful blue sky and these old houses.

The streets were small and narrow. I didn't run into anyone walking along here.

Some beautiful white flowers that said "Summer" to me.

This was the first time I saw this time of vine that twists and turns around itself. They seemed so delicate, but I'm sure they are very hardy!

I liked the colors and the shading on these windows. The jagged edged awning just emphasized the decay through time and mother nature.

A view of a temple over the tops of people's homes.
Next I will post about the park that I found after this. I'm pretty sure people rarely visit that area, just from the look of things.

Owariseto Walking Course in Nagoya, Japan

 This was one of the first views that I encountered after coming out of the train station.

 This area is a little more out in the countryside so there are a lot of old buildings, like this one. Of course, there are others that are much older and in much worse condition.

 Ceramics is famous in this area. This store is one of the first stores that I came across and it was one of the cheaper ones. On top of that the owner was giving a 10% discount to most of the basic items!

 This is the shopping arena. A lot of the shops have closed or are dedicated to the needs of the elderly people in the area. The shopping arena on the other side of the river has more stores that are fun and more interesting for tourists to browse through.

Post office sign.

 Here's one of the many shutters with a painting on it. In the following posts I will show the rest. There were some beautiful shutter paintings.

 Just a knick knack store, but I liked the horseshoes on the sign.

I'm not really religious, but there was a random church out here and I had to take a photo. The sky was beautiful this day and it was perfect for taking a photo.

Yagoto in Nagoya, Japan: A Shrine With Many Torii Gates

 A dragon dispensing water.

 The shrine.

 Here the pegs had little ornaments on them. I think this is supposed to be a fox wearing clothes. The other type was of a woman in a similar outfit, but different colors.

 Multiple Torii Gates.

 Torii gates with the donors names on them.

 Main entrance into the area for prayers. What's cute is that on the coin box someone left inari skins which is deep fried tofu skins. Shrines with foxes are referred to as Inari Shrines, the Inari God has fox messengers who listen to people's prayers and bring them to the Inari God.

 A peek inside the ceremony hall through an open window.

 The ceiling had all these pictures of birds and flowers on them. This was exactly the view I had from the window, the photo isn't upside-down.

 One small corner of the ceremony hall.