We wandered through the gardens of the 17th-century Ritsurin Park.  The beauty and serenity of the numerous gardens and parks we explored is likely my top highlight from Japan. This garden features over 1,400 pine trees, most of which are pruned by the gardeners to resemble large, elegantly curved bonsai.

The Zentsuji Temple is revered as the birthplace of the Buddhist priest Kobo Daishi. Kobo Daishi  founded the Shingon  school of Japanese Buddhism. There are many schools of Buddhism all with a goal of reaching enlightenment. If you are wondering what are the red hats and aprons about, they are adornments intended to ward off evil and protect children.

In the Iya Valley, we stayed at a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn called Hotel Hikyonyu , which featured an onsen , an on-site hot spring bath. The onsen was very relaxing, but the inn itself was simple and not exactly the 4 or 5-star lodging we prefer. In lieu of marble bathrooms, we had prefab "lego-land" bathrooms. At least here, we were able to procure a couple of extra futons for more padding and the room was not cold, so we slept better. National Geographic didn't s

The Double Vine Bridges  known as Oku Iya Niju Kazurabashi are twin suspension bridges made of intertwined vines. I am not a fan of crossing bridges that sway with every footstep, but if you don’t look down between the slats, it is doable.

While cruising through the valley, we paused briefly at a small village, Nagoro , with around a dozen residents and hundreds of scarecrows . An elderly woman, Tsukimi Ayano, has transformed the village into a town of the unliving to keep her company. It was both beautiful and somewhat eerie; not a place to visit on Halloween, but perfect for a Friday the 13th sequel.

We attended a dance performance in the town of Tokushima  at the Awa Odori Kaikan Museum . Dance has been a significant aspect of theie local culture for 400 years. The dancers were graceful and athletic, and although it was not like seeing an evening of Balanchine and the NY City Ballet, they were enjoyable to watch.

We traveled along the steep slopes of the Iya Valley to a ravine with a 300-year-old thatched farmhouse, part of the Chiiori Trust , a unique project that seeks to preserve age-old rural traditions in the valley. A delightful 80-year-old lady prepared our lunch and entertained us with a traditional folk song. She truly embodied the essence of life in a blue zone. The tempura was amazing!! We continued on to have tea in a village in Ochiai, a community featuring traditional ho

Taking a ferry is a very pleasant way to get to your next destination. We proceeded to Mount Koya and the Iya Valley by ferry across to Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s main islands. First we will talk about highlights from the Iya Valley. We attended a dance performance in the town of Tokushima at the Awa Odori Kaikan Museum . Dance has been a significant aspect of the local culture for 400 years. The dancers were graceful and athletic, and although they weren't on par wi