On the spiritual side, one of the things we really enjoyed about our visit was the more traditional side of Japan. We saw some breathtaking castles, with beautiful, manicured gardens. We first saw the Imperial Palace in Tokyo -- which you aren't allowed into, especially if you are a gaigin, but we got some pretty pictures of the outside:
Here is Nicci walking into the front door at Osaka-jo, the castle in Osaka:
We did some reflection at some of the many shrines and temples, including this giant Buddha in Kyoto:
Note to intrepid explorers: around back, you can walk up a stairway into this Buddha, where there are more little Buddhas!
One of the coolest things we saw in a temple was in a pagoda in Osaka, which contained five floors of thousands of tiny gold medallions, each with someone's name (we think) inscribed on it:
Finally, what trip to Japan would be complete without a visit to the most traditional Japanese sport: Sumo!
Also, I'll bet you didn't know it, but Nicci has some sumo in her too:
I'm glad we can cross another country off the list of "Places to stick our heads through photo-ops"
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