Nagano (con't)

These are the missing photos from my Nagano trip. There's not all that much to write, since I already have an entry on April 18th.

This is someone's garden. After we snuck in to take the picture, we heard some rustling in the house and got the hell out of there.

They actually closed down the road to make this mosaic. Only in Japan would they do something like this.
Welcome to Zenkoji shrine.
This means something, but I don't know what.

These Buddhist gods are pretty damn scary for a passive religion.

I'd love to have one of these outside my house. It'd keep all the riff-raff away.

These things are kinda cool. You pay a hundred yen to get your fortune on one of these little slips of paper (like a fortune cookie, but more in-depth). If it's good, then you take it with you. If not, then you tie it to one of these strings and leave it at the temple. Judging from what I see here, I guess iit wasn't a good day for fortunes.

Another little superstition. You can purchase one of these wooden plaques for about 500 yen and you write your wishes on them. It can be for love, wealth, health, or whatever your little heart desires.

I am told that during exam times, students flock here by the thousands to buy one of these plaques.