It was a beautiful day in Japan today so my wife and I decided to drive about 30 minutes south to the Kasamori Kannon in Chonan for some hiking and photo taking. The Kasanori Temple is surrounded by forests and nature and is a nice little hike for those looking for peace and quiet. The temple was founded in 784 during the Nara Period, and the main hall was built at the Emperor’s request in 1028 during the Heian Period. The temples construction style is called Shihokakezukuri, with the building raised on all four sides which is quite unique in Japan and thus deemed a cultural treasure. The surrounding mountains and forests have become a park and the temple itself a national monument.
There are many humongous trees, hundreds of years old surrounding Kasamori including one with large hole in it. It is said that children who pass through this hole, in this tree named Kosazukenokusu will receive good fortune. So I decided to pass through myself.
After hiking around the temple and mountain, enjoying the fresh air and the colors of the leaves which are just starting to change colors. We decided to head for lunch and drive towards the coast and Kujukuri Beach which is the longest in Japan spanning down the east coast of Chiba. Surfers were out in full force as the weather was great and all the surf shops along Kujukuri highway were open and welcoming business. We stopped at a diner called Sea Song which is a hang out spot for surfers (though none were there at this time of day). Sea Song is popular for its atmosphere and character, log house style with photos of surfers taken over the years and lots of surfing memorabilia.
They also serve Western food which is why we went. Since we are always eating Japanese, I had a craving for pizza and Sea Song happens to have nice brick oven made thin crust pizza. So we shared one and dish of Carbonara pasta and snapped a few photos around the restaurant.
Afterwards we headed to Ichinomiya and a lighthouse by the beach to enjoy the views and then headed into town to pick up some fresh fish for dinner. A nice fun day but now back to work!
Check our more pictures from our day trip!
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I really enjoy the trips you take and document with such startling and colorful pictures. The picture of the Pizza made my mouth water…..My Pizza option is Domino’s home delivery…..Ha!! Beautiful Beach pic….I still pray for the folks up North that someday their Beaches will look like that again.