A forest of persimmons, Noh theatre and a strange rock.

In Autumn here you can't escape persimmons. The trees ares everywhere in people's gardens and fruit can be seen hanging from peoples' houses drying in the sunshine.







In Ibaraki we came across a hidden valley that was basically a forest of persimmon trees. Four families had planted the whole valley from ancient times. A farmer was selling  by the roadside and there were a few new and rare varieties to try.

In Saitama, near the mountains,we went to the horse archery festival, a great feature was a traditional Noh play being performed on an old stage next to the temple.

A drive further into the mountains yielded  amazingly ancient and isolated villages and farmhouses like this. Still only a few hours drive from Tokyo.




Further on was this strange rock. It is a sort of Japanese  Stone Henge, used to track the sun and the stars. Astrological inscriptions can still be seen carved into the rock, no-one
knows how old it is.
























Then a bit further on, truly stunning views from the mountains on a lovely autumn day.

At the risk of repeating myself,
this is two hours drive from the the biggest city in the world. Greater Tokyo is now some 33 million people.