Beautiful pink waterlillies.

According to the map, this side of the hill is covered with cherry trees. We'll have to come back in April when they're all in bloom!

















It looked to us like this little girl ("The Heather") was telling the others to get out or they were going to get into big trouble . . .
















Beautiful hillside with azaleas & little blue flowers.

Closeup of blue flowers

















Rocks in the water iris garden.

Margie on a bridge overlooking water irises.




















Look closely -- As the lower bamboo pipe fills up with water, it flips back and dumps it in a different area of the pond. Cool, huh?

Stone frog hiding in a pond.
















Stan at the top of the rocks -- of course!

















Standing on a bridge over a small river.

A family under the shade of a tree in this patio area.
















Ladies enjoying shade under this small gazebo.


















Dogwood tree still blooming!

Hmmm, only mad dogs & Englishmen are usually out in the hot sun this time of day . . .




















The parasol on the right is actually made of a reflective material to keep the sun away.















A few azaleas still blooming. I love that the flower seasons seem to overlap here in Japan.

Looking back toward the yellow terraced hillside, over the iris garden & a bridge. We've turned around and are heading back down the other side of the little stream.































There were many family groups here today enjoying the beautiful sunny day.

Little children headed up the stairs with their hoola hoops.
















Closeup of a very fragrant rose.

















Roses below the yellow hillside. It's difficult to express in a photo just how beautiful and fragrant this was!

Outside the gift shop, there were some ladies looking up. Look at the four little heads!
















When their mama came to feed them, they really opened up! Below the nest, there was newspaper with barracades around it, so no one would walk underneath . . .

















Inside the gift shop, there was a window at the top of the vaulted ceiling with a good view of the yellow flowers on the hillside above.

Terraced parking lot as we drive out. At the "bottom" (nearest the street) is the bicycle parking.
















Beautiful flowers out in front.
















I've never seen snapdragons this big!

After we left, we were ready for lunch so we found a nice soba shop. Although I'm not crazy about noodles, I was not able to order any lunch set without them. However, my fresh salad, tempura shrimp & veggies were delicious & enough to fill me up . . . Stan had hot noodles & curry.

Kasadojima Island

We started out planning to go to the Hikari Flea Market today, but we got a late start & the traffic was very heavy, so we decided to just explore something different. So, when 188 comes to a "T", we continued on to the right to stay on 188. As we continue past Hikari, we pass a lone bicyclist. I've looked at the map & found a smaller island that we've decided to check out today.

This sign says we're only 10 km to Shunan if we stay on 188, but we're going to turn here & head for Kasadojima Island. It's one of two small islands nearby.















This sign shows a large curved orange bridge at the bottom left.

Well, there's the bridge. . . (I'm such a great navigator!)
















Oh, this is cool. Since we know from our map that this road on the island only goes a few miles & then ends, we'll check out this guy on our way back. I don't think he's going anywhere.

Driveway going up to a pretty house.















Flowers tumble off this retaining wall.

A little shrine on the side of the road as we drive on this island. Since I'm sitting on the left side of the car (passenger side) my pictures as we start out are on the land side -- the sea is on the right side. Once we get to the end & turn around, then I'll show pictures of the sea!










Hmmm . . . curves both ways! This is one sharp curve with a mirror in the middle to view oncoming traffic, but the roads on this island are WAY better than some we've been on. This area would appear to be very prosperous, judging from the houses and the roads.
















Someone's flower garden.

Uh-oh . . . the road begins to narrow.

















This lady is probably taking flowers to lay on one of her relative's monuments.
















And this lady told us in the most beautiful British accent that this is an African Tortoise. She picked him up so he wouldn't go out onto the road.