Japan morning walks

Morning walks in Annaka, Gunma, a couple of hours drive outside Tokyo, were a lovely way to start the day before we trained therapists and coaches and worked with riders with disabilities. The views of the mountains and the old houses were worth the effort of the hills.

80% of buildings in Tokyo were destroyed in the Second World War (1939-1945) so the city has more post-war buildings than old ones.

All the streets looked the same where we stayed in Tokyo. Its amazing how people manage to park their cars in tiny areas.

I travelled with a New Zealander, Vicky Melville, who is a physiotherapist. She works with both therapeutic riding and Para Equestrian as well as having a Palates Physiotherapy practice in Nelson. We had a rather wet day off when we went on a bus trip and visited the Emperor's garden.

At the Meiji Jingu Shrine there was a wedding. It was a shame that it was pouring with rain.

The wedding party was all wearing raditional black and white.

At the Asakusa Kannon Temple peole seemed to be more interested in the Nakamise shopping arcade.
There were preparations for a festival and the chrysanthemums were just about in full bloom.

In this little temple the guttering ends up in a series of bells. Unfortunately the rain was too noisy to hear them.

Then it was back to the country, the vegetable growers and avoiding the bears. They had come down from the mountains because of the heat of the summer.

The 3 hour bus drive to the airport is always interesting. It gives a great view of the other vehicles. I looked at truck drivers and found that only about 40% of them have both hands on the steering wheel. One young driver was steering with his elbows and another driver did not have a hand on the
wheel at all and was steering with his knees! Several were texting. My bus driver filled in his records on a clip board while driving along the middle lane of a freeway, which was a little alarming to me!

Amazing feats of road building.