Temple: Meisekiji – this temple is called daybreak and stone because of a beautiful legend about a woman cursed to carry a stone. She can never reach her destination because every time dawn breaks she disappears and has to start agan.

Dedication: Toby is the baby black cat I adopted with Ed in Bristol. The woman who was fostering him said he’d been rejected a few days before by someone who wanted a special black cat. He’s a big doofus who never got over being the little one, he always woolfs all the available food at high speed. Toby is tough, and a fighter, so we always treated him like it, and treated Oli like the princess he acts like. We called Toby a weasel and Oli beautiful. I think it’s a good job we never had kids. He’s a love.

The picture is of a sake (or nihonshu as they call it here) brewery on a pretty traditional street just down from the temple. The water supply is very pure so I went back from the cycle park I set up my sleeping bag in and filled up all my water bottles ready for tomorrow.