yamagata

another great weekend, with fantastic weather. sunday we left at ridiculous-o'clock in the morning and drove up to yamagata ken. first we went to zao national park (craters). you have to drive quite a way up to get to the top of the mountain. it's so high that once at the top, there are no trees, and it must have been less than 5 degrees! we posed for a couple of photos then drove back down the mountain again, through yamagata shi and over to yamadera. yamadera has a series of famous temples built into the cliffs which you access through a steep hike up the mountain amongst the trees. the main temple, Ryūshakuji, was made famous by haiku poet basho during his travels in the 17th century. (yeah, i had to look that up).
anyway, it was a beautiful day. good company, music, and conversation made for an easy drive there and back as well.
sadly today, it seems as though the miserable weather of autumn may finally be arriving. :(