Today, like every other Saturday so far (except last Saturday because it was a holiday and classes at the gym were canceled), I rode my bike to the 11:00 yoga class at my gym, the one taught by a parent at my school and attended by another parent at my school. After class ended I went by the bank/post office (same place!) to get my passbook (it's like a checkbook) updated in the ATM, and went by the fancy grocery store that sells imported international goods to get almonds and check if any treats caught my eye. I ended up getting bacon and a twisty doughnut. Then I went next door to the bakery (really more styled like a French pâtisserie, though Asian-style in that you take a tray and a pair of tongs and make your way around choosing things to place on the tray, which you then bring to the register) and got a cornet-shaped pastry filled with custard cream and a frosted roll with swirls of poppyseed paste and walnut bits (absolutely delicious). I don't usually eat bread and other grain-based things, but some weekends I like to indulge in pastries for breakfast, so I was getting things for today and tomorrow. The night before I had already gotten orange juice and iced coffee so I would be all ready to go once I got back.

On my way home, I remembered that my company had asked me to take my car in to a shop to get inspected today, and had asked me to go early in case it needed to be there all day. Instant flash of irritation. Immediately annoyed that they wanted us to use our Saturdays like that when my car runs perfectly fine, I decided that wasn't going to stop me from the relaxing post-yoga time at home I had planned. I would relax first, then see about going to get the car inspected. And that's exactly what I did! I did sort of forget about the inspection though, until 4:30 or so, so I had to call the shop to make sure it was still okay to bring it in and they could get it taken care of that day. It was, so I got ready and drove down to the shop. I am soooo glad one of the other English teachers who's been living here longer than me gave me a GPS he doesn't need since he bought an iPhone. It has been indispensable. It's in Japanese, and I could set it to English it looks like, but where's the fun in that?

At the shop they told me it would be an hour wait. I had already decided, though, that since the shop was located pretty close to the river and the adjacent downtown areas with lots of cultural attractions, there was no way I was sitting for an hour in a mechanic shop waiting room, one of my least favorite places in the world and where I have spent many bored, unhappy hours in motor oil-scented air watching bad television or listening to bad radio (without the ability to navigate away from the ads). Even though I had brought my Kindle loaded with JK Rowling's new novel to entertain me this time, for once there were destinations worth going to within walking distance of the shop (which is never the case at home), and the weather was nice (well, overcast but not raining). So, I told them I was going on a walk and would be back in an hour, and set off!

I love Shinto shrines and my city is an old one so it's chock full of them (and Buddhist temples, but I'm not so interested in those for whatever reason). I knew there would be at least one within walking distance and there was. I looked it up on my GPS and we were ready to go! (It turns out my walking speed is 3-4 km/hr, in case you were wondering.) I walked along the river, over the bridge, and into what I recognized as the entertainment district where we'd had our get-together to celebrate birthdays and the arrivals of the new ALTs. Let's just say it looks different in daylight!

To my surprise the shrine I was looking for was right across the street from the izakaya where we had begun those festivities! I had no idea.

I don't know why I like going to shrines. It's just very peaceful inside, and I love all the rituals involved. It's so calming to go through the motions. So far, all the shrines I've visited in this city have been devoid of visitors, so I've had the grounds all to myself. This one was the same. It looked well maintained, and I had a wonderful time just browsing around. I was surprised to find it even had a public restroom, and when I went in to use it, I ran into a priest just exiting the area, since that's their bathroom too. Haha!

Then I looked around for another shrine, and there was one five minutes away. When I arrived, I was delighted to find that it was a fox shrine! I love foxes. This one was also pretty well maintained, also totally devoid of other visitors, and had a nice array of goods for sale. There were arrows and protective charms and ema, and I'll definitely be coming back for some when New Year's rolls around I'm sure. I wanted a cute fox-shaped charm/phone strap I saw, which I was able to purchase once I found a woman who worked/lived there. I love it! Oh, and the best part of that shrine was that the inside of the building was open to the public! Usually, you can only catch a glimpse of the artifacts on display inside from the outer porch where the offertory box is, but you can't go inside to where they are. But this time I was able to enter (taking off my shoes and putting on guest slippers) and look at the sort of 'inner sanctum' -- that's probably the first time I've ever been able to go inside a shrine like that. Sooo cool. I really liked that shrine and want to go back.

Mostly, though, that area was jam-packed full of Buddhist temples. That shrine was surrounded by a little less than a dozen, most next door to one another. A path lined with temples took me back to the bridge, and the scent of incense filled the air.

Then I picked up my car and came back home! Best car inspection experience ever.