お客様の送迎の途中で、戸倉上山田温泉の上の善光寺別院に寄りました。お客様に上からの温泉街や千曲川の眺めを見せたいと思っていました。行ってみたら、お寺の入り口のイチョウの木の葉っぱが黄色くなっていて、見事に綺麗でした。提灯と灯篭とイチョウの紅葉・・・日本は美しい国ですね。
On the way back from picking some guests up at the station, I took them to the Zenkoji Branch Temple on the hill behind town. I had intended on showing them the view of Togura Kamiyamada Onsen and the Chikuma River valley from above. However, when we got there, we found the ginkgo tree at the entrance was in peak autumn colors -- the leaves were a brilliant yellow color. Something about the contrast of the fall leaves with the huge chochin lantern and the stone "toro" was one of those only-in-Japan special scenes.
