An early round through a way-side shrine in the snowy morning 👹🍣🎎 Wonderful Japan

The seasons come and go, and sometimes it feels as if they won't give us a break. Things happen way to fast and everything changes in the blink of an eye. Often there is now time to reflect and we are forced to move on without having the chance to breathe and to reflect. Maybe that is why we should take more time to appreciate what we have and what we are able to experience. This winter too has moved at ta pace that was much to fats for me. We are approaching spring but actually I would have loved to hold on to the colder and sometimes whiter season a little longer. And that is why I want to look back to one of those winter mornings, when I was able to start the day a little different as I would usually do. Sometimes it is those reflections that we need to keep us in a healthy mood.

Even if it didn't look like it at first, this winter this year had brought a lot of snow with it. It had taken a while and winter had been reluctant at first, but then at the beginning of February, it finally hit us All of a sudden, the temperatures, which had been rather mild until then, dropped below the O-degree mark and the sky opened and it all turned white. It had already snowed once or twice before, but this time the snow had come to stay.

The first three days of snow had been relatively normal, although everything around us was completely covered in white afterwards. But at least the roads in our area were still passable, or maybe the winter road clearance service had done a good job. As I said, there was quite a bit of snow next to the roads and, as usual, it made quite an impression on me.

On the one hand, I always have my reservations about snow, as I usually have to get out and the road. But on the other hand, our world is transformed into a wonderful winter wonderland where there is suddenly so much to discover again.

What you see may not be really new, but under a white blanket it looks completely different to what we normally see. And that creates this wonderful atmosphere, which you could feel in so many places this as well.

And when I was out and about in the morning, I couldn't resist this temptation. I had planned a little more time that day, so I was able to afford to take an unplanned detour and make a quick stop.

Like here at this shrine, which I actually just wanted to drive past. But at this snowy sight, I immediately felt that it would be worth taking a turn and having a look. Even though I had passed this place a few times before, I had never seen it up close. It was probably just the time to change that.

Fortunately, I wasn't the first person to have the idea of taking this little path that morning. The snow was at least a little flattened and I didn't have to worry about getting stuck here. And to be honest, the little road in front of me looked too inviting to just carry on and drive past this place.

After parking the car, I walked a few meters through the snow until I stood in front of the stone toori that marked the entrance to the shrine. To the left and right of the path stood a number of pine trees, which had grown a little crooked over the years and whose trunks were partly covered in snow. The wind must have been blowing hard here last night.

Fortunately, the snow wasn't too deep yet - the really big snowfall wasn't due until the following night. But it was enough to immerse the whole complex in an extremely charming atmosphere. The snow-covered tooro, the stone lanterns that can be found in many shrines and temples in Japan, contributed their part to this charming scene.

Here we see the water basin for ritual hand cleansing, which was not in use this time. It was also slightly covered in snow, making it even more photogenic than usual.

Just like the little Tooro, left...

...and to the right of the path. They come in various designs and, in addition to places like this shrine, they are often found in Japanese gardens as well, where they are an essential stylistic element of the local horticultural art.

And now we were already standing in front of the actual shrine building, which as usual is guarded by two Koma-Inu. These stone lion dogs also watch over this shrine and are supposed to ward off mischief and danger. On this day, however, everything seemed peaceful and I hadn't come to cause any trouble either.

Shortly before when I was driving, it had been snowing quite much, but during my short stay, the snow stopped and the sky even turned blue briefly. That was something very special on this day and showed me that I had done everything right by making a detour to this particular shrine.

Now it was time to go back, because unfortunately I didn't have that much time after all. The next appointment was waiting, even if I would have liked to stay a little longer. But I was in a really good mood and felt delighted to be able to walk through the fresh snow in this very place this morning. The atmosphere around me gave me exactly the energy I needed to get through the day.

And I was already back at the toori through which I had entered this shrine. The whole place seemed so peaceful and at that moment we were all unaware of what was in store for us in the second half of the day. It would keep snowing until midnight, with around 30 centimeters of fresh snow. On the following day, it should have looked even better here, although it might have been a little more difficult to get to the shrine building.

This morning was probably just the right time to come here for a short walk. As I said, I was in a very good mood and full of energy and just ready for the day, which was still almost completely ahead of me.

From time to time I need little detours like this, and luckily I also get to take them. We al need some excitement in our lives and hopefully I'll still get to explore our world spontaneously and unplanned. I thoroughly enjoy it and am happy to be able to tell you all about it here.

So please check back soon so that you don't miss out on new pictures and impressions from the Land of the Rising Sun. There's still a whole lot of them....