Jinja and Shoga: Life in the Land of the Rising Sun

   I went blueberry picking on Friday with some friends at a local berry patch. One of the ladies has a cousin who farms just about anything and everything, so not only were we able to pick blueberries, we also got a bunch of raspberries, too. And all for the price of 500 yen per person! (About 5 USD). Considering the cost of fruit in this country, let alone berries, be impressed. Very impressed.
 Adding to that, the berry patch is located right next to some tiny old shrine that's been there since the 800's. Unfortunately, I can't remember the historical significance of it, but it definitely made for my most memorable blueberry picking experience to date.

                             Ancient plaque inside the shrine. The writing is so old that ladies I was with couldn't even understand it all.


                           Surrounding neighborhood

                                     Berry patch (that's not the shrine, however)



                              Berry smoothie that replaced Yuki's usual beer on Friday night