Shrines and Temples

These are some pictures that we took today. It was a beatuiful day in Sendai today! I (Christine) am not used to having such mild winters, but I must say they are so nice; not claustrophobic! We biked around taking pictures of some different shrines and temples near our city. The first picture is of a temple. The second is of a shrine. The third is of the big archway that is typical of a shrine. Every shrine has one of these arches. The fourth is a picture of the inside of a shrine. There are the elaborate gold decorations and gods/idols that Buddhists pray to everyday. They pray to their ancestors for good health, protection and whatever else they feel like they need luck for. The last picture is of a graveyard. Graveyards are near every shrine and temple. The tomb stones are so elaborate and huge! We were intrigued by everything we saw today and we wanted to share our pictures.