Erinji Temple in Autumn

One November afternoon, driving home from hiking the Nishizawa Valley, we stopped off at Erinji Temple. One of the temple's neighbors was burning rubbish, and the smoke drifted lazily through the temple grounds. The result was about five minutes of magical lighting as rays of autumn sunshine slanted down over Erinji's second gate. Also photo-worthy were women wearing kimono, strings of orange persimmons hanging to dry, and the temple's elegantly twisted pine trees. Actually, The temples of Yamanashi seem to always have the most beautiful pine trees!