Last Sunday actually lived up to its name and was unually sunny for Japan and this time of the year, so it wasn't too hard for Jamie to convince me to abandon my chores and join her on a mini-trip to Dazaifu. While it's more famous for the ume (plum) blossoms in February, Dazaifu didn't disappoint with its abundance of momiji (Japanese maple leaves).
After picking up some hot mochi filled with red bean paste to keep our hands warm and tummies happy, we took a right at the end of the street lined with shops. At the end of the block was a small temple with an amazing courtyard of trees, moss and rocks.
After removing our shoes and leaving them out front with everyone else's we walked into the traditional Japanese building that surrounded the courtyard. Obviously, we weren't the only people who thought a sunny weekend afternoon was the perfect time to look at leaves.
Despite the crowd, the small building was quite serene and Jamie and I enjoyed looking at the leaves and taking pictures for about a half an hour before our feet couldn't take the direct contact with the cold floor anymore. Luckily, there were some more leaves on the outside that could be appreciated with your shoes on!
Still inside the courtyard. Gorgeous reds and yellows...
....and a blindingly orange tree at the entrance!
Walking back towards the main street, we happened across some trees we could actually get close to and a mini-stream full of floating leaves.
Then we followed the colored leaves along a path up a hill which dumped us out in the back of the larger Tenmangu Shrine, where we saw this magical looking tunnel for the first time. The it was back to the shops for some soft cream (the fall flavor was maron or chestnut) and Christmas shopping before getting back on the train to Kurume, where we both accomplished our neglected chores in record time before heading to Tatsunoya for our first ramen dinner in a long time.
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