But before descending from the mountain, we took a walk around some of the other temple of the same sect that exist near the temple we stayed at. The picture above and the two following are from that temple.

And with our return to the parked car, so ended our three day escapade in Wakayama prefecture. The only thing remaining was the drive back to Hiroshima and Saijo.
It was around nine at night when we arrived in Saijo and dark. We unloaded the car and then pretty much retired to bed.
The next several days went by fast. I cooked dinner with them, experimenting together with the taste of curry, soups and grilled vegetables. We went to the sports festival of my boyfriend's younger brother, visited his grandmother after the festival, visited the place described as "Seiko's Secret Place", drove back to the area where I used to live in Hiroshima, and I practiced Shintaiikudo with the teacher whose class my dad and I both attended when we lived there.
This trip was amazing and I can't believe that's already over. I learned a lot about myself, Japan, and my friends. It was incredible and I can't say thank you enough or express gratitude enough to the family that let me go and offered encouragement, and the family and took me in in Japan, showed me around and made the entire trip what it was. Thank you. I had the time of my life and will always remember it.

With much love
hil