Some things are just fun for me and one of them is to show you the photos I took during my last stay in the Aizu region of Fukushima Prefecture. I brought a lot of them back with me and today we have another small series of pictures that help me to once again activate that wonderful feeling that surrounded us on our short trip. It was simply great to be on the road again, and even though the weather wasn't on our side this time, we enjoyed everything we saw and experienced inside and especially outside with all our senses.

This time, picture 1 shows us a view of part of the old castle walls of Tsuruga-jo, which have stood here in this exact spot for several centuries. The castle experienced quite a turbulent time, especially at the end of the Edo period. Not only do I love the view of the castle itself, but I also enjoy simply looking at the walls themselves. Like here at this spot, where you were treated to a really fantastic view on this day.

In the second photo, we see a small toori marking the entrance to a little shrine in the forest. The ground behind it is covered with lots of red and yellow leaves, which emphasize once again that it was still autumn when we passed by here and that this time is not quite over yet.

Here we see the entrance to another shrine which is located further up the mountain. Behind this unique entrance, you need to walk up around 1000 steps to the top, but we decided to listen to the bear warning and postpone this project to another day in the future.

This photo too shows us autumn in all its glory. Many trees are growing on the castle walls of Tsuruga-jo today, and one of them is a gingko that has shed its yellow leaves right here. A magnificent sight, which of course made me immediately reach for my camera.

Finally, we treat ourselves to another view of the castle itself. This time it is framed by two cedars and a massive tree trunk that must have once supported a huge tree. The tree trunk itself is already quite impressive and probably deserves to be shown in more detail again soon. Let us see when I have time for that...