Day 9--Uda Buddha, church, and a wander through the mountains.

On Sunday we split up and went to two churches in Sendai. On the way to one church, Edi took us to see the Uda Buddha. Technically it's actually a Chinese goddess of mercy, not a Buddha. But whatever. 

We approach.

Uda Buddha disappears behind a building briefly. 

Aaaaand there she is. 

Ken posed to help you see how big Uda Buddha is. She is 100 meters tall. 

Looking epic.

At her feet is a pet cemetery. 

This one is afor a dog and says "Kenchyan... stay healthy in heaven."

Offerings.

Also for a dog. It thanks the dog for the comfort he provided. 

Some Greek-style chick dancing through the dead-pet copse of trees.

A dragon door at Uda Buddha's feet.

Random woman. I love the clothes women wear in Japan--so feminine and lovely. 

At the house church in Sendai. Ed and Anna deep in conversation. 

Edie, Jesse, and Amanda.

After church and lunch we went up into the mountains. Beware of bears.

Ken photobombs Anna.

Joe.

Hydrangeas. 

Anna emerges idyllically from the woods. 

Tromping grounds.

Mountain lily or something.

See if you can spot Uda Buddha in the misty distance. 

Joe felt like playing with the trash. 

Ethan and Anna.

Zombie!Ethan.

On a lookout over a dam up in the mountains. Anna, Joe, and Ken. 

 Anna.

Ed and Anna.

Joe attempts to carry a Japanese backpack. He failed. 

Trying to stage a Karate Kid pose. Joe poses, Edie and Ethan try to capture the historic moment.

A happy group.

Mike looking contemplative. 

Pops snoozing away on the way home. 

I love this name for a restaurant. 

In other news, we got seriously lost on the way home from Sendai Sunday night and ended up driving past Yamomoto-cho or something (we don't really know what we ended up doing). We stopped at a Lawson's for sustenance and found a man who laughed at us when we asked where Yamomoto-cho was. He ended up offering to take us there (we were hopelessly lost), and drove us half an hour through the mountains and over bridges and under tunnels. We would have been lost forever if not for him as we had no cell phones or sense of direction. He even refused to take any gas money. 

He was a gruff angel with a lit cigarette dangling out of his mouth and he led us to the promised land and bed.