Praise to Buddha

Sunday did not start out to be especially exciting until we decided to go for a walk.  We were making out way to a near-by park with beagle in tow, when we happened across a mysterious staircase. In the spirit of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys,  we gamely climbed the steep stairs, Finchy pulled when we got tired, and found a power transfer station at the top, not to exciting, but read on...  There was a narrow path that lead around the station further into the woods and hills.  It was like being a child when one gets lost in the woods with a friend and sees a slightly worn trail exclaiming that it is a "secret path", at least we remembered doing this, so it was fun.  The trails and stairs seemed to climb into infinity until we circled around a bend and found an enormous statue of the Welcoming Buddha carved into the cliff face (photo accompanied).  The park continued to go on and Finchy began to vocalize her low rumbling "woof" as she does when there are life forms near by, but she is too afraid to really let 'em have it with a beagle bay; she's a wuss.  When we can to the next clearing there were people rock climbing in all forms up the surrounding cliff faces.

I came to find out the area is know as the Takatori outdoor gym, but we had no idea this was all here right outside our door step.