On Sunday we went for a walk near where Tony & Chisato live to a place where a 2,000 year old "reburial" urn had recently been found and passed some houses with (as usual) lovely gardens. We stopped to admire one and got chatting to the owner, who invited us into the garden for tea and snacks.

We had a lovely chat, and it turned out that they, too, were teachers. It was very pleasant interlude,and Tony and his wife made some new friends.

Most Japanese gardens are not very big, but they are exquisitely cared for and usually contain a large variety of plants and trees, the latter pruned and trained into beautiful shapes as they grow. (CLICK IMAGE BELOW TO RETURN)