From Hondō (the Main Hall) to the south entrance of the Zenkō-ji temple complex, a 300 years old pavement stretches over the distance of 450m. Allegedly, this 8m wide promenade comprises 7777 paving stones even though I’ve never counted them.
After making sure the dog returned to the owner, I climbed down the steps of Sanmon Gate and headed south…
Souvenir shops lined along the promenade, tempting passers-by with various offerings…
At most of the shop fronts, merchandise was piled up high or clustered together in abundance…
One shop displayed Chitose Ame – thin long boiled sweet customarily sold around the 15th November, celebrating children’s health growth…
These cans & pouches were Shichimi Tougarashi – 7 spices flavoured chilli powder, one of Nagano’s well-known produces…
Apples & bags of boiled sweet…
Buddhist prayer beads in various materials and colours…
Ceramic cups to adorn a domestic Buddhist altar…
Toys for children on display.
Some were modern…
And some were more old-fashioned…
Bags in the barrels were Nozawana – pickled turnip green, a famous produce of Mozawa hot spring village, north-west of Nagano City…
Piled up next to the bunch of umbrellas were boxes of Soba noodle, another well-reputed produce of Nagano…
Some offered refreshments to tourists and locals alike. Soft ice cream in Matcha (green tea) flavour, steamed sweet or savoury buns, etc…
Upon arriving at Niōmon Gate, I turned back to see Hondō once again…
Then, turned towards downtown…
Now, I must hurry to the supermarket before sunset…
Wonderful post! What is the Chitose Ame exactly? Some sort of sweet?
Chitose Ame is thin stick boiled sweets for small children. The sweets are given to the children aged 3 yrs, 5 yrs & 7 yrs old who visit temples & shrines with their families in order to celebrate their health and future safety. Normally, the sweets are sold around the 15th November, therefore, the sweet on display was a bit out of date…😱 x