This month Japan Travel Mate continues the Japan Photo Of The Month series with two photos… with all the sightseeing this month it was too difficult to settle on just one!

The first photo is from a recent trip to Okazaki castle. The gardens which surround the temple and castle display many traditional statues. This one stood out as the statue has such a worried look on his face…

Statue in the gardens of Okazaki Castle, Aichi, Japan
Spotted on the edge of a pond/water garden, this guy doesn’t look happy…

The second image comes from the top of a mountain where some friends and I recently went hiking in Toyota city. During Golden Week in Japan, we all had time off so we headed to Mount Sanage, which has a few temples and shrines and is very popular for hiking and mountain biking.

Shrine at the top of Mt Sanage
This shrine was almost at the very top of the mountain, very small but very unique.

The entrance and path to this small shrine was very eerie, it is quite hidden away in the forest on the mountain.