Oceanshaft

Went for mikan-gari (picking mandarin oranges) yesterday. 200 yen for a small plastic bag that you fill with as many mikan as you can, and bring home to eat. Meanwhile, while you are in the orchard, you can eat as many as you want. It was fun to pick the mikan, this has been a yearly activity for my church for some years now. This year it was not as cold as previous years (people were in short sleeves), probably this year will be a relatively warmer winter.

By the way, the mandarin orange trees are more like shrubs, not the trees that one thinks of in relation to californian Sunkist oranges.

As is the case every year, we went to the chrysantheum exhibition at Munakata shrine after the mikan-gari. Chrysantheum blooms of various types and cultivars were on display. Bonsai were present too. Unfortunately, while stunningly beautiful, the display does not change much from year to year. Had a good time with everyone.