Yahiko (2 Nights)

This would be the nicest accommodation for this trip. Ladies get to choose their yukata from a variety of colors, no choices for men, so much for social equality 😄.
The water of yahiko onsen was relieving after a long day out. The observation deck overlooks the city.

Had our breakfast earlier so that we could visit Yahiko Shrine prior to the crowd that usually comes with the day trippers.
A popular shrine for Shinto Buddhism. It is known as a power spot for love and good fortune.

We timed our visit to Yahiko shrine to coincide with this festival. Some species are new to me and there seems to be much more categories for the competition.

From Yahiko Shrine, a free shuttle brought us to the ropeway station, followed by an additional ride up the observation towers.
Blessed with full sun and 100% visibility, the ride gave us an awesome 360 views of Sado island, endless Sea of Japan and pastel skies.
Let's do the detour to the shrine at the peak of Mt Yahiko since it was ONLY 750m away. Obviously it did not occur to us that it was 750m of uphills and stairs. Thigh muscles training 💪 Making up for the cancelled hike yesterday.
Yahiko Shrine is one of Japan's power spot for energy. Probably so aptly named with all the giant power stations and NHK radio broadcasting dish too ...
The views are definitely worth the climb. We should have packed some lunch as the peak was such a scenic spot for a picnic.

With all the big meals in the past week, everyone voted to "skip" lunch and replace it with a beer. Obviously it did not work as we snacked on fried squids, oden, edamame panda, chestnut daifu covered with glutinous rice, takoyaki, etc ... everyone resisted the croquette very hard 😜

We visited the park at about 4pm so that we could see it before the light comes on at 5pm. The momiji is probably 50% red (or less) at this point. The light-up was a tad less than expected.
Good timing with the super moon that evening that kept us busy for awhile.