On a personal note, I took the summer vacation this week and went to Sendai and Hiraizumi .
Coincidentally, Sendai is in the middle of the famous Tanabata Festival.
And I was able to go to Hiraizumi, which I had been thinking about for a long time, so this trip was really fun and fulfilling!
The first place I visited was Hiraizumi.
We were blessed with good weather, and the feeling of riding a rental bicycle through the dazzlingly green rice fields was great. 
Chusonji Konjikidō looked overwhelmingly beautiful to me, who had only seen it in textbooks.
Matsuo Basho, who once visited here, was also overwhelmed by this appearance...? 
Chusonji Golden Hall. Photography is prohibited inside, so I had to take pictures from a distance, but the size of the towering cedars told me about its long history.
A large lotus flower named Chusonji Lotus.
It is said that this seed was put together in a bucket that was said to contain the body of Hidehira Fujiwara, the third head of the Oshu Fujiwara clan.
I was very moved to see the seeds, which have awakened from a sleep of about 800 years, and are still blooming with large flowers.
Motsuji Temple has a very large and beautiful garden.
It is said that there are many people who come here slowly because they can see different scenery depending on the season.
Then we came back to Sendai and went to the Tanabata Festival !
This festival, which is one of the three major festivals in Tohoku, is really full of people, people, people as far as the eye can see!
However, everyone looked at the colorful Tanabata decorations with big smiles on their faces and seemed to be enjoying the festival.
Every year, the townspeople come together to create elaborate decorations, so please take a look.
I was able to introduce only a few of them, but it was a very satisfying trip with wonderful scenery, delicious food, and fun festivals.
From now on, for those of you who are going to travel during the Obon holidays, please enjoy your summer vacation!
