A walk to the Kanzanji Temple in the brisk morning air invigorated us for the day.  We got our temple book stamped and hiked above the temple hills surrounding Lake Hamana.  It was a clear, sparkling day on the lake, and one fisherman was already busy working on his catch - by standing in the lake - not on a boat.
     Our breakfast was an authentic Japanese meal with raw ingredients everywhere.  I ate the cherry tomato, the shrimp, after picking his head off, and unagi (eel is tender and tastes like chicken), but all the raw dishes (even an egg) sent me to the 7-11 for a coke and a snack.  Raw fish and meat must be done in moderation in my opinion; and 2 meals in a row was too extreme for me, but I did enjoy the cherry tomato and the green tea.  Green tea cures all the ailments of the body, so I'm being careful to drink a lot to stay well.  It's really pretty good - a distinct taste.
The bullet train ride left Hamamatsu right on the minute.  Japanese people are very proud of schedules that meet the announced times.  As we were leaving, Mt. Fugi was in full view from the base to the snow-capped top with no clouds to obscure the vista.  It was glorious.  Many photos were tried, but how effective they will be going down the tracks at nearly 200 MPH, I'm not sure.  This was a very unusual sight this time of the year, so once again, "We are very lucky."
     We have the afternoon available on our own.  My friend Peggy, technology coordinator from Arizona, found the Hama-Rikyn Gardens - after asking 4 people -  so we walked to them.  People are very helpful when you ask directions.  We encountered several instances where people stopped their missions in order to give of themselves to help us get where we were going.  They've either all known just where to point us or were willing to stop what they were doing and take themselves completely away from their agenda for whatever amount of time it takes to get us to our destination.  Always courteous.  When we leave a hotel or school, the staff will gather in a straight line and wave to send us off.  They did know how to make us feel welcome and valued in all our hotels in Japan.  The courtesy and willingness to help astounds me.  For example, one of our group left an unimportant booklet in the room; the hotel vehicle chased after us to hand it over to her at Tokyo station.  Some of the host families came to the train station for a last goodbye.  This seems unlikely in our country.
     For a moment of regaining peace and serenity, we sailed down one of Tokyo's rivers for 40 minutes.  The ticket for the gardens is worth keeping because of the beautiful and perfect picture on it.  Then we boarded a "water bus" - have you heard that term before?  It's a rather long, low-in-the-water, 2-story boat that takes people up and down the river.  We got to see some of the famous bridges of Tokyo.
     We walked back to the Asakusa Kannon Shrine.  We had our books stamped there and at 2 other places.  One stop - 3 stamps - not bad.  We lit a candle, and waved the "holy smoke" to areas of the body that may need some wellness and treatment.  After finding 3 shops that we specifically had in mind, it was time for dinner.  Peggy chose a sushi restaurant - I had shrimp stuffed with rice.  Oishii.  Afterwards we treated ourselves to some Hagen Das ice cream - it just hit the spot.  In the restaurant there were a number of sauces for customers to use to put on hamburgers and fries.  One looked like a strawberry sauce, but we weren't having that food and couldn't tell exactly what it was. Peggy has studied the Japanese language and was able to ask, "What is it."  They waiter answered back in English, "Sauce."  We knew that and just laughed while we finished the rest of our ice cream.